In celebration of International Women’s Day in March, we’re putting the spotlight on trailblazing women who are leading and forging their own paths in the design industry. Learn more about what a typical day is like for them, their secrets to a fulfilling life, and the advice they have for young women starting out.
This is Part 1 of the series. Don’t forget to catch the next two parts coming up this week!
Pinar Harris, Vice President at SB Architects
![pinar-27-1-683x1024-1](https://sonadecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/pinar-27-1-683x1024-1.jpg)
What’s a typical day like for you?
It starts on my yoga mat at 5:30 am, and I’m out of the door by 7 am to capitalize on that first quiet hour of the day to catch up on what’s happening in the industry, the news affecting some of our different clients (potential and current), and then, it’s a deep dive into my daily roles and responsibilities with project team coordination, outreach, management/mentoring, working with our clients and business development teams. Most importantly, I’m always eager to get back home to my family.
What’s your favourite/most rewarding part of your work?
Working with people. Seeing my team growing into their roles and developing for the next stages of their career is a real privilege. I also take pleasure in the relationships created with our clients, and the collaboration that goes into realizing their vision. In our field, I have so many opportunities to meet new people and I enjoy the human connection that is essential to our work. There is something incredible about seeing how our initial thoughts and concepts translate from lines on paper into a built form.
It takes patience and can take years to happen, but it’s a fantastic feeling when it does.
Pinar Harris
Can you tell us about the challenges you faced throughout the course of your career, and how you overcame them?
Earlier in my career, I lost my mentor suddenly and needed to stand on my own two feet. Navigating the growing pains I was experiencing in my career evolution by myself enabled me to overcome my own insecurities and, ultimately, become more confident.
What’s your secret to living a fulfilling life?
In architecture, seeing (and walking through) the tangible fruits of our hard work is incredible; you get to physically experience everything you’ve created. But, in a larger, more personal sense, my family comes first and that is where my fulfilment lives.
What advice would you give to young women aspiring to a similar career path?
Stay with it, not every day is going to be amazing. You must put in the hard work. This is a very tough field and you have to learn to maintain a belief in yourself, your growth, and your development. Learn to trust your ability and talent, and become comfortable in your own skin.
Stay with it, not every day is going to be amazing. You must put in the hard work.
Pinar Harris
Ong Shu Hwai, Managing Director at DuraBlinds
![ong-shu-hwai-managing-director-of-durablinds-1-1024x682-1](https://sonadecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ong-shu-hwai-managing-director-of-durablinds-1-1024x682-1.png)
What’s a typical day like for you?
A typical day for me starts around 5am. I start my day by cuddling with my 5-year-old son, and also take some time to go through mentally what needs to be done for the day. Company operations start at 8am, so my husband and I will typically be there by that time. Some mornings if there are no meetings or matters to settle, we can afford to enjoy a quiet breakfast together.
Work demands intense concentration from me. I need to either be planning or solving a wide range of challenges, from managing my staff, to tracking multiple workflows, dealing with product technical matters, serving my own customers, to revenue planning, managing company budget to product development. I prefer to have a hands-on approach to I do like to follow through from beginning to end.
On top of all that, I try my best to finish work strictly by 6pm. My son has a rather busy evening schedule with enrichment courses and other after-school activities. My husband and I will arrange our schedule so that we can take him to activities ourselves, and also spend time with him on evenings and weekends. I am also an avid cook, and I will make sure I find time to cook for my family. My husband and I will also sneak off on our occasional date nights on the social scene, or for dinners, to make sure we don’t just spend time at work, but also outside of work.
What’s your favourite/most rewarding part of your work?
Being able to help homeowners turn a previously “unusable” space into a whole new dining, work or play area is probably the most rewarding part of my job. Seeing a project through from concept to fruition is very satisfying, and I absolutely love helping my clients create new spaces in their homes through the use of durable, elegant products and smart designs.
Additionally, my job allows me to meet different people from all walks of life, from my clients, employees and business associates to contractors and vendors that we engage. The lessons and skills that I take away from all my experiences also helped to shape who I am today and is something I am very grateful for.
My biggest personal motivation is being able to value add in the way that matters; to me, to my employees, to my customers and to my loved ones.
Can you tell us about the challenges you faced throughout the course of your career, and how you overcame them?
One of the biggest challenges that I faced as a woman in a male-dominated industry is that women don’t often get taken seriously, at least at first.
In 2010, I embarked on a joint venture with a business partner to bring Glass Curtains, a European brand of sliding glass panels, into Singapore. While it was a 50/50 partnership on paper, the reality was that he pretty much just rented out a corner of his office for me to showcase the Glass Curtains while I had to do everything on my own, including forming my own team and personally training the workers on the installation process to ensure quality control.
All this while, I was never a part of the males-only group and was eventually forced from the corner of his office to another part of the workshop where the installers were exposed to the elements when working. Despite all these, I managed to drive an increase in Glass Curtains’ sales and business flourished.
This was when my partner finally saw the success and demanded that I sell Glass Curtains to him at cost so that he can take the business further under his own brand name. When I refused to oblige to his plan, he resorted to more aggressive methods to force me to leave the company. This included intimidating text spams, sending nine men to the office to threaten me and my then admin staff, as well as breaking into the workshop and helping himself to the tools and components. This episode lasted for months until I finally managed to get myself out of the situation, but not without setting myself back $100,000 in legal and administrative costs.
Through this ordeal, I grew even more resilient and knew that it was up to myself to ensure the success of my own business.
Ong Shu Hwai
I could not let down the brand, my employees and most importantly the many clients who had purchased Glass Curtains and count on us to ensure the longevity of their installation.
I’m not discouraged by the setbacks; I have learnt to be more careful in in choosing partners to collaborate with.
What’s your secret to living a fulfilling life?
Having real appreciation for life and value-add to people by providing service and grace; this makes me happy. I do feel very lucky to be alive in this time and age and in this country, doing what I do! I think it is important to embrace all life has to offer, from simple pleasant moments to fear and uncertainties. Life is more fun with positive and meaningful relationships..
What advice would you give to young women aspiring to a similar career path?
Be brave! It is okay and natural for us to feel intimidated and unsure, especially if it is traditionally a male dominant industry. Overcome this fear with intense curiosity, strive to accumulate knowledge and persevere with your innate feminine gifts like empathy, negotiation and influence (just to name a few! There’s definitely SO much more).
It took me almost a decade into my working life to realise that I didn’t want to work for anyone again, and I finally took that leap of faith and chose my passion.
There will always be doubters and naysayers, but always trust that you have the ability to do anything you set your mind to and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Ong Shu Hwai