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 2 of the series. Don’t forget to catch the the rest of the series this coming week!
Kiko Singh, Principal at BraytonHughes Design Studios
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What’s a typical day like for you?
My son Kainoa and I are early birds, so we are up at 5am. I love getting a couple of hours to hang out with him while I read the news, check emails, and ease into the day. Then, once the rest of the house is up around 7, I do the hand off and get a quick work out in before I dive into work. There is no typical workday; when I am not overseeing design on projects, I am designing carpets, presenting to clients, or working on business development for the office. I also stay busy traveling for site visits, planning, and overseeing photoshoots. I love that every day is different. Once the workday wraps up, if the weather is nice, we head to the beach to watch the sunset. It’s the best way to close out the day and unwind. Then it’s dinner and that’s a wrap!
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What’s your favourite/most rewarding part of your work?
The most rewarding part of my job is designing beautiful spaces for people to enjoy. I enjoy being a storyteller through design and creating environments that inspire meaningful memories. I also enjoy giving back to the community. Whether it is doing beach clean ups or specifying sustainable resources, there are so many ways to leave the planet better than we left it. This year I am the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter President for NEWH, a non-profit that grants scholarships to those who are studying the hospitality industry, whether it be in hotel management, culinary, design or manufacturing product. It is very rewarding to hear the stories of all the students who apply and know that our scholarships are helping them fulfill their dreams.
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Can you tell us about the challenges you faced throughout the course of your career, and how you overcame them?
The biggest challenge for me throughout my career has been developing work/life balance. When you are passionate about what you do, it can easily make life all about work. It is important to find a way to turn that switch off and enjoy other aspects of life. Having two sons has finally given me more of a balanced lifestyle. Now that I have less time, I am better at prioritizing at work and being present at home with my kids. They grow up quickly! The second challenge is confidence. Design can be very subjective, and it can be tough to get negative feedback on a design, not win a project you were hoping for, or see others succeed when you might feel like you are floundering.
The key is to be resilient. Take each situation and learn from it.
Kiko Singh
What’s your secret to living a fulfilling life?
Be true to yourself and know what you want out of life. It’s important to figure out what your core values are and bring that spirit throughout all aspects of life. It can be easy to compare your life path to others, but if you live your life authentically, you will have no regrets.
What advice would you give to young women aspiring to a similar career path?
Find a mentor and set goals for yourself. Once I graduated from college and connected all the dots, I was lucky enough to know exactly what I wanted to do. This allowed me to create goals for myself and eventually achieve them. It helps to find someone in the industry that you respect and trust and ask them to be your mentor. I have had a couple of mentors over the course of my career and I often rely on them to share their perspectives and advice.
Put in your time, pay your dues, learn the craft, and you will get there.
Kiko Singh
Lee Mei Ling, Co-founder and Director at Supermama
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What’s a typical day like for you?
As a mother of three children, I start the day tending to my school-going children and only begin my workday after sending my youngest child off to childcare. My husband and co-founder of Supermama, Edwin and I will then kick start our day, discussing and talking about business and life over breakfast. Thereafter, we will be off to work meetings or work on our respective roles for the rest of the day. Evenings are reserved for family time and we’ll catch up with the children over dinner. After the children are off to bed, Edwin and I will resume our work and discussion till we turn in for the night.
What’s your favourite/most rewarding part of your work?
One of my most favourite parts of work is being able to exchange ideas and thoughts on a daily basis with my best friend and partner. No other job would offer me this opportunity. It was also very gratifying to be personally involved in steering Supermama to navigate the retail landscape in a small and competitive domestic market in Singapore. When I rejoined Supermama on a full-time basis in 2015, it was also the year when we launched a new collective, Souvenirs From Singapore and thereafter, the Supermama Porcelain Festival. We were also involved in the Singapore Tourism Board’s Singapore: Inside Out, Tokyo showcase in 2017 and many more exciting projects thereafter. Our company has been growing since then and beyond just revenue growth, we also did more to build up the made-in-Singapore culture and our community in our own ways. Today, we are ten years old, and we are glad to have grown alongside our supporters who have witnessed how much we have evolved since our days as a small independent mom-and-pop store.
Can you tell us about the challenges you faced throughout the course of your career, and how you overcame them?
In the first two years of starting Supermama, before we started producing our own products, business was really tough and I had to return to full-time work to support the family income. Nevertheless, I was still handling the administrative and accounting matters of the business and it was a challenging four-year period spent juggling work, business and family needs.
Running Supermama also required a lot of perseverance as we strived to be better in all fronts – from the customer and store experience to elevate the shopping encounter, to product quality and even innovation. We were designing new “proudly Singapore” products in our bid to champion local culture, while still fending off the competition and rising costs.
As Supermama approaches our tenth-year mark, this milestone marks a decade of taking numerous calculated risks, trusting our intuition, and doing the numbers to make sure that we stay lean and nimble. We are thankful that due to this discipline and the support from our local customers, we are still surviving amidst this distressing time of COVID-19 .
What’s your secret to living a fulfilling life?
In our lives, there have been many disappointments – either brought about by people, or as a result of our own decisions. However, I’ve learnt to let go and move on; to focus on the future and on growth. This helps us stay hopeful and grounded as a business owner.
However, I’ve learnt to let go and move on; to focus on the future and on growth.
Lee Mei Ling
What advice would you give to young women aspiring to a similar career path?
I was a civil servant for more than ten years across various government ministries, prior to starting a business. Even during my university days, I did all kinds of part time work to earn my keep. All the experiences I went through honed my skills and mind to be open-minded and adaptive for my business. If I had started off my work life doing business, I believe I would not have gained as much insights and joy as I have today.
Having said that, there is really no “right” time to start a business. Therefore, my advice for all aspiring young women entrepreneurs is to be open-minded, be a sponge and try your best.
Even if you don’t succeed, the experience you gain will be invaluable in your next endeavour.
Lee Mei Ling
Who are some female leaders and mentors you admire, and why?
I personally admire Edwin’s late grandmother a lot. She was a widow for more than 30 years and single-handedly brought up ten children while running her bean curd factory in Singapore. There were a lot of heartaches in her life, but she took them in her stride. Even in old age, she would go to her factory on a daily basis. She never stopped working, growing, and caring. I hope to have her tenacity and capacity as I continue to run my business.