Our Story

Foundry weaves its own creative narrative by drawing on unique cultures and bringing together design and craft talents.

Foundry was born in Singapore, a skyscraper city gleaming with modern achievements but also built upon a foundation of heritage, tradition, and values. To say that this is where East meets West is a simplistic cliché – this is where a confluence of people have produced a plural culture. The culture of Foundry is no different: our outlook is broad, contemporary, and global; yet our roots remain deeply anchored in local traditions and time-honoured values.

Ours is a story of making: we craft furniture and accessories, but beyond products we are also about inventing fresh ideas, forging new creative narratives and moulding a contemporary design culture.

Today, when design is increasingly global, Foundry acts as a bridge for designers and craftsmen all over the world. We seek out talents, pair the right creative vision with the right method and skill, and connect the global and the local. In working this way, we’ve also seen some of the best inspiration and creative works emerge when talents and skills come together. This organic, synergistic collaborative process between designers and artisans will continue to weave and form our story in its next chapters.


Our Approach

The pursuit of excellence and an appreciation for craftwork underlie all that we do at Foundry.

At Foundry, we believe in design but also in the art of making. Design imagines a better world, but it is the right skills and methods that materialize the vision. Our emphasis is therefore on craft and material, and on finding the essence of a design object.

We care about our methods as much as our products. Whether inside our designers’ studios or our factories, whether the process involves modern tools or the hands of an artisan, we work meticulously at every stage of production towards excellence. That is not to say that we pursue immaculate gloss and sleek; to erase imperfection is to mute expression, we prefer to let our products speak. We look to simplicity but also honesty – honesty of material, or of a design decision. Foundry’s products are about essential forms, ideas, and ways of making.

Furniture is closely related to notions of home. On one level they furnish, but more essentially, they provide comfort, ease, and familiarity. We think of Foundry’s collection in these same terms; they are warm, personal and close to the heart so we thought it fitting too that the Foundry brand should take after the classic silhouette of the house. This elegant symbol speaks universally of the human need for comfort, and through it, we welcome you to into our creative world, our home.

i. Craft –
or the art of making, appeals because it is one of the first and most basic of Man’s creative processes. There is something wonderful about the human hand that contributes towards what we call the make of an object. At Foundry, we explore craft at all levels – we are always on the lookout for unique craft cultures and traditions and we try to find their best expression in today’s world. In the studio, in the factory, and indeed, in our hands, we scrutinize craft in its detail. We’ve learnt how paper can transcend its common function through origami, or how woodworking can uncover the multiple characters of a single material. The discoveries and processes of craft, especially when coupled with modern methods and machinery, are boundless and endlessly inspiring.

ii. Materials –
are essential building blocks to every design project. They can be a raw element, a tactile finish, or even a creative starting point. In our overwrought world, natural beauty is a quality that tends to be overlooked – a quality that we seek to bring back through Foundry’s work. In our study of material and their potential, we’ve discovered an appreciation for comfort, for longevity and for beauty. Material can ground or can let imagination take flight. A material’s natural properties are wonders to be harnessed by the mind and the hand. We allow that magic to happen.

iii. Beyond Objects –
the things we choose to put and use in our spaces mean and hold so much more. The difference between mere objects and design pieces is that design transcends function. Things can have a life and a personality and at Foundry, we’ve come to look upon products as lifelong companions. These are objects that you pick – or, as some say, pick you – objects that you care for, but might also be happy to let age, stain, gain character. In our products, you may find humour, imagination, nostalgia or a certain je ne sais quoi that you find moving and will stay with you for a long time.