At this decades-old Chinatown antiques shop, a father and son cast old objects in a new light
PK and Jacob Cheong are the father-and-son duo behind East Inspirations, an antiques and lifestyle shop in Chinatown known for transforming imperfect antiques and unexpected vintage objects – from biscuit moulds to an old iron – into table lamps.
Father-and-son duo PK and Jacob Cheong run antiques and lifestyle shop East Inspirations in Chinatown. (Photo: CNA/Joyee Koo)
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What do you do with a treasured object that is damaged or no longer in use? Some might leave it as it is; others might simply throw it away. But for 72-year-old Cheong Poh Kwai (or PK as he prefers to be called), it’s an opportunity to give that object a second life – and, quite literally, a new light.
That philosophy is at the heart of East Inspirations, the antiques and lifestyle shop he opened in 1993. Today, he runs it with his 37-year-old son Jacob, who joined the family business about 10 years ago.
THE SHOPHOUSE
It is hard to miss East Inspirations’ shophouse along South Bridge Road. Framed by a traditional-style signboard, its shopfront is packed with an eclectic mix of Chinese porcelain, antique furniture, decorative objects, teaware and vintage household items. Given its location in the busy tourist district of Chinatown, the shop also carries a range of Peranakan- and Singapore-inspired souvenirs.
Towards the rear of the shophouse are two intimate spaces. One is PK’s personal corner, where he drinks tea with old friends and dreams up new designs and business ideas. It is also where he keeps some of his most cherished pieces, which he said he would probably never sell. The other is Jacob’s tearoom, lined with his collection of teaware and an assortment of tea leaves. Here, visitors can join him for tea appreciation sessions, a recent addition he introduced to the family business.
And among the sea of objects, the table lamps stand out. Conceptualised by PK, these one-of-a-kind designs incorporate everything from repurposed antique porcelain to unexpected objects.
One of his favourite creations incorporates two biscuit moulds once used by his mother. One features a fish representing the Chinese phrase “nian nian you yu” (“may you have abundance every year”), while the other bears a lotus symbolising many children and grandchildren.
For PK, giving these objects a new function also allows their stories to live on.
“The first aim is to give it another life, and the second is to pass the tradition on,” he said.
IT STARTED WITH LAMPSHADES
PK’s lamp-making journey began with the skills he acquired in his first job.
After completing National Service, he worked as a machinist at a factory that specialised in table lamps in the 1970s. PK was initially responsible for producing the lamps’ steel components, but gradually learnt how the different bases and lampshades were designed and made. At the time, the factory used newly made porcelain for its lamp bases.
In 1981, after getting married, PK started a company producing table lamps with his wife and several friends. He focused on designing the lamp bases and lampshades, while his wife specialised in making the shades by hand.
It was during a work trip to China that same year that he first encountered antiques on such a large scale.
“We visited this warehouse, and I saw so many antiques,” he recalled. “I was shocked. At that moment, my heart was a little moved. They were so beautiful.”
Struck by their beauty and artistry, PK began to wonder why old porcelain pieces could not be used as lamp bases instead of creating new ones. But the encounter also sparked a deeper interest in antiques. He began studying and examining them on his own, visiting dealers and asking questions. One purchase soon led to another, and his collection gradually grew.
A GROWING ANTIQUES COLLECTION
Some of the antiques he coveted would cost as much as S$1,000 and he often asked sellers if he could pay in instalments.
“The antiques I bought couldn’t see the light of day,” he joked. “I hid them under the bed because my wife would scold me. We didn’t have much money, but I was still buying antiques.”
But what attracted him was not so much their monetary value, but the artistry and meaning behind the painted imagery.
“If you don’t understand or appreciate Chinese culture, you generally won’t be drawn to antiques,” he said. “Someone who loves Chinese culture will want to delve deeper, understand it and study it.”
PK has never counted how many pieces he has amassed over the decades. Apart from those displayed in the shophouse, his home is also filled with his treasures. Among the oldest are pieces dating to the Tang and Song dynasties.
“A vase isn’t merely an object. It contains stories and characters,” he said. “When friends visit your home and see the beautiful vase, they will ask what is painted on it.”
His collection is not merely for display, but also a source of comfort. Every morning, he enjoys a cup of tea on his balcony, surrounded by his penjing – another passion of his, comprising miniature landscapes of carefully shaped trees, rocks and water that are also home to his small fish – and takes out one of his antiques to admire.
“When I’m troubled or facing a problem I can’t resolve, I spend time appreciating them,” he shared. “They help me forget my worries for a while.”
OLD OBJECTS, NEW LIGHT
In 1985, one of his friends brought in a batch of damaged porcelain from Guangzhou. Instead of seeing the pieces as waste, he saw an opportunity to give them a practical purpose while preserving the culture and stories they carried.
“Why not turn these broken porcelain pieces into something functional, while also passing on the culture?” he said.
Drawing on the technical skills he had gained as a machinist, PK developed his own process for transforming the fragile pieces into lamps, which were subsequently sold.
The project marked the beginning of an approach that continues to shape his work: giving damaged or disused objects a new function rather than discarding them because of their imperfections.
In the early 1990s, as China’s manufacturing sector grew, Singapore’s labour-intensive handicraft industry became increasingly difficult to sustain. PK decided to pivot towards retail and began looking for a shop in 1993.
His first retail space was at the former Handicraft Centre in Chinatown Point before moving into its current shophouse in 1997.
Although the business no longer makes its lampshades in-house, they are still designed by PK and produced by a supplier in China. The shop also continues to accept requests to transform customers’ objects into lamps, including more unusual items.
“Technically, anything can be made into a lamp – even a piece of stone.” PK said.
The lamps are assembled at the company’s warehouse, where PK brings together the repurposed bases, electrical fittings and shades. Prices vary depending on the complexity of the design and the amount of work required.
One of his favourite designs uses a bamboo-shaped ventilation block that was once part of a balcony. He came across more than 200 of these in Guangzhou, where a house was being demolished and decided to buy the entire lot.
“I already had the idea of turning it into a lamp as a way of preserving that nostalgia,” he said. “The colour is also beautiful, and bamboo has an auspicious meaning – rising higher with each step – so it also makes a good gift.”
THE NEXT GENERATION
“The first rule of the house was not to play ball games,” Jacob recalled with a chuckle.
Jacob and his two siblings grew up in a home filled with valuable objects and watched his father build his antique collection over the years.
“Our parents taught us how to handle and live with them, rather than, ‘Don’t touch them,’” he said. “It was more like: How do you live with them in a good way? So then we learnt to appreciate them as well.”
Joining the family business was not something Jacob had always envisioned. He studied business finance and business administration before taking his first job at a bank. When a corporate career did not work out for him, he joined East Inspirations around 2016.
“In a way, my father gave me a lifeline through the business, and I also gave him a lifeline, because joining extends that business,” Jacob said. “He can continue doing what he likes, and I also get to spend a lot of time with him.”
Today, he oversees more of the company’s social media, marketing and online presence. He also introduced structured tea appreciation sessions, building on his father’s long-time practice of serving tea to friends and customers while discussing antiques.
His appreciation for antiques and Chinese culture deepened after he joined the company, began sourcing pieces himself and came to understand the effort his father had put into building his collection.
“Because my siblings and I grew up surrounded by his collection, we didn’t really appreciate it back then,” Jacob said. “When I stepped into the business, started purchasing pieces and saw what other people had and what was available in the market, I realised that his collection was really quite something.”
Many of the antiques in the shop come from PK’s past collection, local collectors or overseas sellers they find through online bidding and auctions. Father and son also travel together to discover new pieces and draw inspiration for the business.
They regularly visit Jingdezhen, a Chinese city renowned for its porcelain, where they source new, handmade pieces. These trips have given Jacob a greater appreciation of his father’s knowledge and eye for antiques.
“That’s when my dad’s taste comes into play,” Jacob said. “He knows whether a piece is emulating something from the past or is something totally new.”
Their tastes do not always align, but Jacob considers that an advantage.
“It’s good that we both have slightly different tastes because it makes the place a little more different,” he said. “Otherwise, it would be very boring. It adds to the variety of pieces that we have in the shop.”
KEEPING THE LIGHT ON
While demand for vase lamps may have declined, PK continues to sit in his cosy corner of the shophouse, sipping tea and imagining new designs for old and damaged objects.
“It’s quite rare now. It used to be more common, perhaps because many people no longer use vases,” PK said. “Another reason is the supply from China. People can buy them more cheaply online.”
Still, familiar faces from the shop’s early years continue to return.
“My old customers still come back. Some have been with us since the 1990s,” he said. “They tell us, ‘We bought something from you back in 1997.’ Some of them also bring other customers to us.”
Beyond allowing PK to continue doing what he loves, the business has also given father and son the opportunity to work together, with Jacob helping to carry his father’s life’s work into the next generation.
“I’m very happy. What more could you ask for when you have a child like this?” he said. “I didn’t force him to join – he came willingly, and that makes me even happier.”
Source: CNA/jk
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