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Photo: Lawrence Teo
Syed Ahmad Bin Abdul Rahman Alhabshee’s career journey is about resilience and a certain bullishness. As the founder of Urban Salvation, an independent furniture maker who uses locally sourced or salvaged wood from the region to make customised designs and does antique restorations, he isn’t just a man clever with his hands but a passionate orator of the incidents that have shaped him in life.
We’re at his workshop in Tampines, a mid-sized warehouse on the second floor with rows of beautifully grained furniture. Ahmad greets us with a warm welcome, gesturing to a table with food and snacks. He’s prepared them for us and tells us there are drinks in the fridge.
Urban Salvation is a success story that’s easy to get behind. The 35-year-old was featured in this year’s National Day Parade in August and the People of Design campaign by DesignSingapore Council earlier in the year.
It’s a feel-good headline that aligns with Singapore’s 2030 Green Plan — a local furniture maker pushing for sustainability. But like the rest of the trade skills, such as farming and sewing, interest in woodworking is dying out.
A safe space to learn
While the number of young people who come to their workshops is “very disappointing”, a few have the tenacity and desire to continue. He is effusive in his praise for an ex-intern named Firdaus, a firefighter who now has his own furniture repair company on the side, and Dina, a former student who wants to return as a teacher after getting married. “These kinds of people are tough to come by,” he sighs.
The Karri Bedframe and Helen Bedside Table. (Photo: Urban Salvation)
For those who come to him with a genuine interest in the craft, he’s willing to pass on his skills and open to collaborating. He has taken young adults ostracised by their families and people who have served time under his wing, giving them roles they can excel in. Soon, he’ll be working with a polytechnic student to create brass door knobs and another animation graduate to create content on sustainability.
As the interview continues, it becomes evident that while woodworking is how the business retains commercial viability, the people motivate Ahmad. “It’s not about getting rich; it’s about providing jobs, a happy home, (and) making people’s dreams come true,” he adds. He declares his workshop a “safe haven” for misfits and outcasts, a label he personally relates to.
Proving his worth
Photo: Lawrence Teo
Coming from a low-income family, Ahmad’s father worked the same job for over four decades, providing for five children. He had to earn his keep since he was eight years old. Even while making ends meet, his father would collect old newspapers to sell to the karang guni (a scrap dealer) to get change to donate to the less fortunate.
His voice is tinged with pride as he shares how he only recently found out about his father’s contributions to funeral homes for those who can’t afford a ceremony of their own.
I’m living my dream. I didn’t follow the typical Singapore dream, but I wake up every day feeling lucky.
A mischievous kid, he has always forged his path, aided by an optimistic disposition and earnestness. After graduating with a diploma in Precision Engineering and working in the set design industry, he found a position at a furniture shop. He worked his way up to Operations Manager in two years.
His request was rejected when he finally asked for a raise; his education level didn’t justify it. Angered, he started his own furniture business to prove them wrong. He admits, “I started because of (my) ego.”
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Building on what’s tried and tested
That was nine years ago, and he’s since found a renewed sense of purpose with Urban Salvation. Incorporating his sustainability beliefs into woodworking, he’s convinced that lessons can be learned from our predecessors’ traditional methods.
For example, Madras chunam, a type of plaster comprising egg whites, ghee, and jaggery, among other materials, was commonly used in construction in Tamil Nadu. Time-consuming to make and an endangered craft, it was allegedly used in the construction of St Andrew’s Cathedral.
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For now, he’ll dedicate a few years to learning the art of shou sugi ban, the ancient Japanese technique of preserving wood (specifically cedar) by charring it with fire, and plans to combine it with a brutalist furniture design.
He’s also been looking for companies that work with recyclable plastics, such as Bali-based EcoLab8, to create dual-material furniture pieces. His final year project at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts was a chair made with discarded sawdust and PVA glue.
Even as the economic recession looms, Ahmad remains ever so optimistic. As a new dad to a four-month-old son, Omar, much must be done and learned. Urban Salvation will be participating in various events in the upcoming months, including Side A, A Singapore Record Show in November. He quips, “I’m living my dream. I didn’t follow the typical Singapore dream… but I wake up every day feeling lucky.”
