About us

The Working Bench Collective was started as a passion project in 2018.

When I was about the age of three, I remember being in my grandfather’s goldsmith shop on Changi Road. The television screen in front of us would constantly toggle between two channels; me fighting to watch my cartoons, my grandfather, his Chinese programmes. The days passed slowly when there weren’t many customers. 

Of course, as a little boy, I didn't know that Singapore’s landscape was constantly changing. Within the next two years, my grandfather lost his shop to rising rental costs, was unable to restart his business, and eventually passed in 1999. The little that I knew about jewellery diminished even more with his passing, especially as my family moved away from the jewellery industry, taking on full-time jobs in various other sectors. 

As I grow older, experiencing Singapore's constant change for myself, I feel a longing towards connecting with my past and the past of the land I live in. What are my roots? What did my forebears do for a living after migrating to Singapore? The cultural identity of this city-state shouldn’t be lost just because we gained independence a little over five decades ago. We were Singapura in the 15th century, Temasek before that. Singapore didn't only start existing in 1965. This land has been documented, albeit not very well, and has existed for centuries, moulded by immigrants into the country it is today.

The Working Bench seeks to reestablish these seemingly lost links to our past. We would like to rekindle a joy in discovering what our ancestors left behind - the jewellery that was made, purchased, given, worn, and passed down. To purchase antique and vintage items to own a tangible piece of the past and make it part of our lives, here and now.

These are the brands under The Working Bench Collective.

Novelette seeks to give life back to vintage and artisanal jewellery. We want to keep the present generations aware of the fashion of bygone eras, and bring back unique and stylistic pieces for your personal style, jewellery that has lasted and continues to give back.

Cartograph curates antique maps that hark back to days of long travel and old trade routes. What connected our cities and livelihoods in the past are still highly relevant in today’s globalised world. Own a piece of the world with maps of regions that you’ve traveled to or aspire to explore in the future. 

The past needn't just be something you reminisce or long for when thinking about the good old days - old things have led us to where we are today. Purchase something with us that has caught your eye, and make it a part of you today.