00:00Some of the works that we really put in a lot of effort
00:03don't get the same attraction.
00:05An industrial job, like let's say a metal prison toilet bowl
00:09might not get the same appreciation as a metal stool, for example.
00:22Hi, my name is Matthias, I'm the founder of BareMetalCo.
00:26So my parents started this business in 1992.
00:30They originally specialised in doing custom stainless steel kitchen equipment.
00:38My parents, they wanted me to become an engineer.
00:41But when I was doing engineering, I figured it out
00:45that it was not something I wanted to do.
00:47I thought you would have more exposure to the, like,
00:52machines or making stuff.
00:55But actually it's all calculations and a lot of memorising.
01:02It's not for me.
01:05I think as the traditional family business,
01:09they obviously want somebody to eventually take over.
01:16I officially joined in 2018.
01:19I officially joined in 2018.
01:22That's where I just finished my national service.
01:27From young, I think I like to make stuff or fix stuff.
01:33That's something I've known for a very long time.
01:37When I first joined in, I slowly realised the struggles of the industry.
01:45Why people commonly say it's like a sunset industry.
01:55So these are actual fabrication techniques that we exploit in our workshop.
02:01So all these are samples that we provide our clients.
02:05For all this, because we don't have a mass production press,
02:10a lot of people might assume we press this out,
02:13but these are individually bent downstairs.
02:22My parents are both in this business, doing customised work.
02:26So they were doing that for a period of time
02:29because of the higher cost of sustaining.
02:33In Singapore, the companies that we used to supply stuff for,
02:38they started looking for cheaper alternatives like overseas fabricators
02:43to get things done at a much lower cost.
02:47A lot of companies are fighting over the same jobs
02:51who can come up with the cheapest solution.
02:53For local fabricators like us,
02:56it's either we try our best to match those costs
03:00or we just don't take the job.
03:05So this affects the quality of work
03:09and even what we come up with.
03:13For myself, I'm processing easily three to five jobs every month
03:18just to cover our costs.
03:22And then same with my parents.
03:24So it's this endless cycle that I try to move away from.
03:31I saw an industrial job as a price war thing
03:35and I decided that it's not something that I want to be part of.
03:40We have to think of ways to do things differently.
03:46I think as a business person, it's just business.
03:51But as a crafter, it's kind of sad
03:54because I've known a few older gents who did amazing works
04:01and they used to be able to do some of the techniques in Singapore
04:08but people just forgot about them.
04:11That's why they just disappeared one by one.
04:15I kind of wish I could learn some of those stuff
04:18but they are not here anymore.
04:24For example, one of the techniques I'm obsessed about is metal shaping.
04:29It's a very slow process of manipulating it to curve to how you imagine it to be.
04:47While I was helping out with the family business
04:51I started to make more of my own stuff.
04:54Stuff that I feel like making.
04:57I remember making a metal rose
05:01and then I posted it on social media.
05:04And then I had very positive feedback from my friends.
05:10I think that really helped spark this whole rebranding.
05:15We did certain things like TikTok for example.
05:22Coming out with our own product.
05:25When we talk about traditional metal crafting
05:29when certain clients want something unique
05:33some of the techniques can't be achieved using machines.
05:36Stuff that they made like 100 years ago
05:39they don't compromise on the complexity of the product.
05:43So to me, traditional craft is very versatile.
05:46We are forced to be creative.
05:49Whereas fabrication, we are very limited to our machines.
05:53And that part of it is what I think makes bare metal unique
05:58because we kind of use the best of both sides to achieve our work.
06:08At the beginning, I did more industrial jobs.
06:11For example, for a semiconductor factory.
06:15So I had to custom create this work table for them.
06:23It's not as straightforward from coming up with the ideas
06:29to managing how it's being fabricated
06:33and then the actual fabrication process itself
06:37all the way to delivering or installation.
06:42I thought by having a brand, people would be more appreciative
06:48or we attract people that want us to make their work.
06:53So we hope to be viewed somewhat as a designer or a brand
06:59rather than just a metal fabricator.
07:07Doing customised work is I think what me and my family
07:11is known for or supposed to be doing.
07:14Be it a kitchen or industrial work or art sculpture.
07:18So we share the same machines and manpower
07:22but the products that we make are totally different.
07:29These are some of our own products that we designed.
07:34So this is actually our most sold product.
07:38Flat pack.
07:41Never really had the chance to properly feature it or market it yet.
07:51And then this is our most famous viral stool.
07:59We call it Amma stool.
08:01You can sit on it.
08:08I think at the end of the day we are just trying to
08:12contribute to sustain the workshop.
08:15I never thought it would be like this full brand that I imagine it today.
08:22But then somehow through the months or years
08:27it kind of made me feel like this is the direction I'm supposed to go towards.
08:39We do have a lot of people enquiring and coming to us to get stuff done.
08:48But only a small percentage gets converted to actual jobs.
08:53Part of me, I'm very passionate about metal crafting.
08:57And I hope to preserve and continue this as much as I can.
09:04But the reality is to sustain the workshop is more and more challenging and tiring.
09:11I haven't overcome those challenges yet.
09:14I'm still trying but I do hope that eventually we will figure that out.
09:24So now we're going to do the assembly portion.
09:28So maybe need you all to create this layout.
09:33So make sure it's pressed in the middle and then the order is correct.
09:38Then you all can screw into the stem.
09:44I'm making it into a workshop because I was looking at alternatives
09:49where there might be a chance I have to close my family business.
09:56And then is there another way I could keep doing this?
10:03So we thought of providing this full experience.
10:07And then when they are actually working on the product
10:11they kind of understand the process.
10:15Right now the workshops are catered to everyone
10:20who just wants this experience to make something.
10:25So that's why we came up with the workshops that we have
10:29which is making a rose and then also a copper bowl.
10:46How close you want the rose or how wide you want is up to you all.
11:03I feel quite proud that I managed to do it all the way until where I'm at
11:11differently as compared to what my parents were doing.
11:16But at the same time sometimes I feel I'm just 50% there.
11:22So I hope bareMetal could continue to grow
11:28and have more opportunities to showcase what we really can do.
11:41www.bareMetal.co.uk
Comments