When Matthias joined the family's metal fabrication business in 2018, he experienced first-hand the struggles of the industry. He led the rebranding of the business, using social media to showcase their craft and traditional techniques. Through workshops and unique designs, Matthias aims to bridge the gap between heritage and modernity.
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CreativityTranscript
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