Home-grown furniture company Castlery had designed all its products in-house since it started four years ago, but has now branched out to work with international designers.
Earlier this month, it launched Castlery Feat, a series by five designers and a design studio from outside Singapore. They are James Harrison, 34, and Phil Procter, 29, from Britain; Australian Charles Wilson, 50; Italian Paolo Cappello, 37; Krystian Kowalski, 35, from Poland; and Spanish duo Clara del Portillo and Alex Selma, both 37, from Yonoh, a multi-disciplinary creative studio.
These designers come with strong credentials, having worked with big brands and won major awards.
For example, Kowalski, whose practice is in Warsaw, has collaborated with Swedish furniture giant Ikea, while Harrison has designed for well-known furniture companies such as Habitat and CB2.
The Castlery Feat project started about 18 months ago when the furniture company's founders Declan Ee and Fred Ji went in search of collaborators.
Mr Ee, 35, says: "We thought why not do something different since we have designed in-house so far.
"We wanted to see how these international designers would bring different perspectives with creations that would fit in a Singapore home."
Castlery Feat's product range includes tables, couches, consoles, shelving and chairs. Prices range from $249 for a wall cabinet to $1,599 for a three-seater sofa.
All the products in the series are available now except for Wilson's and Harrison's designs, which are slated to be on sale by July.
Each designer's pieces show off his distinct style. For instance, Procter's six-piece Veil Collection features a bookcase, cabinets and a television console in muted colours and sliding doors made with fabric.
Cappello, who was named the 2012 Elle Decor Young Designer Talent Italy, used solid ash wood and soft curves - mainstays of his Strato Collection - in his benches, a dining table and a television stand.
Plush sofas and armchairs are the highlights of Yonoh's four-piece Bambu Collection.
Inspired by how bamboo and rattan furniture are made, the designers made pieces with wooden side rails and legs that are crafted using a complex technique called solid wood steam bending.
Some of the designers were in Singapore for the launch of Castlery Feat at the brand's Alexandra Road showroom.
Working with Castlery was a leap of faith, say the designers, as they were unfamiliar with the brand, which produces modern and trendy furniture. But they appreciated the company's vision for the project, which was to have good designs at affordable prices.
Yonoh's del Portillo says: "The collaboration was great. Even if it's a young company that we didn't know much about, we were excited about Castlery's passion."
It has been only three weeks since Castlery Feat was launched, but Mr Ee says there has been "great response" to the series.
Already, the Castlery team is working on another collection with international designers.
Mr Ee says: "The plan is to increase the breadth of the collection with more new designers or evolve current pieces with new materials or limited-edition colours."
