From rejecting Chinese art to championing it: A tale from Bras Basah Complex
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Mr Jack Chen attending to a customer while his mother Connie Soon looks on at Chen Soon Lee Book Stamp & Coin Centre at Bras Basah Complex.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
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SINGAPORE – Although Mr Jack Chen grew up surrounded by paintbrushes, ink and rice paper, he was never interested in Chinese art, let alone taking over his father’s retail business, Chen Soon Lee Book Stamp & Coin Centre, at Bras Basah Complex.
“I rejected Chinese cultural art because when I was younger, my peers didn’t know about these kinds of things, so it made me feel like I was the odd one out,” he said.
But when Mr Chen’s father died in 2013 from a heart attack, he decided to drop out of university in Australia, where he was studying, to help his mother run the family business.
“If I didn’t take over the business, all the 30 years of my parents’ hard work would have gone to waste. When my dad passed away, it triggered me to protect their legacy,” said Mr Chen, 38, who was then pursuing an electrical engineering degree at the University of Queensland in Brisbane with hopes of starting a life there.
After coming back to Singapore, he spent two years completing a degree in business management before running the business full time in 2015.
Mr Jack Chen’s niece Rainie Chen in front of piles of rice paper and paintbrushes. Mr Chen says the shop’s stock of rice paper and ink sticks from the 1980s are very profitable, as their quality increases with age.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
Without much experience, Mr Chen observed how his mother ran the business and accompanied her to factories in China and South Korea to learn how art materials, like paintbrushes, paper and ink, are produced.
Over time, Mr Chen also brought the business up to date with a digital inventory system as well as introduced online payment for customers.
“There’s no textbook to refer to, so I had to listen more, observe more and then feel more on my own, which is why it took a long time to gain all this experience.”
Chen Soon Lee Book Stamp & Coin Centre is one of the merchants taking part in 2023’s Heartlands Festival, which is an initiative to get people to spend more time and money in the heartland.
This year marks the third edition of the festival, and is themed “Celebrating the Community” as it seeks to connect multi-generational businesses with younger audiences.
Cash and prizes worth $9,988 are up for grabs in a lucky draw when a minimum of $10 is spent. The public can also win prizes by taking part in virtual quests and races.
Other merchants taking part in the Heartlands Festival from Bras Basah Complex include Wheniwasfour, a design studio and shop; All Things Hainanese, a traditional Hainanese kueh shop; and Gemstory, a crystal and wellness business.
Mr Chen introducing the art of Chinese calligraphy during a media tour on Nov 30, for this year’s Heartlands Festival, where a new mascot Hearty was revealed.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
Mr Chen’s mother, Madam Connie Soon, 71, said that although it is not easy for an older person to work with someone younger because of generational differences, their ability to respect each other’s perspective made it a meaningful partnership.
“We would communicate a lot because there may be things that I know that he does not, and things that he knows that I may not. But the younger generation will always be better because they are good with computers,” she said in Mandarin. She is happy with her son taking charge of the day-to-day operations, as she can now focus more on putting together a book to showcase the artworks, which include Chinese painting and sculptures she has collected over the years.
Mr Chen with his niece and mother at Chen Soon Lee Book Stamp & Coin Centre at Bras Basah Complex.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
Mr Chen grew to love Chinese art and culture so much that he took up Chinese ink painting two years ago, which he finds “fun and cool”.
“This keeps me going and in the future, I hope to hold a workshop to promote Chinese culture to a larger audience,” said Mr Chen, who is also planning to create YouTube videos to get more young audiences interested.
Mr Chen holding some of the Chinese ink paintings that he painted recently. The one on the left is Pokemon character Psyduck – his way of infusing traditional art with a modern twist.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
Heartlands Festival is organised by the Heartland Enterprise Centre Singapore and supported by the Federation of Merchants’ Associations Singapore, Enterprise Singapore, Housing Board and People’s Association.
The festival runs from Dec 1 to Jan 31, 2024 and the public can find out more information here.
