Bynd Artisan and Sunday Folks open new experience store at ION Orchard
Both a shopping experience and a cafe, this new concept store at ION celebrates the strong bond between two popular home-grown brands.
By Home & Decor Team -
To some, it’s a buzzing new concept store where you can shop for artisanal leather goods and enjoy desserts at the same time. But those who are fans of local brands Bynd Artisan and Sunday Folks know the full story – that beneath the polished sheen and glamour of their new store in ION Orchard is a beautiful story of friendship that goes back years.
In 2015, they opened stores next to each other in the trendy Chip Bee Gardens. On getting to know each other, the founders – Bynd Artisan’s James Quan and wife Winnie Chan, who specialise in leather and paper goods, and Sunday Folks' co-founders Khoh Wan Chin, Victor Lim and Audrey Wang, who had started Creamier first in 2011 – realised that their vision and brand values were similar.
Collaborations and business trips together followed, and today their new store at ION stands testament to the strength of their friendship. Part display, part workshop space, part café, the store offers an immersive experience that engages the senses.
The founders engaged Dennis Cheok, the founder and creative director of award-winning design studio UPSTRS_, to design the store. For a contemporary but relaxed vibe, he used an earthy palette of neutral shades and curved island counters, set off with subtle terrazzo flooring and a copper feature wall. An undulating counter runs along the length of the store, with half serving as the crafting area for Bynd Artisan and the other as a café counter for Sunday Folks.
Visitors coming in to browse will find Bynd Artisan’s usual range of stationery alongside lifestyle accessories such as wine carriers, desk goods, even hand sanitiser holders and bag charms that can conceal a TraceTogether token. The brand also has several products that celebrate collaborations with local artists and small businesses, including calligrapher Letter J Supply and design studio Olivia Lee.
Those looking for gifts will be able to put together a custom notebook by selecting a cover, wire binding and paper from a wide range of materials, then taking it over to the Bynd Artisan counter for binding and personalisation by their craftsmen. The space offers workshops, too, including leather accessory crafting by their own staff and leather painting by marquage artist Cherin Sim. There’s even a Gratitude Corner with an Instagrammable photo wall and a space for visitors to write down what they are grateful for, sharing it with the community.
If you're craving dessert, head to Sunday Folks at the back of the store, take a seat and enjoy delicious treats exclusive to the ION outlet. These include crowd favourites like the seductive and luscious Rich Cognac Chocolate Ganache Cake and Lemon Lavender Cake, plus ice cream cakes that incorporate some of the bestselling flavours from sister brand Creamier. Our favourite? Their Ispahan cake, which is made with the popular Raspberry Love flavour. You can also purchase pints of the ice cream to take home.
Here and there, you will notice collaborations between the two brands, too. The cafe’s coasters are by Bynd Artisan, which also provided the leather for the stools. “I feel like we’re now in the right space. This is Bynd 2.0,” says Winnie Chan, of Bynd Artisan. “I’m home.”
The Bynd Artisan + Sunday Folks store is at ION Orchard #04-11. For more information, please visit www.byndartisan.com and www.sundayfolks.com.