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Rattan furniture has seen a resurgence in recent years, with its calm natural tones picking up on the Japandi style interior. Its durability and lightness, along with the fact that it's resistant to water damage and rot, makes rattan furniture a must-have staple for many households. We visited the famed Chun Mee Lee Rattan Furniture in Bukit Merah to understand the future of this sunset trade.
Address: 122 Bukit Merah Lane 1, #01-68, Singapore 150122
Vivocity's Aesop utilises custom made rattan furniture.
Rattan furniture Singapore
Despite rattan’s significance in the regional furniture industry, traditional rattan is slowly becoming obsolete in Singapore. With few youths willing to devote their life to the challenging craft, locally weaved rattan furniture might soon go extinct.
Owner of Chun Mee Lee Rattan Furniture at work.
Last traditional rattan weavers
Chun Mee Lee is one of the two remaining traditional rattan stores in Singapore. However, unlike its peer Hak Sheng & Co., Chun Mee Lee currently has no successor.
"The shop will close once I retire," Chun Mee Lee's owner, Chen Foo Kee, said. That prompted me to ask if anyone has stepped up to learn the craft, to which he responded (in Mandarin), "There has, but I will not teach them. Young people see rattan as a hobby, or an interest. They aren't willing to dedicate their life to it, and learning how to weave takes years. They simply aren't prepared to commit, so I refuse to teach."
Chun Mee Lee Rattan Furniture Store
The store was started by Chen's father in 1948, right before Chen was born. Now 75 year's old, Chen has been weaving for 60 years, starting when he was just a student under the apprenticeship of his father.
He took over the shop when he was 19 in 1968, after the sudden death of his father, and has been working there ever since.
The iconic shell chair is one of the many distinctly Singaporean designs made of rattan.
Rattan Furniture History
In Singapore, rattan was most widely used for furniture from the 1960s to 1980s, and is also used for many other household items. Baskets, canes, and balls are the first few to come to mind, like in the traditional Malay game Sepak raga.
Mr Chen's experience was no different, and he said his business was the busiest in the 1970s. He had new orders coming in daily, and even international commissions that required him to ship his work across Asia and to Europe.
Growing international trends
Though rattan might seem like a local experience, pictured alongside kopitiams and old HDBs, many western countries import rattan and wicker furniture.
Rattan furniture has been exported to Europe from as early as the 1600s, though exports reached an all time high in the late 19th century, along with international trade.
Rattan furniture peaked in the UK in the 1970's, and after a couple decades of declining trendiness, it came back into style with a vengeance. In 2022, €825 million euros worth of rattan and woven furniture was imported into Europe.
Rattan Furniture Craftsman at work weaving a chair
Decline of rattan furniture
When rattan's trendiness faded in the 80s, Chun Mee Lee Rattan's Mr Chen had to come up with ways to keep his store alive. He began focusing on restoring old rattan furniture instead of making new ones, cleverly preserving his craft and livelihood.
We asked him what he likes most about his work, and what kept him going even after years and years of doing the same business. In response, he said it wasn't just about creating furniture, but the satisfaction that comes from fixing an old piece that means a lot to someone.
"Sometimes, it's more expensive to fix it than to buy a new one," he said. "But people pay for it anyway because it means more to them. Fixing those pieces and seeing their happiness is the most fulfilling thing about my job."
A modern black rattan screen.
Benefits of Rattan Furniture
Apart from the sheer aesthetic that rattan is able to provide, with its subdued tone and interesting texture, rattan has many additional benefits in terms of functionality.
Highly Durable
Rattan is known to be highly durable, hardly ever susceptible to warping or rotting, and is resistant to pests, water damage, and sun damage. This is due to the fact that rattan is flexible, and can bend without breaking.
Synthetic rattan is especially durable, and can survive any temperature and humidity, whilst natural rattan runs the risk of growing mold (which can be reduced by coating rattan furniture in marine varnish).
Customised rattan interior furnishings that ensure the rooms remains light and airy.
Low maintenance
Rattan may look less sturdy than wood, but don't let that fool you! Despite not being as heavy, rattan can easily last up to seven years (and if well taken care off, even longer) before needing a touch up or reparation, making its maintenance easy and convenient.
Do note that low maintenance doesn't mean no maintenance, but rattan is generally regarded easy to clean. Just mix a few drops of mild soap with water and gently wipe the surface of the furniture, ensuring that it doesn't get too wet.
Rattan furniture craftsman at work, weaving a rattan chair.
Comfortable and cooling
Perfectly suited for our hot and humid climate, rattan's weaved design is not only comfortable to sit on, but allows for better circulation of air and heat. Unlike other materials like wood or metal, rattan lets your skin breath when sitting down.
When I was speaking to a customer at Chun Mee Lee Rattan Furniture store (an old aunty who was very wary about the fact that we were there for an article), she mentioned that she has a few rattan pieces at home, and prefers them because she found rattan 'very cooling'.
Rattan table and chair set outside a home at the ground floor of a HDB block. Photo: Isabel Lim
Light and transportable
According to Mr Chen, many old people appreciate that rattan furniture is light - they can move their furniture with ease even with their depleted strength.
Being light also makes it an ideal outdoor furniture. Should you ever need to move your things indoor quickly to avoid an afternoon shower, it can be done by a single person.
A dying trade: Rattan furniture
Despite rattan weaving being a dying trade in Singapore, Mr Chen said that he is not worried for the continuation of rattan furniture. He is secure in the fact that other countries around Singapore will continue to practice and export the craft, and he understands that the rattan furniture business isn't something that most people would consider a viable full time job.
He is, however, concerned for the existing rattan furniture owners in Singapore, who will have nowhere to go to get their furniture fixed once all traditional shops close down. His business currently accommodates a large number of repair works, which he prefers and finds most meaningful to do.
Once he is retired, he fears that these furniture would miss the opportunity of receiving a second chance.