About us
The Workroom is the go-to outfit for your creative workshops and services. Other than studio classes, we accept wedding and art commissions, and are live-art-for-hire for your exclusive events. Book us now!
Our clientele:
Cartier, Chanel, Dior, FENDI, Piaget, Clarins, IWC Schaffhausen, L'Occitane, Estée Lauder, Ted Baker, SK-II, Google, Gocco, Stabilo, Starbucks, Nestlé, Sentosa Development Corporation, Gardens by the Bay, Esplanade, Singapore Art Museum, National Heritage Board, National Library Board, Alexander Health, Fusionopolis, Walton International, IRAS, KPMG, CHUBB, Kapok, mt masking tape, Marina Bay Link Mall, Women’s Weekly, Edit Lifestyle, Century Square Mall, BHG, People’s Association, Jean Danker (MediaCorp Artiste), Rachel Lim (Love, Bonito), ACS (Junior), Nan Hua Primary School, Nan Hua High School, Westwood Secondary School and more …
Students' reviews:
Read what our students say about us!
Features & Mentions:
Performance Motors (BMW), 27 Apr 2017
The Wedding Concepteur, 31 Aug 2016
Gallery First Light, 26 Apr 2016
The Bottoms Up Blog, 16 Aug 2014
Etincelle Creative Studio, 9 Feb 2013
Meet the team:
HEAD HONCHO
Ruth Tan started her crafting journey in her childhood years with beaded figurines, embroidery and typography. She now teaches rubber-stamp carving, bookbinding, modern calligraphy and brush lettering. Ruth has taught hundreds of students; she is most popularly signed up for her modern calligraphy workshops. She has had all her weekly classes sold out since the start of 2015, and has conducted private classes for Christian Dior, SK-II, KPMG, Sentosa Development Corporation and Stabilo. Since 2010, Ruth has also organised countless workshops and public events, including a series of master classes with rubber stamp artist Atsuko Hamano, and public exhibitions for Shinzi Katoh Design (Japan), and MT tape (Singapore). Other notable life-changing events include teaching singer artiste Fish Leong to craft with deco tapes, and being invited to teach calligraphy in Tokyo and Phuket. In Singapore, she has also worked with esteemed clients including Chanel, FENDI, Dior, Piaget, Clarins, Google, Nestlé, National Heritage Board and National Library Board.
THE MODERN CALLIGRAPHER & ILLUSTRATOR
Tang Jia Tat, better known as JT, has had a strong interest in art since young. He taught himself drawing and went on to study at The One Academy in Malaysia. He wasted no time at all and dived right into the creative industry upon graduation. Now based in Singapore, JT is an interactive developer by day and an illustrator and modern calligrapher by night. He picked up Modern Calligraphy in 2015, spurred on by his friends to join a class at The Workroom. With a strong background in art and typography, he not only learnt the ropes in double-time, but also began instructing at workshops, unravelling the mysteries of modern lettering to new batches of students. Ever eager to share his knowledge, JT also teaches illustration at the studio. He has written for Cartier and Starbucks.
THE FINE ARTIST
Desiree Tham is a fine artist with a passion for teaching. An art practitioner and educator since 2013, she is always curious about her art practice and to develop it through the process of art making. Desiree collates interesting fragments of her life through a visual journal and draws inspiration from people she interacts with, and her environment. As an artist, she has participated in various exhibitions such as "Disintegration" (2015), a group exhibition sponsored by NAC, "Perpetuity" (2014) and "Enroute" (2013). Desiree teaches the botanical painting and brush lettering, and is the ever capable in-charge of the day-to-day operations here.
THE WATERCOLOURIST & MODERN CALLIGRAPHER
Serene Wu started experimenting with modern calligraphy in 2014, and combines this with her talent in watercolour art. Her beautiful lettering and paintings grew popular through word of mouth from friends and family. She often designs and writes for wedding cards and makes artwork for clients' special occasions. She lives by Walt Disney's quote, "Whatever you do, do it well", and delights in blessing others with her creative works. Serene has written for MUJI Singapore and teaches both modern calligraphy as well as watercolour painting at the studio.
THE STAMP SPECIALIST
Kimberly Chen is a formally trained interior designer who spends most of her year travelling between Singapore and Melbourne for work. She discovered stamp carving in 2011 on Instagram and after attending a class at The Little Happyshop in 2012, she’s since dedicated many hours to improving her skills. Kim has made commissioned stamps for clients including Perth-based jewellery label Freckle & Co and Lululemon in Singapore. This self-confessed cat lover now teaches stamp-making at the studio.
THE PENMAN
Hoang is a full-time calligrapher based in Hanoi, Vietnam. Deeply inspired by his late grandfather, he learnt from calligrapher Margaret Shepherd and spends time studying texts and history. Despite his young age, he is recognised by the international community as a talented penman. He has written for luxury brands including Hermes and Gucci, and was selected as one of the 2016 scholarship awardees of the IAMPETH Annual Convention in Portland, US. Hoang teaches both the broad nib and the pointed pen, in Italic, Copperplate, Spencerian and Flourishing classes. His international teaching tour started in Singapore and Jakarta in 2015, and has since been invited to teach in the various cities in the US, Melbourne, Sydney, Brunei, Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Bangkok. Hoang is also a maker; he makes pen holders by hand and is constantly driven to improve his craftsmanship to place beautiful pens in the hands of new owners. Hoang visits Singapore once a year to conduct workshops that have drawn students from Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia and Brunei.