Over at Say Tian Hng Buddha Shop, where the main business is the handcrafting of Buddhist and Taoist deity statues, it has to compete with mass market, machine-made statues sold at cheaper prices.
Instead of seeing it as a direct threat, the family has turned it into an opportunity, since the cheaper, mass-produced idols cannot be returned to the factories for any restoration works should they get damaged.
Restoration works for such statues now make up about half of its business, while handcrafting commissioned work accounts for the other half.
Mr Ng said that after the shop revamped its website about three years ago, it began receiving orders from overseas as well, as far as the United States, Europe and South America, from devotees or collectors who appreciate craftsmanship.
“It’s a small trickle, just a handful, but it’s still interesting and has potential” he said, adding that this would open up his business to a potential market “multiple fold” in size compared to its current core customers of households and temples in Singapore.
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS
For businesses that are handed down across generations, maintaining relationships and building upon them is yet another way to keep the legacy alive.
At Cathay Photo, the third-generation owners do this by continuing the spirit of giving, which their grandfather and shop founder Toh Mun Peng had initiated by granting bursaries and scholarships to a few tertiary students in Singapore every year.
It started with students from Nanyang Technological University in 2011 and later on with the Lasalle College of the Arts.
Cathay Photo also organises workshops and puts out educational content across its social media channels.
“All these are our ways to support the education of the next generation of photographers and photography enthusiasts out there,” Ms Charmaine Toh said. “It is the building of a long-term relationship.”
WHEN HERITAGE MEETS THE SUNSET
In the old days, the Kampong Glam area was the hub for Muslim pilgrims from neighbouring countries to gather, before boarding ships to Mecca in Saudi Arabia to perform their haj, a sacred obligation for able Muslims who have the means to go on this pilgrimage.
Fittingly, Halijah Travels, also recognised under the SG Heritage Business Scheme, is located in the heritage area today in a conserved shophouse.
However, its general manager Haffidz Abdul Hamid observed that things are vastly different today, with the pilgrimage and travel industry here slowly but surely shrinking.