How she does it: This woodworker spent $15,000 to make a career switch

A career switch can be terrifying — it’s disruptive and without guarantee of success. But Lyn Ng didn’t let the ifs and buts stop her when she found herself unfulfilled in a marketing job.

“I wasn’t feeling satisfied even though the campaigns I worked on were successful, so I decided to break out of the cycle to take on something I find challenging,” explains the 28-year-old.

It was a big leap of faith as she didn’t know what her next step would be when she quit her job — the only thing she was sure of was that she wanted to take a gap year to try something new. It didn’t take her long to figure things out, though.

“I decided to go to Taiwan because it’s a place where I always feel at home. And because I happened to be shifting into a new house, I was at a loss as to how to fix my own IKEA shelves, so the idea of picking up woodworking came to me.”

She then left to embark on a six-month course there. But much as her heart would become full, her bank account would soon be almost empty.

She had to jump through extra hoops to prove herself 

Lyn had $20,000 in savings when she left. On top of paying for her course fees, she spent $1,000 on rental and expenses every month, and to maximise her time there, also backpacked and attended various other craft workshops. She came back with only one-quarter of the sum remaining.

However, she considers every cent well-spent as the experience eventually led her to her passion for sustainable woodworking.

“When I returned, I secured an apprenticeship at a local carpentry studio that makes upcycled furniture. It was there that I learnt that numerous pieces of wood are forgotten about and wasted along the production line, and there that I realised I have a soft spot for things a mixture of the old and new. That was how I started wanting to create things out of discarded wood pieces,” she says.

Because she’s small in size compared to the industry standard, she knew that she was going to have extra challenges in making this transition. But she was ready to prove her mettle.

“I had a hard time convincing vendors that I can make the furniture for them during my apprenticeship. They’d ask me, ‘You can make this? Are you sure? You’re a girl!’ So once I declared that I’ll be doing this full-time, it was only natural that I started hearing comments from men in the industry that I wouldn’t be able to handle such heavy material.”

“I’d agreed with these comments, but I would also take the opportunity to highlight that woodworking requires attention to detail, which is my strength. Over time, they realised that I put in more effort to ensure better workmanship.”

There are grand plans for Studio MU YU

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It’s been three years since her trip to Taiwan and Lyn currently owns woodworking studio, Studio MU YU (@muyu.co). She makes sustainable products (they’re made from wood discarded by carpenters around Singapore) in the form of bags, jewellery and bespoke furniture and has also plans for a new venture.

“We’re looking at making installations for storefronts or as wedding backdrops that are meant to be reusable, so they’ll be available on a rental basis,” she shares.

But she doesn’t want to just advocate sustainability through her products—she also wants to do it by educating the public via a series of workshops.

“We want to conduct them so that people can experience upcycling a piece of wood the real way. This might help them appreciate the craft behind every furniture or clothing that they buy and can go a long way in cultivating a culture.”

“I now value quality artisanal products that have a strong ethos in sharing where the material is sourced. For many big brands, large amounts of waste are generated and nothing is done to ensure that the excess it put to good use. Not every brand is upfront about their production, so people should take note of those that are.”

Want to check out Studio MU YU’s range of products? They are available on its website and at Sift & Pick.

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And don’t be surprised if you one day come across the brand also as a marketing consultancy firm — Lyn intends help other makers within the community find the best ways to market themselves in the saturated environment with her previous work experience.

Thinking of making a career switch? She has very practical advice.

“Ask yourself if you’re ready to take a low salary for at least two years, and whether you see yourself doing this for at least the next five years. If you can, do your research and homework. I wish I had invested more time into honing my craft before I took the plunge, because now that it has become a business, I find it hard to find the time to work on improving my skills.”

This article was first published in CLEO Singapore.