Bynd Artisan

Bynd Artisan was founded in October 2014 by Winnie Chan and James Quan, but its roots go back to 1942, when Chan's grandfather, Chan Koon Song, opened a small bindery workshop in Singapore. That business grew into the Goy Liang Book-Making Company, based at a Mohamed Sultan Road shophouse from 1947, and Winnie Chan joined the family trade as its third generation in 1994.

Chan and Quan began developing a new retail concept in 2012 and opened Bynd Artisan's first atelier two years later -- inside the Chan family's own factory in Boon Lay, after the founders were unable to secure retail space in a mall. The brand's flagship atelier followed at Holland Village in 2015, and the concept expanded to five Singapore stores by 2020, offering personalized and monogrammed notebooks, leather goods, travel accessories and bookbinding workshops built around traditional hand-binding techniques.

The brand has since collected local recognition, including the President's Design Award's Design of the Year in 2016 and the Singapore Tourism Board's "Best Shopping Experience" award in 2017, and in 2022 launched reBynd, an eco-conscious offshoot. Chan and Quan were also named Singapore Tourism Board 'Passion Made Possible' ambassadors in 2019.