From HDB flats to Peranakan tiles: How Onlewo brings Singapore heritage to life
Singaporean designer Mike Tay founded the studio Onlewo to transform local cultural icons and architectural heritage into contemporary prints for homeware and fashion. His work aims to evoke nostalgia and spark conversations about Singaporean identity through intricate graphic patterns.
Why it matters
The brand highlights the intersection of traditional heritage and modern design, reflecting a growing trend in preserving local culture through commercial creative arts.
Discover how Onlewo transforms Singapore's architecture, culture and everyday icons into contemporary prints that celebrate heritage with style.
Inspired by everyday sights, from HDB blocks to Peranakan tiles, print designer Mike Tay's signature prints weave nostalgia, storytelling and craftsmanship into homeware, fashion and gifts. (Photos: Onlewo; art: CNA/Chern Ling)
From a distance, Mike Tay's prints appear as elegant graphic patterns. Look closer, however, and they reveal familiar Singaporean stories through intricate details – Peranakan tiles, the Vanda Miss Joaquim, HDB facades, and iconic landmarks woven into sophisticated designs.
Everything can be transformed into a pattern, said the print designer and creative force behind Onlewo, a Singapore design studio that transforms local heritage into contemporary keepsakes through homeware, fashion and gifts.
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