After Aaron Arthur Foeste met his Singaporean wife in New York in 2003, he convinced her to move back to Singapore. “She was enthralled with the prospect of life in NYC,” he recalls. “But after I visited Singapore, I became hooked on the combination of big-city culture and a clean and green environment. It was a lot less expensive then, too.”
Previously, Foeste worked in the filmset construction industry and ran his own interior renovation business. Coming to Singapore, he set up Arthur Zaaro, a sustainable woodwork company, which repurposes Singapore wood, mainly Angsana, African Mahogany, and Raintree, into dining tables, coffee tables, and its highly popular cutting boards.
But an eco-friendly business doesn’t always make the most profit.
“We craft products from local hardwood that lasts forever and our cutting boards are refinished free of charge for life. Our customer is hooked on a product that never needs to be replaced. Steve Jobs would advise you not to invest in us.”
Singapore’s vast quantities of hardwood trees, often cut down to make way for housing or roads, provide Arthur Zaaro with a unique opportunity to upcycle the materials into top-quality cutting boards and furnishings, even though it takes a significant amount of time. “For example, in 2012, the Pan Island Expressway was widened in Bukit Timah. Hundreds of trees were cut. We bought several big ones, but could only begin making items from them in 2015 because it takes a few years to dry and process them properly,” he says.
To Foeste, it’s important that customers understand how Arthur Zaaro is produced sustainably, rather than how sustainability has become trendy. The products are all made locally using wood cut down due to extenuating circumstances. Rebuilding and repurposing this wood does not disrupt natural habitats.
Foeste adds that there is no packaging, minimal transport, and all revenue stays in Singapore. “While I’m not a fan of using sustainability as a marketing tactic because of its prevalence, we need to honestly and accurately promote how sustainable our items are, so consumers looking to support such businesses can find us.”
Despite producing items that last a lifetime, Arthur Zaaro has loyal fans who do indeed return. “Customers love our locally grown tables because the grain patterns and colours are so unique,” says Foeste.
“I also love it when a couple comes back to us and asks if we can swap shorter coffee table legs on the small dining table we sold them five years ago, and also sell them a new and larger dining table since they’re upgrading from their first BTO to a bigger space. It’s a great example of investing in a high-quality hardwood piece you can repurpose and have forever.”
Cutting boards made from a single slab of wood, protecting sharpened steel edges, are another popular product. “But customers weren’t using them,” says Foeste with a laugh.
“They thought the wood looked too nice to use. As a result, we offer lifetime free refinishing of boards and advise customers to do heavy cutting and chopping on one side only and use the unmarked side for serving at parties and Instagram photos.”
Right now, Foeste wants to focus more on the people who make these products as the understanding of sustainability and the value of local products grow.
“Imagine visitors coming to Singapore for our brands, rather than the foreign brands sold here. With our handcrafted hardwood items, we are trying to become one of those brands—and we’re doing it locally and sustainably,” he says.
Producer: Adora Wong
Art director: Ed Harland
Videographer: Alicia Chong
Photographers: Mun Kong & Cher Him
Photographer’s assistant: RJ Teo
Hair & makeup: Aung Apichai using Gucci Beauty & Kevin Murphy
Hair & makeup (Denica Riadini-Flesch): Dorcas using Dior, Nars, Milbon & Tigi Bed Head
