I've never really been from one place. I grew up moving between Singapore, Malaysia, and wherever life took me next, which means I learned early that home isn't a location, it's something people build for each other.

The person who taught me that most was Mba Siti, my nanny and one of my favorite humans, who raised me from when I was very young. Years after she stopped working for us, we stayed close. When I finally visited her in Jakarta, something shifted in me permanently. I saw how she lived, really lived, and I knew that this was what I wanted to spend my life on; not upgrading people's spaces to look like something else, but going back to the roots.

That's the connecting narrative in everything I create. I believe design without deep listening is just decoration. I'm drawn to vernacular architecture, to the way communities build meaning into their materials and their thresholds. I want to work with people, not for them.

When I'm not designing I'm usually outside somewhere, shooting film, wandering a market, or writing things down before I forget them. I make people feel seen, my friends will tell you that, and I think that's actually the most important design skill I have.

I'm currently based wherever the next project is.