We chat with Alan Barr, founder of boutique design firm greymatters
The man behind the branding and design of Tippling Club and its new private dining space Bin 38, and also The Lokal, shares with us his ethos as an interior designer, what has been keeping him busy, and a surprising twist in his future plan.
Alan, why did you choose to move to Singapore?
Singapore actually chose me. I sold my firm in New York back in 2009, and was taking a brief sabbatical when I received a call from a local recruiter about a firm that was looking to expand into hospitality design. Coincidentally, I was heading to Australia for a friend’s wedding the next day, so I stopped over in Singapore briefly on the way home. I didn’t have especially high hopes, but after 15 minutes with the CEO and one month later, I was living here. It all happened very quickly. And now I call it home.
Tell us more about your company.
Greymatters was born from several ideas. Obviously the name is tongue in cheek, but in reality it comes from the fact that life isn’t black and white. There are so many shades of grey that make every day on this crazy planet a new adventure. Hovering in the grey is my personal ethos and also a massive differentiator for the company. You can translate that metaphor into our design studio: we believe that there are many solutions to any single challenge, and we never recycle ideas.
What’s the story behind Bin 38’s look?
Bin 38 was always meant to extoll its own distinct character and style as a venue, and as such we came up with a unique design concept that is completely different to Tippling Club. While the downstairs décor is very eclectic, Bin 38’s design is much more debonair. Quite simply, we designed the restaurant to look and feel like the most luxurious custom-tailored suit or couture gown you’ve ever worn.
What are your thoughts on Singapore’s interior design scene?
Having grown up in New York – that bastion of architecture, interiors, design, fashion, arts, and music – I must admit to being a little spoilt and I worry that Singapore has begun to look far too homogenous. I think it’s a crime that interior designers recycle their work over and over again. Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely a lot of great local talents here – all fierce and worthy adversaries – but sadly there isn’t a lot of opportunities and space for world-class designers to flex their creative muscles.
What’s your specialty?
I have always gravitated towards hospitality-oriented spaces because the depth of detail is far greater than many other types of architecture and design. We spend a lot of time developing a complete brand identity for our projects – logos, printed and digital campaigns, uniforms, cutlery – the whole package really. We were even part of developing the name of Bin 38, our latest project with Chef Ryan Clift.
How do you approach a design brief?
Most designers are heavily influenced by trends, which go out of style quickly. Who can say what’s hot next season? Brown in is the new black. Blue is the new brown. Black is the new blue. Our eye is on another prize, so short-lived trends don’t really play out in our work. We tend to stay well clear, choosing instead to appropriate, for example, colours to each individual project, resulting in timeless designs that aren’t a fleeting fad.
Other than Bin 38, what has been keeping you busy?
We’ve been heavily focused on Singapore and Asia over the last couple of years. Besides Bin 38 at Tippling Club, we’ve also just completed The Lokal, the big-sister café to Sarnies, as well as Stacked, a burger joint in Koh Samui, Thailand. Looking forward, we’ve got 15 active projects on the go in ten countries spanning all the way from Sri Lanka to San Francisco. We’ve opened design studios in Bangkok and San Francisco as key extensions of our reach. Bali is exploding for us this year and we have just started our fifth project there. Two massive projects in Malaysia and two more in Indonesia have recently kicked off. On home turf we have another two F&B projects in the works, plus some interesting renovation work in a hotel on Orchard Road.
What can we expect to see from you in the coming months?
We’re getting ready to launch our own F&B project, which has long been a goal for me. After that who knows, perhaps a greymatters hotel. You’ll just have to watch the grey to find out.
Thanks, Alan!
Greymatters, #03-01, 75 Kim Yam Road, Singapore 239371, p. 9296 2447