Tropicana Magazine May-Jun 2018 #118: Winner Takes All
Issue.#118 (Winner Takes All) Nu Infinity shares their origin stories on forming their own dream team. A guide to exotic Istanbul, Major golf tournaments and more.
Issue.#118 (Winner Takes All) Nu Infinity shares their origin stories on forming their own dream team. A guide to exotic Istanbul, Major golf tournaments and more.
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NICK FONG, ALEX LEE AND LESLIE CHENG<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY BRIAN FANG, M8 STUDIO<br />
TEXT SHARMINI M.RETHINASAMY<br />
ART DIRECTION SHIRLEY CHIA<br />
STYLIST BOSCO LIM<br />
MAKE UP JOEY YAP<br />
HAIR ANGELINE LOW<br />
“We didn’t work by the book<br />
– if wood cannot bend, we<br />
would want to bend it; if<br />
bricks can’t be flexible,<br />
we would want it to be<br />
flexible.”<br />
“Alex was adamant about building portfolios, about selling<br />
ideas, designs and charging for it,” adds Nick. “ Back then people<br />
were still new to this concept and felt that interior design work<br />
should be pro bono. We started off by charging for every job that<br />
came and began to build our portfolio. We are quite a progressive<br />
team.”<br />
“ We didn’t want to be a fly-by-night kind of company,”<br />
divulges Alex of the early days. “ We didn’t want to do one big<br />
project and call it quits by the end of it. Because we didn’t grow<br />
up with each other or went to college together, and we were mere<br />
acquaintances who shared similar interests, we spent the first six<br />
months sizing each other up to see if this business partnership was<br />
a good one. Furthermore, I am about four years older than [Nick].”<br />
“ When we saw an opportunity to do this, and after having<br />
started it, I realised that the business part of it was really<br />
something I wanted to get into,” adds Nick. “Architecture has<br />
taught me how to multitask and touch base on various aspects as<br />
its subject matter has a very wide scope.”<br />
PROGRESS IN DIVERSITY<br />
Today, Nu Infinity is inspiring others who are interested in the<br />
field of interior design by accepting invitations from various<br />
universities and colleges to give talks and present the reality<br />
behind their work.<br />
“ This is to ensure that the industry gets a good crop of<br />
graduating designers and the interior design companies reap the<br />
benefit of good talent,” explains Nick. “ Some of these students<br />
later join us as interns, and the talks we have given actually preempts<br />
them for what they can expect and it breaks down initial<br />
barriers between the company and the staff.”<br />
“ We are all on the same page, which is important. It’s the<br />
vibe that they feel within these walls that translate into good<br />
work. The same vibe is then translated into their presentations<br />
to clients. That’s essential for us to portray ourselves as serious<br />
players in the industry.”<br />
“ We engage in a lot of teambuilding exercises to ensure our<br />
staff are happy, and in turn happiness and unity translates into<br />
good work.”<br />
These days, eight years after its inception, Nu Infinity has in<br />
their portfolio at least 50 projects to work on annually. Given<br />
the amount of work at hand, the trio maintains a good and calm<br />
chemistry to ensure work is undertaken and carried out in a<br />
professional manner.<br />
Yet, how do they keep this chemistry in check?<br />
“ I am the careful one,” laughs Nick. “ He [Leslie] is the wise one.<br />
Alex, well, he goes crazy so we have to rein him in from time to time.<br />
If ever there’s a tense moment between us, Leslie is the mediator,<br />
whose level headedness and calmness helps diffuse any situation!”<br />
29 MAY/JUNE <strong>2018</strong> | TM