Designlump

Chifen Cheng is an explorer. Even while she held a job as an industrial designer, Chifen wanted to explore art and design. “I just want to be doing more. I want my ideas to come true," says Chifen, who opened her own design studio called Designlump in 2012. "Instead of designing for other people, I want to be able to make something from my own sketch. I started my studio mainly to explore my curiosity with different materials, different ideas and different constructions." Her studio is open by appointment only, but she does put most of her jewellery and home decor pieces in her online store.

She called it Designlump because of her desire to overcome design hurdles. That is the motivation behind her award-winning Focal Point Lamp, which has been featured in several design magazines. Her simple, minimalist designs can also be seen in her jewellery and kitchen décor items and have led to national recognition. “I made a name by doing shows,"she explains. "I did a design show in Toronto and my designs got people to talk about it more. That gave me feedback. Being in that environment really helped showcase my work and got more people to invite me to do other shows. It snowballed.” Soon, her online store was booming.