Hans Sengalrayan is the last lampshade maker in Singapore. He has been plying his trade for more than 50 years.

The 80-year-old, who is of Indo-Dutch origins, has been making lampshades by hand since the 1960s and has no intentions of retiring anytime soon.

Born to an Indonesian father and Dutch mother, Hans fled to Singapore in the 1950s after Communist Javanese revolutionaries started killing Dutch “outsiders” after World War II.

Family business:​ After a stint as a clerk in an insurance firm, Hans took over the family trade and has run the ​Dutch Lampshade Shop ever since.

Business as usual:​ His shop in Tampines, heavily decorated with piles of lamps and trinkets amassed from over 50 years of being in the industry.

Anything is possible: ​His lampshades often vary in shapes and size, often to the desire of his customers. He says, “​Anything can be made into a lamp.”

Made entirely by hand:​ Metal frames stacked on top of shelves, ready to be used by Hans for his next meticulous handicraft.

No machinery:​ Weights being used to hold the lampshades as they adhere. Most of the steps are done by hand as pin point precision is required.

The employee:​ A spare lamp base that Hans uses to work on his other lamps, also the only lamp in his shop without a lampshade.

Helping hand:​ Hans’s wife Connie (lady in photo frame) also has a hand in the craft, helping stitch fabrics onto the lamp frame once it is done.

Lost craft: ​With no one willing to take over anytime soon, Hans carries on the dying trade, as the last Dutch Lampshade Maker in Singapore.

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