Parents and ceramics

As the year is coming to a close, I look back on this year and feel that I have not done much with it. More on that later. I mostly attributed it to the fact that I was turning 30 and had a hard time facing it. Then there was Steve's death. In the end I think a lot of it is because I miss home. Yes I am home sick, but I have been trying to avoid facing that since it isn't all that cheap to fly home. The thought of getting on that long 24hr journey with all the transits kills me.

These are some photos my sister took on her trip home to Kedah back in Nov of the factory my parents worked so hard for. I used to be somewhat ashamed to say what my parents did for a living, when people hear ceramics all they think of is "Oh pottery, so lots of vase and pottery wheel right?". Not at all, it is actually sanitaryware, your wash basins and toilet bowls and squatting pans. The kilns, quartz, and mixers. All these terms that I grew up with.  There is nothing dirty or shameful about it, and hey everyone needs them in their homes! But of course hanging out with classmates with large houses and parents who were either tai-tais or some white collar professions, how do you say "oh we do sanitaryware!" 

That was me, silly and immature me. So as a part of the story of what makes me who I am today, I should come to terms with what made me who I am today and look forward.

This year my parents made the decision to shut the factory down . After over thirty years in this business, they are calling it quits and I am supportive of their decision. This is hard work, all day in the sun, the dust and chemicals, not to mention hard labor to load all these products onto the lorries. My mom was the supervisor and do it all, from part of accounting to taking orders to overseeing the workers- local and Vietnamese. She is a fighter and knows that if she have to go to Singapore where it might be very difficult to find a job, she has already decided in the worse case scenario she would work in the factory. It breaks my heart to hear that and makes me feel frustrated that I cannot support my parents yet. Papa was the brains and occasionally came up with new designs. He actually learnt how to use the some software on his own to come up with the designs of moulds for the products. This was what supported our family, and allowed me to be in Singapore since I was seven. Sometimes I am envious of my cousins who had it all so easy, if they wanted a car they get one, if they need a house, here are the keys. But this has to stop. I don't want to die unhappy and envious just because my parents didn't or couldn't get me a brand new car. Anyway as I was saying, my parents are now trying to sell the factory, including the piece of land it sits on which belong to my great-grandfather way back (but after my grandpa passed away my uncles chipped in to buy the plot of land). Anyone interested? :)

The front of the factory, with most clutter removed and looking empty

The three kilns were really expensive and have been put to hard work. They probably will never fire up again. When you swing the door open, you can literally walk into them. We used to joke that our dog Speed and Monkey would become hotdogs in these. It takes almost a day to monitor the firing and you had to know where are the best spots for each item.

These squatting pans will never see the fire again.

And yes, the multicolored toilet bowls. Imagine picking these up to load onto the lorries, or worse, dropping one onto your toes.

Who knows what 2011 might bring for the fate of the factory, and for my parents! They continue to amaze me by competing in their first 10km run in Nov, all in 70 minutes or so! It proves to me that no one is ever too old to do something new. Here is an old photo of three of us at Bukit Timah Hill Quarry the last time I was home in June 2008, their first hike up the hill and I was the one trailing behind! :)