You got a new home, and you want it to be uniquely yours. Your hand reaches for a magazine for inspiration, when, out of the blue, SMACK!

“Stop that!” yells Carmen Tang, “That’s someone else’s idea! You do you!”

Carmen Tang is the founder of Wolf Woof and its design director. A highly spirited individual with a long and varied history being creative, from copywriting to graphic designing, she has no time for mediocrity – that just steals time away from the truly great work that she could be doing for her clients. Which explains why the company was nominated Top of the Class by Home & Décor for five consecutive years.

Why Wolf Woof? Because she’s just fierce enough to be a highly independent and creative while still being friendlier than a wolf bite. All bark and no bite if you will. Even then, we were cautious about approaching the wolf’s den for this interview.

Dog Café home

1. What was your humble beginning? What got you into interior design?

My story is a pretty bizarre one. I told myself I didn’t want just any 9-to-5 job and it had to be creative work. However, I graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Economics, because, y’know, parents. But after that, it became super clear that I wanted to venture into the world of advertising and branding. I’ve always liked the idea of working in a creative industry where, every day, you work on something different.

So that was exactly what I did – I dived into the first advertising agency that would have me. My first official position was pretty fluid because it was for a small local firm so I had to assume the dual roles of a marketing executive and copywriter. It wasn’t so bad though – it allowed me to see things from both the marketing and creative points of view. 

At this point, being an interior design was far-fetched notion for me. While I was interested in it, and religiously read Home & Décor, and even fantasized about being featured in it, but I didn’t have any relevant training – I had a major in Economics, not interior design. 

But here we are now, and you HAVE BEEN featured in their magazine – FIVE years in a row!

Right? I managed to make it happen! The funny thing is that usually it’s just me wanting to fight for my clients to get featured. These days, being featured in a magazine has lost a bit of its novelty, but I really want my clients to feel the thrill of it for themselves when their homes appear in one. It’s quite the opposite of life in advertising when you do most of the work for yourself, whereas in interior design I do it for others’ benefit.

Coming back to your origin story…

Yes, I later joined a broadcast company as a bilingual copywriter. I was later scouted to be the Creative Director of another local agency, subsequently joining another firm to lead a team of creatives in a similar role.

Ultimately, I set up my own agency with a business partner. However, it was then I would become disillusioned – that same partner eventually betrayed my trust. This is where I decided I was done with advertising – and finally to venture into something that had always interested me since my youth – INTERIOR DESIGN. 

Bear and Rabbit home

How has your ad background influenced your designs?

My ad background meant that my work has a very graphic design influence. Just like ads where key visuals drives ideas, every home I design needs its own key visual – an anchor object. To make it unique to each client, it’s usually something that isn’t off the rack, one-of-a-kind. They might be a polygonal rabbit for my animal-loving client or a pair of wings popping out a wall for a client who regards himself a fallen angel.

2. Who is or was your inspiration in interior design?

No one in particular (laughs). To be very honest, I have been put off by the stuff I see happening in the interior design industry; things like typical, run-of-the-mill designs such as the typical TV wall that differs only in colour, laminates used, etcetera (almost every house has one of those), and interior design firms selling their so-called ‘designs’ but are actually only templates. 

It was as if these IDs shoved lacklustre, templatised designs down clients’s throats without realising that they are living humans with different personalities, preferences, and lifestyles. I’ve seen so many copied ideas from Pinterest that I’ve started to wonder if it’s the end of our local interior design scene.

Hamptons

Has anyone accused you of being hard to impress?

Actually, I am difficult to impress. So, instead of waiting to be impressed, I’d rather just go ahead and impress myself (laughs). So I do things just to impress me. I’m not really the hero-worshipping kind of person (laughs). 

3. What would you say was your first real foray into interior design? 

It was an opportunity I chanced upon, and I seized it. This couple saw my loft-style home featured on TV and were intrigued by some of the decor accessories I had. They then contacted the host Belinda Lee about them. She, in turn, texted me to ask. I requested that they contact me directly so that Belinda didn’t have to be the middleman passing messages. I eventually got to know that this couple had bought a condo and I boldly asked if they were keen to let me try designing their place as a friendship price. The rest was history. 

Till this day, I am extremely grateful that they gave me that chance, considering I had no prior experience in interior design. That project continues to hold a special place in my heart.

You didn’t have any formal training. So how did you start on this project?

I just dove into it. I believed that whatever I needed to know about renovation, I could pick up along the way. What I had, and still have, was a strong sense of creation and a twisted mind (laughs). With this, I worked with contractors to figure out how to make things happen. Without a central design idea, anything I produce would be… sedated and predictable.

So I ended up asking a lot of stupid questions, not pretending to know anything, and learning as I go. 

Left : Photoshop, Right : Completed Project

What about 3D renders? Did you have to engage help to produce those?

I produce my own visuals, but I don’t show 3D renders to my clients. What happens is that when I engage 3D renderers, they reinterpret my concept art, and turn it into something completely different. Basically, these days, I don’t trust my designs in somebody else’s hands. 

Left : Photoshop, Right : Completed Project

So did you have to learn how to produce renders yourself?

Nope. I use Photoshop. It sounds simplistic but it gives me complete control over the work. It’s not like 3D renders that often seems all glossy and too perfect. Clients often complain that their homes end up looking very different from the renders. With Photoshop, I can go down into the specific details that no render can seem to reproduce.

The ‘Bruce Wayne’ house

4. Every artist has their proudest work. What would you say yours is?

Not to appear politically correct, but I am super proud of every of my works because they are all extremely varied in style. But if I really have to name one, that it will be the one where I transformed a one-bedroom condo into Bruce Wayne-like home, minus the Bat Mobile. That transformation was crazy drastic. I am very proud of how I turned the unit around.

It began with a client who engaged me when he saw the work I did for another. He basically asked for the same design. But I told him, “You’re so much more flamboyant, why would you want your home to look like his?” So I had a chat with him and eventually came back with some concept drawings.

His jaw literally dropped. Then he asked me to go ahead with no changes.

That was the best ever complement: a jaw drop and no changes.

The ‘Bruce Wayne’ house

5. What guides your work? What would you say your design philosophy is? 

My design philosophy is very much my own philosophy towards life – BE ANYTHING BUT MEDIOCRE. In general, mediocrity and herd mentality puts me off. I have major issues with cookie-cutter homes. My other design philosophy is – YOUR HOME, YOUR RULES… because no one can or should dictate how your home should look. You decide how your home should reflect who you are – it’s the designer’s job to ensure that the eventual idea is unique, exciting and befitting.  

What’s a day with you like for homeowners, from discovering their personality to translating it all into paper?

Essentially, I just meet with them to have an in-depth discussion about their likes and dislikes. Being Cancerian (the horoscope), I’m quite intuitive and this process helps me. I read my clients’ vibes through things they don’t tell me. Usually, I hit the nail on the head – most times, when I come back with the drawings, most love it. There might be some feedback, some alterations, then we start with the renovation. 

For the renovation, I’ll shortlist materials, furniture, and décor. I keep tight control over the type of materials used. Short of a major objection, most clients choose from my shortlist. It’s my way of making sure that the whole design remains cohesive. 

6. It is said that no idea ever comes from a vacuum. What inspires your work? Where do your ideas come from?

I can’t really explain where my ideas come from… you sure no idea ever comes from a vacuum? (laughs) I don’t follow many designers' works, local or overseas. I do that not because I am full of myself but because I don’t want to be exposed to other designers’ works till they subconsciously influence my design style. So yeah, I am trying to ensure the ideas I have are unique. 

I am a keen observer. I am also very aware of the environment around me. So, every day I am taking a lot in which in turns shape how I do my designs. Unlike many designers who just look at and research into interior design-related stuff, I look like a wide range of stuff, some of which may not have anything to do interior at all, but they may find their way into my ideas later.

One thing that drives me to produce better and better works is the clients’ reactions when I show them the proposals – the gasps, the smiles, the sparkles in their eyes… it’s PRICELESS. I also like that whatever I produce will be their homes… it’s something that’s close to their hearts and mine. Hence, I work hard to craft homes that will make their hearts skip a beat for a long time.

7. What is one advice you’d like to give up-and-coming interior designers?

It sounds ironic but my advice to up-and-coming interior designers is NOT TO THINK LIKE AN INTERIOR DESIGNER. When you think like one, you tend to be constrained by the ID’s way of doing things. Because I am not trained in interior design, I approach design in an out-of-the-box manner… which can produce works that have more visual interest and conceptual depth.

In general, I feel knowledge can be picked up, but creativity can’t. 

Posted on 31 March 2023

Kenny Tan, 

SIXiDES Editorial Team