The joss stick guy...

...or the cinnamon man.

That's what everyone refers to him as.  And, I visited him with a friend from work and a friend from church.

A Dying Art:

From a generic garage in a generic industrial park there is a shop (Tay Guan Heng Industries, PTE) owned and run by three brothers, but started three generations and 80+ years ago.  This will possibly be the last generation for this family business as it is simply not profitable enough.  I have read in one place that there are two other businesses, but I don't know who visits them or where they are located.  I have also read that it is possible he is the last one.

Temple joss sticks were the beginning of the business.  It now caters these to the Buddhist and Taoist population.  Amos Tay, one of the brothers, explained that when a joss stick is burnt in a temple, it acts rather like a modern day mobile phone, transporting a person's whispered wishes up to the ears of the gods.  Smoke smoldering from temples has declined because Singapore had created air pollution restrictions.  Therefore, business declined.

This company sources its incense powder from the native wild cinnamon tree which is so widespread in southeast Asia.  The wood is ground to a powder and the finest particles are used for the figurines while the coarser particles are reserved for the sticks, as they let in more oxygen and prolong the burning capabilities.  The powder is mixed with water to make a clay-like pasted.  It is then rolled out, molded into the desired shape, and then carved.  The sticks need to dry out fully, which can take as long as two months.

The brothers will make almost anything that is physically possible (can you find Pinocchio?).  When the store was based in Little India, the father of the brothers, diversified into making figurines for expatriates.  They have expanded into nativities and gingerbread houses as well...popular expatriate purchases, made mostly by word-of-mouth.

I purchased a nativity, a gingerbread house and some ornaments.  The ornaments were 3 for SG$10, 7-8 inch tall gingerbread (small one) SG$98, and the smallest nativity to still have the pillars, maybe 12 inches tall, SG$119.  (At the current going rate, I take 20% of the price and subtract that from the price, that'll give me the American amount, roughly.)  Any item can also be personalized.  I chose what Chinese symbols I wanted on my nativity (love, joy, peace, hope) and had our last name, wedding year and the kids initials carved into, and white "icing" placed atop, the gingerbread house.  Unforgettable trip and items, uniquely Singaporean, and most certainly a dying art.

*Much of what I learned was written in an article sometime ago, printed somewhere, but the writer was Jenny de Montfort.  A copy of the article she wrote was handed to us with our purchase.  She also wrote an interesting section about traditional Chinese women and the Kitchen God.  I may have to request one when I go back to pick up my purchases in March?