Telling Ocean Stories Through Ironwork — FeBazaar Design

FeBazaar Design — a name that radiates a distinct artisan-creative vibe — tells you at a glance that this is a team working in ironwork. Since their founding in the summer of 2017, and in barely half a year from the time of writing, they have already stirred up a small storm in Taiwan's diving community. Where the creative industry typically enters the market through flat-printed goods such as illustrations, T-shirts, and postcards, FeBazaar Design chose the comparatively more challenging medium of ironwork — and that choice alone was more than enough to pique the writer's curiosity.

The Birth of FeBazaar Design

FeBazaar Design is made up of four partners: Amber, who handles product design; Xiao Tong, who oversees business development and sales; Nick, who is responsible for product photography and brand image; and Nian Ya, who manages the ironwork production process. All four are divers, and while their individual diving experience and tank counts vary, each has been shaped by different encounters in the water. Take Nian Ya, who has the least diving experience — his first exposure was a try-dive in Cairns, Australia. The instructor, perhaps trying to cut costs, took four students at once and asked them to pair up and hold hands to avoid drifting apart. The result was that Nian Ya couldn't clear his mask properly, leaving him with an inexplicable fear of diving from the very start. Yet it was through diving that he met his current partner, Xiao Tong, and seeing her regularly share stunning underwater scenes from overseas and Kenting gradually led him to embrace the ocean once more. A similar love story unfolded for the other couple in the group, Amber and Nick — their shared passion for diving gave them far more to talk about in everyday life.

The four members each have their own relationship with diving. Those with longer experience are acutely aware of the dwindling fish populations in Taiwan's waters. Others have been troubled by the litter they encounter underwater, and have committed to reducing plastic use in their daily lives. Still others feel an inexplicable draw toward sunken wrecks and large marine creatures. These varied motivations keep them diving, and keep them moving forward on their individual life journeys. During the interview, all four independently gave the same answer when asked what brings them the most joy from diving: meeting new people along the way. Whether sharing the creatures they'd seen with their dive buddy after surfacing, or simply swapping life stories during a trip, the emotion doesn't come entirely from the dive itself — it comes from the people, moments, and things encountered along the way. Perhaps it is precisely this sentimental, romantic quality that brought these four partners together.

The birth of FeBazaar was equally dramatic. Nian Ya, who grew up with a family ironworks business, earned his Open Water Diver certification in Taiwan and then channelled his creativity into crafting a custom handmade dive pointer as a gift for his instructor. Not only did the instructor love it, but every diver around him was blown away. At that point, handling custom requests required design drawings before any production or prototyping could begin, so at a sports gathering one day, Nian Ya mentioned to the other three partners the challenges he was facing. As luck would have it, each of the four excelled in a different field, making a natural division of labour. They also instantly agreed on the idea that one-off customisation would price out too many potential customers, and that mass production was the way to lower costs — and FeBazaar Design was formed on the spot that very day.

Once the team was up and running, Amber put everyone's ideas into visual designs, which Nian Ya then used to lay out and produce the ironwork. They still remember the surge of emotion when the first design sample took physical form — but what they hadn't anticipated was the quiet arrival of a painful nightmare. When mass production began, the small scale meant many steps had to be done by hand. They had also positioned the product as a premium item, and while stainless steel polishing comes in options such as matte, mirror, and brushed finishes, they chose a high-gloss mirror polish for its superior feel. The special polishing process left the cutout sections of the products packed with residue, and in the early days the four of them would sit in meetings discussing business while simultaneously cleaning each pointer by hand — an extraordinarily labour-intensive process. They even had custom pouches made to store the finished ironwork pieces and prevent scratches. Fortunately, once production volumes stabilised in later stages, they were able to use an automated process to complete the final steps.

FeBazaar's first product was a dive pointer. From the very beginning of production, it was positioned as a premium item — distinguished from ordinary pointers by its desire to showcase a high-gloss, luxury finish. They even produced a dedicated instruction booklet to remind buyers how to use and store it, and for products used under normal conditions, they also offered re-polishing and rust-removal services, treating every piece that left the workshop as something precious.

The four partners' areas of expertise happen to complement each other perfectly. Amber, in charge of design, may sometimes hit a creative wall when inspiration runs dry. Nian Ya, handling production, faces the constant pressure of keeping up with schedules. Xiao Tong, managing business development, deals with the front-line demands of clients — the pressure there is easy to imagine. And Nick, balancing quality control with product photography, must keep a careful eye on every single item before it ships.

By the time of writing, the team had been together for exactly half a year — a journey of ups and downs. The pointer's relatively high price point, combined with the fact that many people hesitated to order without seeing the product in person, meant the initial launch generated plenty of buzz but disappointing sales. The team regrouped, worked out a sales strategy, and identified clear marketing targets. Xiao Tong, heading up business development, made the rounds visiting dive shops and gradually won them over with the physical product — and once those shops came on board as retail partners, it was a real shot in the arm for the team.

Taiwan's diving market is, after all, a niche one. But the founders of FeBazaar Design came together through diving, and it was through diving that they came to appreciate the importance of ocean issues. Going forward, they plan to incorporate ocean themes into home décor ironwork as their creative direction — pieces that everyday consumers can display in their homes, and which carry the potential to draw far more people's attention to the ocean issues that have long gone overlooked.

The team also hopes to go international in 2018. Unlike the typical corporate growth playbook, they are not targeting the rapidly expanding mainland China market first — instead, their eyes are on Japan. Their reasoning: Japanese consumers don't simply chase value for money; they are willing to pay a premium for products they genuinely believe in. That aligns perfectly with FeBazaar Design's core values. On the road to growing the business, FeBazaar Design holds firm to an uncompromising artisan's mindset — selecting only the finest raw materials, using top-tier polishing techniques regardless of cost, and minimising plastic in their packaging. All of this is in service of upholding the brand's core philosophy. With the future addition of ocean-themed home décor pieces, they hope that every ironwork piece sold will have the chance to share its own ocean story with more people around the world.

Related links:

• FeBazaar Design Facebook Page

• FeBazaar Design Shopee Store

• Regulator Introduction — Second Stage Regulator