From wedding decor to Gardens by the Bay: Meet the self-taught artist behind giant flower installations

When Koh Pei Li created a hongbao box made of paper flowers for her wedding in 2014, her intention was to add a personal touch to the celebrations. Little did she know that, a decade later, her creations would be seen at local icons such as Gardens by the Bay and retail spaces across Singapore. 

After she styled her own wedding, Koh began doing the same for others as a side hustle to fuel her artistic passion. Then still holding a corporate job in chemical sales, she called her company 8Dec – her birth date, plus ‘Dec’ for decor, “so it fell into place perfectly”.

The Singaporean chemistry graduate left the corporate world in 2016 to focus on motherhood after her first daughter was born and worked on wedding styling projects when her baby was asleep. Her second daughter was born two years later.

Koh has always taught her kids art and, when the pandemic hit in 2020, she posted the craft projects and experiments (thanks to her chemistry background) she did with them on Instagram. She received requests from friends, asking if she had a DIY kit they could use or if she could teach their kids too.

So, when pandemic restrictions eased, she invited them to her home. Her first official hands-on craft class took place in December 2020.

In 2022, Koh changed her company name to PeiPer – wordplay on both her name and her chosen medium – and PeiPer Arts School was born.

“We had 30 to 40 kids every week and we felt we couldn’t continue at that pace from our home,” the 41-year-old recalled. “I saw the potential as there was so much passion and demand for it.”

Koh’s husband, Symond Lim, left his corporate job in procurement to work with her. The couple wanted to work together because of their complementary skills – Lim has an engineering background so numbers came naturally to him.

And while they both concur that Lim isn’t good at art, Koh said he has an eye for detail, so she always seeks his opinions on her creations.

“I appreciate beautiful objects, as you can see,” Lim quipped, looking lovingly at his wife.

COMMISSIONED INSTALLATIONS IN PUBLIC SPACES

Koh’s foray into paper flower installations began when Millenia Walk requested 30 flowers for their 2023 Chinese New Year decorations for their central atrium. She was in a transition phase then, from weddings to commission artworks.

“It was very meaningful as they wanted to rent flowers that were used for [my clients’] weddings to make the project sustainable,” Koh told CNA Women.

Even though she didn’t have to make any new flowers since these were already part of her rental catalogue, she confessed she was “excited but terrified at the same time” as it was her first time getting such a large-scale project.

“I was so honoured as it was in a public space, where people could admire my flowers,” she said.

Since then, Koh has created artwork for Paragon, Changi Chapel and Museum, Gardens by the Bay, Changi Airport, InterContinental Singapore, as well as for retail brands like Manolo Blahnik, Chopard, Cortina Watch, Pedro and Charles & Keith.

She’s particularly proud of two projects that “pushed my technical limits and taught me a lot about resilience”.

“The Carnival of Flowers installation for Gardens by the Bay in 2024 challenged every part of my craft and was the most demanding project of my 10-year career,” she said.

“My installation, 2880 Pleats, a Christmas tree for The Singapore Edition, was made from repurposed bedlinen,” she added. “It was challenging as I had to maintain a certain aesthetic, carrying through the look of the hotel, while using a recycled material.”

Koh cherishes projects where she works with horticulturists. “It was such a great honour to work with horticulturists and to have my larger-than-life plants in Gardens by the Bay, surrounded by real flowers,” she said.

“I was also asked by the horticulturist at Changi Airport to create a paper version of the Changi bougainvillea, as the real version doesn’t grow well in their offices because of a lack of sunlight.”

Real flowers are her main inspiration for every project and every flower begins as a true-to-life flower made with paper.

“Much like how an architect builds a scale model before constructing a building, I first design and sculpt all my flowers in paper before ‘blowing them up’ to a larger-than-life size, using materials such as aluminium, foam, organza, fur, sand and paper.”

One question she always asks clients is – what’s the story you want to tell behind the art piece you’re presenting?

For example, for a commission by the Asian Civilisations Museum – which sits on Cavenagh Bridge until October 2026 – she had to draw inspiration and pick out flowers from three artefacts in the museum.

“I read up on how the artworks were created,” she explained. “There was a lot of batik-inspired artwork so I tried to replicate the batik technique in the flowers. This is why the story behind the work is very important.”

While she also uses fabric, foam and aluminium in her artwork, paper is her “first love” and the material she uses most. “I use paper for smaller flowers but for outdoor installations, such as the one I did for Paragon, I used aluminium sheets as it’s soft enough to be shaped but is able to withstand the weather.”

GENERATIONS OF CREATIVITY

Koh cited her parents as a source of inspiration since she was a child. Her love of flowers stems from when her mother grew plants, vegetables and fruits along the family home’s corridor.

“Both my parents – now retired – are very creative but in a practical way,” she said. “My dad was a carpenter and he made furniture for our home – the sofa, bed frames, stools. We still have a lot of his furniture in my parents’ home.

“My mum was a seamstress and a homemaker, and sewed clothes for us. She’s also so good at making kueh – I’d join in and play with the dough, observing her. They never told me this was art but it influenced me when I was growing up.”

She is passing down this love for art to the next generation through her school. Kids aged between four and 12 learn crafting using raw materials and everyday items like carton boxes, with storytelling at the beginning of every lesson. Both her school and studio are at New Bahru.

The school runs close to 20 classes weekly – all taught in Mandarin. Koh comes from a Chinese-speaking family and believes in “the power of being effectively bilingual”. In fact, in their household, Koh speaks solely in Mandarin to their children, while Lim communicates with them in English.

Koh has already seen her two daughters, now 10 and seven, reap the benefits of exposure to creative hobbies.

“Art has helped my girls stay imaginative and expressive; they’re rarely bored at home because they’re always creating – making cards, writing little love notes, crafting objects for their imaginary play,” she said.

“In a world where artificial intelligence is everywhere, hands-on craft is more important than ever; it builds skills and instincts that technology can’t replicate.”

She has gained mental health benefits from art too: “Art has taught me a lot – resilience, mental strength. It toughens my mind and I get to deal with different materials and different sensory elements.

“I find it therapeutic, even when working under very stressful deadlines and doing repetitive tasks.”

SPREADING LOVE AND JOY THROUGH HER ART                                       

Working alongside your spouse can be tricky but the couple has learnt to navigate through issues.

“After a long day in the studio, I just want to go home and watch TV but then Symond starts business talk and I’ll say, please stop talking about work,” Koh laughed.

“I don’t think it ever stops but we’ve learnt to deal with it,” Lim said. “The great thing is that we’re not two artists or two business persons; I think that’s the secret ingredient to our success because we have very different strengths so we trust each other.”

PeiPer has upcoming projects for two private collectors and Cortina Watch, a returning client. There’s also a possible overseas project and PeiPer Arts School is looking for a second outlet, in eastern Singapore. 

For now, Koh hopes that people will enjoy looking at her work.

“Love and joy – and a moment of pause,” she said. “I love standing at the side to observe how audiences interact with my installations – the ‘wow’ expression, then breaking into a smile.”