Irman Hilmi is a familiar name in the cooler side of things in Kuala Lumpur. Besides being known as a talented art director at both Freeform and advertising agency Dentsu, he has also been active in the music scene from being a part of Space Bar, Damage Digital, KLHPQ and recently started his own regular Friday night called #swank, as well as being known for his exciting approach in making the urban scene exciting. Recently he opened up Grafa Design in Subang Jaya, which is a design studio, bicycle shop and café all rolled into one. We took some time out to talk to Irman about Grafa Design.

As a small company it would be suicidal to just be stubborn and stick to idealistic

ideas of what a business could be.

What triggered you to start Grafa Design?
It was basically the desire to start something on my own, to work under my own rules and terms, and the fact that if I didn’t start anything back then, then I wouldn’t have started anything at all.

What sets Grafa Design different from the rest?
In a way we’re 3 businesses in one. Initially started as a design studio, but I didn’t want my office space to be a boring workspace, so I toyed with the idea of integrating a fixed gear bicycle shop and a bicycle-themed café, which eventually became what Grafa is all about.

How long did it take you to start up Grafa Design?
Started with the domain registration in April 2010, and we had a shop up and running by September 2010. Looking for funding took around 3 months, and construction and renovation plus first inventory intake took around 2 months.

What were your strategies for Grafa Design?
At this point the strategy is just to remain relevant. As a small company it would be suicidal to just be stubborn and stick to idealistic ideas of what a business could be. I guess we’re just adapting through consumer trends and its changes, but of course implementing our own ideas in aesthetics and standard of quality. I guess this applies to all three aspects of the business, whether it’s branding design, bicycles or café food.

How do you think the business will fit into the minds of Malaysians?
We are currently still the only ones with this business concept, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. That’s our niche, and that’s how we’ve generally been perceived as, initiators and market leaders.

How has the response for Grafa Design been since its opening?
Response has been great, both from the public and the media. We basically lost count of the interviews we made promoting the business and cycling in general.

What are your roles in Grafa Design?
There’s 3 partners in Grafa, myself, Fadli Hj Rosli and Halyza Halim. I’m basically in charge of the design aspect and the bicycle shop part, Fadli is in charge of the bicycle shop and Halyza runs the café. She also signs our cheques so we’re really really nice to her.

Who do you consider a role model for your business?
As a brand I guess we really look up to Kinfolk, a bicycle company with a café /lounge in Tokyo and a design studio in NYC. They really took design and aesthetics within the cycling lifestyle sense to a new level. Another inspiration would be Cadence based in San Francisco, which basically produces cycling-related apparels. Their positioning and branding strength is what inspired us. Look Mum No Hands, a bicycle-concept café and bar in London is also a huge inspiration.

What are the perks of your job?
I am my boss, so whatever action I take, I’ll be answerable to myself. I guess there’s no better perks than that.

What is it like in a day of work for you?
Me and my other two partners take turns opening the shop/office, and we’ve been doing that since day one. We give a lot of advice to customers who wants to purchase their own bikes, and we do a lot of bike maintenance, setups and so on. On a busy day I’d run from between the laptop while designing a t-shirt to building a bicycle wheel to brainstorming with clients on their branding objectives.

What are your ultimate goals for Grafa Design?
As a brand I want Grafa to go global. Regardless of the product that we create and produce, if our customers equate the brand with quality, tastefulness and relevance I’d be more than happy.

What else can we expect from Grafa Design for the rest of 2012?
We’re working on a few international product collaborations, so expect Grafa to go places where we’ve never been before. International competition is stiff, but I guess that is what separates the men from the boys. Also we’ll be doing quite a few events nationwide to promote fixed-gear cycling, and we’re currently filling up our plans for 2012 with a lot of events and parties.

Find out more about about Grafa Design at www.grafa-design.com.

Posted in Retail.