Bukit Batok Leather Crafting Workshop From S$40: Maketh

Maketh Project's leather crafting workshop has moved to the seventh floor of Wcega Tower, 21 Bukit Batok Crescent #07-83, Singapore 658065, so older listings for its town studios are out of date. Workshops run daily between 12pm and 9pm, and prices start at S$40 for a Tab Coin Pouch that takes 2 hours 30 minutes. Every slot is request-to-book: you pick a time online, wait for an email approval, and the seat is only yours once payment goes through.

Maketh Project was started in 2014 and is fronted by Adlina and Netty, whom the studio's own page calls a duo of enthusiastic leather crafters. The pair set it up as a platform for sharing leather crafting with both avid and novice makers, and they put leather stamping at the centre of every class so each piece carries the maker's name or initials.

Corporate work is a big part of the business. The studio says it has catered to over 2000 staff across more than 200 corporate workshops, and it also takes leather craft booths to weekend fairs and weddings, where guests try simple pieces and leather marbling. The public classes are the small, everyday end of that operation, which is why the menu is so long and the prices so precise.

The booking page lists dozens of projects with fixed prices and durations. At the short end are the Tab Coin Pouch at S$40 and the Cardholder w/ Key Band at S$45, each taking 2 hours 30 minutes. The cardholder is 10cm by 6.5cm with two slots and an elastic band that keeps a set of keys in place, and the session covers cutting, sewing and finishing plus name stamping.

Wallets sit in the middle: a Foldover Small Wallet at S$70 for 3 hours 30 minutes, a 4 Cards Bifold Wallet at S$76 for 4 hours, and the classic Bifold Wallet at S$92 for 6 hours. Bags carry the biggest numbers, with a Crossbody Saddle Bag at S$160 for 5 hours 30 minutes and a Shopper Bag at S$180. The Phone Sling Bag at S$90 for 5 hours is the cheapest route to something you can wear.

Our honest advice is to skip the six-hour wallets on a first visit. A Bifold Wallet at S$92 sounds like good value, but six hours on a stool is a long afternoon for hands that have never pulled a saddle stitch. The S$45 cardholder with key band gives you all the core techniques in under three hours and a piece you will use every day.

Couples and friends who want a shared project should look at matching pieces rather than one big bag. Two Pocket Coin Pouches or two Key Pouches, both 2-hour sessions, finish at the same time, so nobody sits waiting while the other person burnishes edges. Leather colour choices are offered during the session itself, so you do not need to decide in advance.

The booking process trips people up. Choosing a date and time on the calendar is only a request. According to the service pages, a slot is approved only when you receive an email confirmation from the studio, and the booking is confirmed only once payment is received. Book at least several days ahead for weekends, and do not plan a birthday surprise around a slot you have not yet had confirmed.

Cancellation is simple but strict on timing: to cancel or reschedule, you must email create@makethproject.com three days before your booking. There is no published phone number, so email is the only channel. If your request is not approved in time, Hides and Thread in Kallang runs a Basic 101 Workshop for S$60 on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons, and is the closest like-for-like backup.

Wcega Tower is an industrial building on Bukit Batok Crescent, in the light-industrial belt south of Bukit Batok town, rather than a shopping mall, so plan the last stretch. By OneMap's coordinates the tower is roughly 1.7 km from Bukit Batok MRT station on the North-South Line and about 2 km from Jurong East MRT. A short taxi or ride-hail from either station is the easiest way to arrive on time.

Take the lift to level 7 and look for unit #07-83. Evening slots are useful here: because classes run until 9pm, you can come straight from work in the west and still fit in a 2-hour pouch. Bring a light jacket, since industrial building corridors can be warm at noon and air-conditioned studios cool once you sit still.

Bukit Batok Nature Park lies about 1.5 km north of the tower and is the obvious pairing for a morning walk before a midday class. The park was shaped around an old granite quarry, and its quarry pond and forest trails feel far from the factory blocks you just left. Bring water and go before the afternoon heat.

Further north, Bukit Batok Town Park, known locally as Little Guilin for its granite outcrop rising from a lake, is about 2.3 km from the studio and makes a good sunset stop after an early class. Both parks are free. In a downpour, skip the trails and wait out the rain in Bukit Batok town centre, next to the MRT station.

Address: Maketh Project, Wcega Tower, 21 Bukit Batok Crescent #07-83, Singapore 658065. Workshop hours: daily between 12pm and 9pm, by approved request only. Prices: Tab Coin Pouch S$40; Cardholder w/ Key Band S$45; Foldover Small Wallet S$70; Bifold Wallet S$92; Phone Sling Bag S$90; Crossbody Saddle Bag S$160; Shopper Bag S$180. Contact: create@makethproject.com. No phone number is published.

Cancellations or reschedules must reach the studio by email three days before the booking. Name or initial stamping is included. The Karpo APP can map a route from Bukit Batok MRT and suggest a hawker centre dinner in Bukit Batok town after an evening class.