Before Ray Tan Aik Leng (“Ah Long” or “Dragon” to his friends) became a master paper-cutter, he sold t-shirts at a boutique, did some woodworking, and got greasy at a mechanic’s shop. He saved up for years to open up a store of his own, but still didn’t have too much cash to spend on inventory. This little problem was solved the day he spotted some traditional Chinese paper-cuttings at the home of a friend. Besides being incredibly beautiful, they also made use of a relatively cheap material: paper. He threw himself into learning the art, and these days, cuts up to ten sheets at a time on a block of wax. Using only a knife, the process takes him between 10-20 hours for one design, depending on how intricate it is. In an age when paper-cuttings are usually machine-made, Ray is one of the few people still doing them by hand. Read Less