Turboniq Atelier

The atelier

A workshop, a way of working, and the people who keep it going.

Turboniq Atelier was set up in 2010 in a half-shophouse off Jalan Penampang. We now occupy a 6,400-square-foot factory and showroom in the Kepayan industrial area, with eighteen craftspeople and a hundred-odd clients a year.

Turboniq Atelier designers and craftspeople reviewing plans

Our story

Started by two cabinetmakers who couldn't find the table they wanted.

Najib and Foo Wei Ling met in 2008 working at a hotel-furniture supplier in Tawau. Frustrated by the speed and quality of factory output, they pooled their savings and started taking private commissions out of a rented bay. The first piece — a six-seat dining table in salvaged chengal — is still in the dining room of a family in Likas, fourteen years on.

Turboniq today is built around the same instinct: take the time it takes, charge what it costs, never deliver something we wouldn't put in our own home.

We are independent, self-funded and have no plans to franchise, branch or sell out. Growth, when it happens, happens slowly and on purpose.

What we believe

The principles we hold to, even when it costs us a job.

I

Make it once, properly.

Cheap furniture is the most expensive furniture, because you buy it three times. Our pricing reflects what a piece actually takes to build — no opaque margins, no padded line items.

II

Tell the truth about materials.

We will tell you when an imported veneer is the right choice, when reclaimed is sturdier than fresh, when rattan is wrong for a tropical bathroom. Honesty is cheaper than callbacks.

III

Look after the people who make the pieces.

Our craftspeople are paid by the month, not by the piece. They have proper contracts, EPF, SOCSO, paid leave and continuous training. The pieces that leave the workshop reflect the workshop they came from.

IV

Stay close to the work.

Najib still cuts joinery on most days. Wei Ling still draws every commission by hand. We deliberately stay small enough that no piece leaves the door without one of us having seen it.

V

Source close, where we can.

Most of our timber is Borneo-grown. Our rattan is Sabah-harvested. Our hardware is Selangor-cast. We will import a hinge if it's genuinely better, but we will tell you why.

VI

Stand behind the work for years.

If a joint loosens in year nine, bring it back. We will re-tighten, re-glue and re-deliver, no quibble. The warranty card is genuine and the address on it is the workshop you visited.

A senior cabinetmaker at his teak workbench

The team

Eighteen craftspeople, four disciplines, one floor.

Furniture-making at Turboniq is split across four benches under one roof. Cabinetmakers handle solid-wood frames, casework and joinery. Upholsterers do springs, webbing, cushions and finish. Finishers mix oils, waxes and stains in-house and apply every coat by hand. Delivery crew take care of dismantling, transport, reassembly and on-site installation.

The senior team — Najib, Wei Ling, Ramli and Anita — together have over seventy years of bench-side experience. Three of our junior cabinetmakers graduated from the woodwork programme at Politeknik Kota Kinabalu and apprenticed with us for two years before moving onto the main bench.

By the numbers

What sixteen years of building looks like.

240+Private and commercial commissions
6,400Square feet of workshop and showroom
97%Commissions delivered on or ahead of schedule
4.9/5Average client rating over five years

Visit the workshop.

If you are in Sabah, come and see the floor — it is open to clients and curious would-be clients on weekday afternoons. WhatsApp ahead so someone is around to walk you through.

Arrange a workshop visit