Deep interest drives duo to master handicraft

KOTA KINABALU: Despite not coming from a family with weaving skills, Yong Han Huz has shown that where there’s a will, there’s a way in the handicraft industry.

The 26-year-old Sino-Dusun woman has worked her way into becoming an entrepreneur after first learning to weave at the Sabah Handicraft Centre in Keningau five years ago.

Yong has been selling weaved products with geometrical and traditional patterns of the Rungus for the past two years.

Yong, who is from Keningau, said due to competition to her main product, namely Dastar songket, she had diversified into producing belts and bags including sling bags.

“Usually, I use metallic threads and cotton to make a belt which I can complete in a week. The cloth for the belt is also weaved and the prices depend on the motifs on the belts,” she told Bernama in conjunction with the 12-day 2021 Malaysian Handicraft Promotion at a shopping complex here.

Yong said she could make three bag straps measuring 106.68 cm (42 inches) long and 2.54 cm to 5.08 cm wide a day, selling them at RM80-RM100 each.

“I do all my weaving work at home and many are indeed keen about the weaved belts and bag straps which can also be used to replace old straps,” she said.

She said her products, sold at the Sabah Handicraft Centre under the ‘Memoryie Craft’ brand, were also in demand online from Sarawak.

Another participant of the handicraft promotion, Muhammad Zulhamizan Amir, has been using abstract batik motifs on cotton shirts under the “Alawo” brand since 2017.

Better known as Ejan, the 27year-old man studied for three years at the National Craft Institute in Rawang, Selangor for a Diploma in Batik Craft Art from 2014.

Ejan, who hails from Kota Kinabalu district, said he initially ordered all his “blank” shirts from Peninsular Malaysia but later resorted to seeking out suppliers from Kota Kinabalu to get his supplies faster.

“All the shirts I bought are blank before they are patterned with abstract shapes and motifs which I personally create using remazol dye,” said Ejan, who sells the patterned shirts at RM40 to RM48 each.

He said the printed shirts were mostly bought by people who wanted to wear matching clothes on family day celebrations.

Anyone keen to obtain his products can visit his Facebook or Instagram at “alawo tiedye” or Mycraftshop.