Malay trader awes ’em
Customers keep coming back for Razillah’s CNY decorations
JOHOR BARU: When shopping for Chinese New Year floral decorations at the Taman Johor Jaya market here, one might be surprised to find trader Razillah Abdul Rahman welcoming you with a smile.
“First- timers are usually impressed that the products were made by a non-chinese but after seeing my decorations, they keep coming back every year,” she said yesterday.
Upon walking into her stall, customers could find different types of cherry blossom floral arrangements and hand-made ornaments made from ribbons and pearls.
Some customers even bargained with the bubbly 49-year-old using a mix of Mandarin and Bahasa Malaysia.
Razillah said the idea of making Chinese New Year decorations came from a dream she had six years ago about arranging flowers on a pot of gold.
“From then on, I knew I should develop my penchant for creating crafts into a business and living in a multi-cultural society spurred me to venture into making Chinese New Year decorations,” she said, adding that the items cost between RM1 and RM400.
Besides floral decorations, she also makes ornaments like the jin yuan bao (gold ingots) and ribbon flowers – all hand-made from red and gold ribbons, pearls and pipe cleaners.
Razillah derived great satisfaction when she received compliments from customers.
“Every year, I feature different designs. Last year, it was the money plant and this year, the cherry blossom takes centre stage,” said the mother of seven.
She added that as Chinese New Year drew closer, she would spend more time making the decorations, sometimes late into the night to meet last-minute orders.