KUALA LUMPUR: The high cost of living in the city of Kuala Lumpur has forced a single mother Shereen Khoo, 65, to do various jobs to support her family including her two autistic children.
However, there was not much heavy work that can be done by women her age except for light work such as selling biscuits during certain festivals as well as part-time maintenance work with little pay.
Everything started to change when Khoo was invited to join The Tunku Azizah Handmade Market (TTAHM) under the patronage of the Raja Permaisuri Agong, Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah.
TTAHM, under the auspices of the Malaysian Creative Sewing Arts Association (PSJKM) was set up to help local handicraft entrepreneurs market their own products online.
Making use of her sewing skills, the mother of four is producing five handmade products, namely embroidered face towel, water bottle carrier, embroidered tissue pouch, keychain and face mask.
"I did not expect that social media can be so powerful because it really helps increase the sales. I love sewing and I'm happy when the products that I produced get a very encouraging response from customers compared to when selling them physically.
"I received up to 2,000 owl keychain orders within a month of joining TTAHM Online last December," she told Bernama when met at Sewing World Gallery in Subang Jaya.
Although it can be quite difficult for her to understand technology, that has not deterred the Negeri Sembilan native from learning to use social media to start an online business for the sake of her two special sons, Xiang Wei, 24, and Xiang Jian, 27.
"Honestly, I am not good at doing business online and even today I am still learning. However, I am willing to learn when I realise that my two sons also have sewing skills and I hope that this platform can help them generate their own income," she said.
Khoo is among the 100 craft entrepreneurs registered with TTAHM, comprising various backgrounds including B40 group, housewives, single mothers, senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PwD) and non-governmental organisations (NGO) with more than 700 products being offered.
Sharing the same view is Nur Aishah Jamaludin, 35, who hopes that TTAHM Online will be a special platform for craft entrepreneurs to access the market further until eventually they can reach the international market.
"There are various e-commerce platforms that are more commercial in nature, but for TTAHM Online, it only features handmade products that are more exclusive," said Nur Aishah, who is selling three products, namely sleeping pouch, face mask casing and tote bag under the brand name of Athena Orange Cat.
Meanwhile, PSJKM chairman Fully Chye Goet Lee said the TTAHM Online platform at www.sewingworld.com.my was introduced to help craft entrepreneurs who are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It is a path for the handicraft manufacturing industry to move forward, be competitive and have the potential to penetrate global market.
"TTAHM Online is moving in line with the industrial revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0), so that the creative sewing industry is not left behind and can compete with other industries as well as have a bigger market," she said.
According to Chye, the platform is unique because it only markets handmade and exclusive products as well as offers various training to improve the skills of craft entrepreneurs.
TTAHM Online was launched by Tunku Azizah on Feb 27, 2020 and she is expected to fete 100 TTAHM Online craft entrepreneurs tomorrow (March 3) at a virtual ceremony via Zoom application in conjunction with its one-year anniversary.
At the event, a total of 79 sewing machines will also be handed over to outstanding B40 students majoring in fashion and clothing from community colleges and polytechnics while the winners of the Malaysian Best Handmade Crafter competition will also be announced.--BERNAMA