KUCHING: Since its opening back in 2008, The Spring shopping mall here is known for its outstanding decorations for the festive season.
James Vun, the graphics and creative department manager, who has been working on the decorations for the past 15 years, and Aida Azimah Abbas, the mall’s marketing manager, understand very well what the concepts should be, especially during the festive season.
In conjunction with Gawai Dayak, New Sarawak Tribune spoke to both of them to gain an insight and inspiration behind some of the decorations.
Something different, something engaging
Vun shared that because in Kuching, he found it (designs) truly static so he wanted to bring some of the concepts from Kuala Lumpur to the city.
“We want to bring something very different to Kuching and to the communities.”
Aida on the other hand explained that she wanted the festive setup to be engaging and to create a certain experience for shoppers and visitors.
Inspiration for this year’s Gawai decorations
For this time around, Aida added that the inspiration came from those who had not been back to their village for two years due to the pandemic.
“Cause it has been two years since we’re able to do so, and now we’re finally able to go back to the hometown and celebrate with our families,” she shared.
Vun also added that the details were what really mattered for the decorations such as fishing nets and baskets.
“Since we’re doing the kampung theme this year, we are bringing the kampung feel, but we do it even nicer. We really emphasise the importance of engagement and experience.
“For instance, we have actual songket weavers to be part of the kampung house so that the family, friends, can go and see how songket is created and at the same time having a feeling to try it out at our shops.”
Meanwhile, Aida also explained that for Gawai, a rotan weaver was incorporated into the design and it was brought from the areas famous for weaving.
“They are in the mall and they show how the weaving is done inside the baruk.”
Hope from the public
Aida hoped that whenever the public come to the mall and see the decorations, especially during the festive season, they would feel the festive vibe.
“We hope that parents are able to share with their children how they grew up in the kampung such as weaving and all that, especially parents who are born and raised in the 80s, I believe they will remember this,” said Aida.
Vun explained that what they wanted to achieve is the experience, like a family lifestyle and something that could be shown by the parents to their children.
“This decoration is also made for those who aren’t able to head back to their hometowns. If they can’t go back to their kampung, they can come here to enjoy the experience with their children.”
