Nur Atiqah learns to make handicrafts by learning from YouTube, Pinterest and other social media sites
KOTA SAMARAHAN: Handicraft skills learnt through tutorials on social sites have enabled a woman from Kota Samarahan to start a cottage industry.
Nur Atiqah Ahmad, 30, said she has been interested in handicrafts since young, but never had any formal training.
She started learning through YouTube, Pinterest, and other social media sites, as well as from friends.
“At first, I just made pillows, key chains with names and brooches. It was not easy but I stayed motivated to attempt through ‘trial and error’ till I become proficient.”
Atiqah, who is from Kampung Tanjung Apong, Asajaya said she never gave up on her dream of having her own handicraft products.
“Handbags are frequently in high demand by customers, even when there aren’t many available.
“In terms of design, it is up to the customer; some I recommend, and there are other customers who want to design their own handbag, for which they will send me a photo for reference,” she explained.
She would craft the handbag with a design of the customer’s choice after finding a video on YouTube that was very informative and helped her a lot.
“I will do my best to make the customer’s requested handbag or ‘inspired bag.'”
“Aside from that, I get requests from male customers who want a cross bag, but I’m still not convinced to make a backpack,” she explained.
Atiqah stated that most of the bags are made of fake leather and polycanvas fabric.
“It normally takes one to two days to complete a bag. The finished creations are entirely my own labour, from cutting the cloth to preparing the materials, sewing, rubbing, and photographing.
Atiqah added that the handicraft products are sold throughout Malaysia, and the marketing is done primarily through Facebook (Atiqah Ahmad AR/Eqahmad Craft) and Instagram (Eqahmad).
“If I have the time, I will occasionally submit images to WhatsApp status to promote new handicrafts and so on.
“The price of the bag that I sell starts as low as RM75 and goes up from there depending on the material and type of design because some customers ask for straps, pockets, and so on,” Atikah explained.
