Confession of a beaderholic....

Take a leap of faith into an unfamiliar territory….

A friend once told me that I should feel so lucky because I get to enjoy my work and be exactly where I wanted to be, both at the same time. There aren’t that many people who get to do what I do for a living and still live a descend life. Well… come to think about it, I should feel so lucky even though the money is not very promising. That’s true though.

On a flipped side I had another friend who also asked if I ever get bored staying home all day every day.  I guess some people do find it hard to fathom the idea that I chose to stay home at my own free will. “Don’t you feel cooped out?” or “Why would you want to do that for?” or “Are you sick or something?” and my personal favourite “What are you going to do all day?” are constantly bombarded at me. To that I answered “No, not at all” without the slightest hesitation whatsoever.

But for every good there is always bad, for every joy there is always pain and for every decision there is always consequence… Truth be told.   I am still alive and kicking. I knowingly took a leap of faith into the unknown here since I have done chasing the end of the rainbow. The road less travelled chosen was by far outweighing the bountiful piece of mind gained. Just remember that the day you stop trying is the day you stop gaining….

My version of blue valentine

Cik Puan Siti Khatijah should be so happy

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

A prolific beading season....

Biting off more than I can chew..

Timing factor plays a fair bit of elements in my nature of business.  Make no mistake about it. In fact as far as I am concerned it rather poses as stumbling blocks in running a one man (woman)-show business like mine.

When that torrent of orders start pouring in within a short time span, I usually get so overwhelmed with brain storming to make each and every order a stand out on its own until it was too late before I realized that I have unintentionally bitten off more than I can chew.

Coincidently, I also realized that I occasionally do get sidetracked solely as a direct result of my own blunder. Hey… what can I say? I am only a human. But one thing for sure, I never lose sight of the ultimate goal on making the prompt delivery and keeping my eyes for the ultimate price. For customer’s satisfaction is the measurement of every success…..

Beads there... Done that...

No walk in the park……..

It’s a very vicious circle of stretching my heads trying to come up with yet another beading works, especially for a repeated customer.  Trying to figure out the situation is no walk in the park, I tell you. One prevailing notion that haunted me all the time is: Who in the right mind would want similar beadings on their clothes?

Truth be told, some customers do come to me with a preconceive idea of their own, may it be from pictures they saw or a magazine cut out.  Even with this helping hands presented to me, I still would have to come up with some sort of design of my own and stay true to my style of beadings. Otherwise, it would be the case of seen them one, so seen them all.  I would not want that at all..

In case of Pn Akmar’s green baju kurung moden, she gave me a cut out from a magazine to view but gave me a free hand on the final design.  I sure hope I live up to her expectation…

Love is in the air..........

What’s that gotta do with colours?

Well, have you heard that blue sometimes are construed as having the presence of love? I don’t know how true the notion is but would definitely be willing to go along.

Wearing blue on the other hand is by no means reflecting the state that you are in but rather the vibes that you are projecting. That love is in the air. Evidently. Meanwhile, wearing the colour bronze is projecting the presence of wealth, prosperity and even the state of grandeur. One would surely know that ultimately, if it looks good…. Then wear them.

I know now and I knew it for some time now that certain colours you put on will inevitably mirrored the mood you are in. And both blue and bronze are no strangers to me. It is not a rocket science to figure out that you will feel good and look great in certain colours. Some people have fewer choices while some lucky ones have a whole spectrum of them. And yours truly happen to be the unlucky ones. So find out for yourself. And take your pick.


A special thanks to Pn Zila and Au revoir.... May we still keep in touch and you know where to get me..

My pink lady of the South China Sea..........

Need more beads…pretty please!!!!!

More often than none, my customers will be asking for more beads on their dresses to which I am more than willing to oblige. In this particular case, I did the sleeves with heavy beading, thinking that it suffice enough but apparently not. It took me only a couple of hours to do the neck and she is pleased. Another happy customer.

From that time onwards I would do the neck, sleeves and the front of all her dresses so as not to appear unaccommodating to her needs. I avoided having to repeat the same mistake and manage to deliver her next orders without a hitch. Lesson learned…

Spring has sprung …Cik Pn Siti Khatijah Shaikh Mahmud

Little People Big Fashionista... yet again.

Introducing my petite fashionista lady from Kertih who has been a patron of Mai Style for as long as I was in business… Cik Pn Siti Khatijah Shaikh Mahmud.  She used to make daily trips just to see me and she still does so even during fasting month.

Her choice of colours and fabrics has been undisputedly admired and closely followed by her peers. While I may be involved in making her dresses, she has full credit on “making it works” with just about anything and everything under the sun.

Eid AlMubarak 2011 was celebrated with 2 baju kurung and a kurung moden to begin with, which she later added 5 more pieces for me to do for the after Eid Al-Mubarak. As you can see my work is never finished and as a result I can never have the time to do mine. That’s usually is the case if you ask me. Always coulda, woulda and shoulda…. Never can, will and shall for me…..

sulam kerawang ayak di tangan baju bermanik

sulaman awak di bawah baju kurung sutera

Little People........ Big Fashionistas........

Like Mother, Like Daughters.... Pn Mira Dona.

Miniature or life-size is no measurement and knows no boundaries in the vanity world especially in beads nation.   

I was lucky to have met with Pn Mira Dona her 4 foot something self and even smaller daughters a few years back. This year alone she had, let me count… 5 baju kurungs made before fasting month, just the basic stuff and 4 elaborately beaded n embroidered baju kurungs for after fasting month ie Aidil Fitri celebration. Plus 2 more baju kurung for her even smaller daughters in all to match hers of course. Sadly I still owe her 1 more baju kurung for next week. Imagine that!!!!

She started off as a small size lady has now somehow shrunk to an even smaller size due to a month of fasting. If she keeps on shrinking, God knows what is there left of her……. Luckily we are reaching the end of Ramadan and she would not be shrinking any further.

But I am posting only a few of her dresses for now… I don’t want to overdose you guys with the multiple sets of snap shots I took.  So please bear with me on this……

like mother......

like daughters......

senior version.....

junior version......

Swadee Ka, Korp Kun Ka..... Khoon Nana.....

Sawadee Ka and Korp Kun Ka……..

Welcome and Thank you in Thai are the two common phrases you hear the moment you set foot on the Kingdom. There are a couple of things that remind me Thailand, one being the internationally renowned cuisines and two the undisputed exquisite Thai silks. A trip to the Kingdom of Thailand would never be completed without having one or the other.

The following beading works was done on a plain silvery Thai silk baju kurung Pahang matched with a chequered pink n silver bottom for added contrast. I am only asked to do the sleeves because Ms Nana being a first timer and all wanted to experiment with the beads ideology, which I am sure will not be her last either. In any case, I am more than happy to oblige such request and am pretty sure she will be asking for more next time. This is always the case, first you experiment it, next you implement it….