Malaysia like any other country has its fair share of handicrafts… These handicrafts range from priceless authentic traditional antiques to the exquisite modern hand-made crafts..

But as most Malaysian artisans are Muslims, our Malaysian handicraft designs are usually pretty influenced by Islamic arts as well….. usually from natural elements such as the interlacing of leaves or vines, flowers and animals…

I was fortunate to have had the chance to tag along on the recent Gaya Travel Kembara Kraf Selangor… Themed Indie Arts 2 the Fore, we were brought to a few places to check oout different kinds of handicrafts…

Our first stop was at Cherry Art Design where we admired the beauty and delicate BLOCK-PRINTED BATIK designs… and we learnt how it produced…

Block- printed Batik is made from using a copper block stamp with intrisically patterned bottom dipped into the wax which is heated on open fire and then stamped or printed onto a white cloth…

The cloth is then hand painted or dip dyed… before they removed the wax and thus the batik design is produced… .

To create even more complex batik, you can do the waxing with different blocks, dying and de-waxing and even artistically splashes can be done many times…

It is sure an interesting process and I was glad to learn and also get a bit of hands on training on printing with the copper block and also hand painting the intrisicate batik design…

Address- 24/1, Jalan Tun Teja, Taman Tun Teja, 48000 Rawang

IG – https://instagram.com/cherryartdesign

The second product we visited for the Samurai Dio Hobby Station where Mr Shaiful the owner, artistically recreate dioramas for other hobbyists…

It is sure fascinating to see the painstaking recreation of a scene from a movie..

..or even a kampung house…

He even recreated Tun Mahathir ‘s birth home, a garage or so…with all the details…

Custom made orders are charged about RM300-500 on the average per project…

Address- 2119, Jalan Haji Abdul Rahman, Meru, 41050 Klang

IG – https://instagram.com/samuraidiohobbystation

Sewing World Gallery is an interesting place which is one of its kind in Malaysia… located at Sky Park One City in 33d USJ…

The gallery showcases some of the prettiest hand made/sewn products and doubles up as a learning centre for those wanting to gain knowledge of sewing, embroidery and working with fabrics….

This magnificent gallery began in 2016 and combine eight units of shop lots to total up more than 10,000 sqf of space..

As a gallery of handmade products, it showcases hundreds of toys, fashionable apparel, artworks made of thread and fabric, and decorations suitable to adorn furniture. Expect to see colourful creations turned into teddy bears, bedsheet covers, handbags and more.

Sewing World holds three Guinness World Records, namely for the largest bag in the world, for the most number of people sewing simultaneously, and for the largest display of handmade fabric flowers,..

…showcasing the 99 names of Allah, which is widely known as “Asmaul Husna”.

The gallery offers classes every weekend, so you can make your own items. There’s a workspace upstairs equipped with all the essentials such as sewing kits and machines, as well as trainers who will guide you through the process, and even a noob like me who know nuts about sewing with a sewing machine soon got the hang out of sewing..

I made my own tissue holder chose to make a tissue pouch. For this, I was given a pack that contained all the materials I would ever need to complete the task – fabric, scissors, needles, thread, etc…

The very patient staff guided me closely throughout the entire process. Step-by-step instructions were given for using the sewing machine, for making a neat stitch, and for embellishing the final product.

Though I had never used a sewing machine prior to this, the experience was fun and I hardly felt overwhelmed or nervous about my lack of knowledge.

Address – C-01-01 to 08, Block C, Level 1; Sky Park @ One City, Jalan USJ 25/1; 47650 Subang

IG- https://instagram.com/sewingworld_

The fourth place Gaya Travel Kembara Kraf Selangor brought us to was Desa Alam Batek, where we got to learn the steps of how silk screen batik is produced using cold wax…

…totally different from those drawn with a ‘canting’ or even stamped on with a copper block

We got a chance to try out the silk screen transfer process as well as even colour the cloth…

Address – No 15 Blok 2B, Jalan Pegaga G U12/G, Desa Alam, Seksyen U12, Shah Alam.

Foodies who enjoy traditional snacks will enjoy the Tempe Kicap, Sambal Kentang Berapi and Serunding Kelapa by Zurasa Food Industries, because they just taste so good and pretty addictive as once you start eating.. it is hard to put down…

We got to watch a quick demo of how the owner of Zurasa Food Industries prepare her Tempe Kicap using just crunchy deep fried slices of tempe, shallots, garlic, chilli, sugar to taste and soya sauce…

Instagram-https://instagram.com/zurasafood

En Maznan does pretty amazing pyrography art with just his pyrography pen and a block of wood or hard board…his art is just mesmerizing with his steady and sure hands and his art abd craft is made to order…

Just in case you do not know it… Pyrography is a craft to burn a design on a clean piece of wood. This activity is a good hobby to take up if you like to draw since both activities are kinda similar…

Instagram –https://instagram.com/seni_pelukis_kayu

This trip was endorsed by UPEN Selangor… and organized by Gaya Travel Magazine which is also the Official Media Coordinator… and collaborated with Persatuan Kelopak 9 and supported by MOTAC…

Our accomodations were sponsored by Hotel De Arts, USJ21….