“I started making ceramics in my mum’s backyard, an open kitchen. I had a small work area out there and that’s where I started, where I experimented with ceramic.”
10 years on, Rozana Musa runs Bendang Studio, with her workshop and retail showroom housed in a new premise in Alor Gajah, Melaka that’s funded by grants from Kraftangan Malaysia and the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (KKLW), which named them the winner of the Rural Business Challenge 2014.
Rozana works very hard to ensure that Bendang’s products are handmade, everything from scratch, by hand - from making the colour glaze using natural ingredients to hand-painting the designs.
“The name Bendang is a tribute to the bucolic fields that surrounded the river around her grandmother’s house. The clay mixture we use are mixed in with clay from the river itself. I have a special connection with this place (Alor Gajah).”
All these influences are reflected in Rozana’s products at Bendang. Humble yet charming, there’s a sense of an earthy to the ceramic ware. With those strong visuals, it’s not surprise that social media, Instagram in particular, has been Bendang’s most important marketing platform.
“Bendang’s business is almost exclusively on Instagram. That’s where most of the orders come from. Right now, the business is focused on homeware and tableware. I have 5 staff here in this new space and production is full until next June. I would like to increase production, but handmade ceramics is laborious and time-consuming.”
The rise of the ‘boutique cafe’ in Kuala Lumpur has undoubtedly elevated Bendang and the ceramic industry in Malaysia. Bendang has supplied cafes such as Rimba & Rusa, Hello Deer, Chocha Food Store, Jibby & Co. For those looking to get your hands on Bendang’s homeware products closer to Kuala Lumpur, their items are stocked at Kedai Bikin but be warned that items often sell out fast.
While Bendang seems to be veteran ceramic maker in this niche local industry, with the emergence of a new wave of appreciation for modern and contemporary ceramic ware in Malaysia, newer artists are looking to mould their way with passion and never-ending diligence.
“I took up ceramic-making about 2 years ago. It simply started off as an interest. 6 months into it, I was confident (*laughs*) and decided to set a goal and challenge myself, so I started selling some of my creations at local art markets.”
Lee Ee Vee, previously of The Last Polka, now runs Thirty3Eleven. A one-woman business, with an aesthetic sense of nordic rawness and European minimalism, Ee Vee says this is definitely the hardest endeavour she has ever taken on.
“This really been the most challenging thing I have ever done. Honestly, I thought it was easy, I thought I could hack it in 6 months. A few years on, I’m still learning. I had to change my mindset, to remind myself that this is a new skill for me, it’s like learning the piano. I was wrong in trying to think that I could play a masterpiece from Debussy without even learning the basics of the music, like scales. That’s what I was trying to do by attempting to sell my items in six months. Call it the ‘millennial trap”, we want everything instantly, we want to be successful and scale up as fast as possible. And here I am, 2 years on, trying to make a plate that’s flopping without any rational reason.”
Ee Vee has found the balance, accepting the well-worn truth that ceramic-making, like some of the finer things in life, is a lifelong learning experience. Craft makers who have been at it for 20 years are still learning new methods and new techniques. This paradigm shift in her perspective brought a sense of calmness and joy to her work and her business.
“When the pieces turn out as planned, that’s where I find the joy in this, it reflects who I am as an artist. There are so many variables with ceramic. For example, the firing (heating), every kiln works differently. There’s so much trial and error. And when something doesn’t turn out, I tend to get down and frustrated. Moreover, the industry is extremely small locally and there’s no one or no resources really to turn to to troubleshoot. It’s really all about experimenting endlessly.”
Ee Vee has been grateful for the support and response she has received in a short time since starting Thirty3Eleven.
“I think I started making ceramics because it was too expensive to bring all these imported ceramic products to Malaysia due to high import duties. Almost everything I produce are items I would want in my home. I love this intimate connection between me and my products, the artist and the creation.
Bendang Studio
Instagram: @bendangstudio_official
Thirty3Eleven
Instagram: @thirty3eleven
Words & Photography by Chris Lim
Assisted by Eunice Tan & Naomi Khor