Malaysian batik

RM Batik is a family-run cottage industry making batik since 1977 in Kuantan. I have visited Jam, who owns the business with her husband, several times since moving here and she always greets me with a warm smile! She has introduced both our girls to the art of making batik (see Steph's butterflies below) and many of our friends back home are proud owners of her aprons, chef's hats, sarongs, make-up bags and so on! I always get a good discount from her and am happy to give her my business! The design is either stamped with hot wax onto the cloth, then painted or else drawn freehand in wax and painted. Afterwards the wax is removed in boiling water, the cloth rinsed and the dyes set.

The lady doing freehand (she is drawing heliconia plants or ginger) has been doing this for about five years. Another woman who works here has had seventeen years' experience! They make it look so simple! Inside, we watched white fabric being stamped...there must be hundreds of such stamps hand-carved made out of metal featuring all sorts of Malaysian flora and fauna, geomteric patterns, etc.

(left) Jam and her husband

(right) one wall of the metal wax stamps

Large cauldron full of boiling water to remove wax.

This length of cloth (perhaps to be made into a tablecloth?) had just been painted and was drying on the stretcher outside.

Steph holding up a pretty batik shawl (18RM or ~$5.50CAD) in the shop. Note on the back wall the lengths of colourful sarongs (same price for about 2 m. of fabric). They also sell men's shirts, women's skirts and pants, silk scarves, various sizes of toilet or make-up bags, etc. Any orders??