A Beautiful Journey: Part 1

Over the course of publishing up to promoting this book, I've learnt a lot of things. To a very large extend, it can really be a turn off, as everything is new and with such a steep learning curve.

However, although there were tough times, but, there were more good to it. From pre-production to actual production and up to the marketings aspects have given such a good insight to a few industries - not only batik, but also fashion, modeling, publishing, and promotions.

Here, in this 4 part series, I would like to share the first part of pre-production.

I remember driving around Malacca to find the suitable location for the shoot. As I wanted to give this book a wholesome view on Malaysia, I thought Malacca with its multi racial & rich history would be the perfect place. So, I drove around the outskirts of the town, looking for 'perfect' homes - especially the kampung house (Malay traditional house). This was the hardest to find; while the others like the colonial building and the Peranakan homes were relatively easier - partly because they are less, hence I only need to walk along the streets of both Hereen & Jonker Street. The search include seeing a few owners of the houses/ restaurants with thematic backgrounds for the shoot.

Then came the discussions with the designers. That was rather interesting - as here came an 'unknown' in the industry having to table a meeting with the big names of the industry! Although there were butterflies in the stomach, but I'm glad to have chaired that meeting. Actually, I'm quite glad to see that some of them believed and trusted me from the first start, through my faxes, and willing to come for the meetings. For those who couldn't make it for the meeting, I went to meet them personally in their high - end boutiques. That was the start for me to the world of high - end fashion.

Looking back, I sometimes wonder how did the designers find/see me during the first meeting with them - me sharing my vision of the book and giving them a timeline for their designs :) And in a way, to do that was like doing the impossible. Up to now, being able to get the designers is still strongly holds my 'Impossible Is Noting' philosophy :)

The first problem arose when one of the designers pulled out last minute, by not sending me the clothes the day of collection - which was 1 day before the shoot. In fact, this designer who because of his limit number of designs even asked the rest to reduce their designs for submission. Too bad that designer is now not in the book... when I bumped into him after the book was out, what a shock he had on how the book came out to be, which was way beyond his expectations!

In the midst of securing the designers, the search continues for the models. As I wanted this book to represent Malaysia, hence I wanted models with truly Asian/ Malaysian features. I remembered meeting a few models in an event prior, and called them up. There were also 1 model whom I looked up using the internet. At last I managed to find 4 girl models, just enough to have the variations to the designs & for the book.

However, again, there was a horror part when one of the models pulled out just the day before the shoot. Imagine, I had 1 designer pulling out and now the model... and I was busy collecting the rest of the designs, my hands were full... and my mind blurred! Luckily, the model had her friend later to replace her to the very last minute. It's really too bad this model couldn't be part of this book too, though I must say her replacement was better than her - in personality and looks :)

I also had to assemble the team - make-up artistes; lighting and most importantly the photographer. Asking around and getting contacts, I managed to find 2 make-up artistes who usually do for drama productions.

As for the photographer, I've spoken to eM.K. to showcase his works and be part of the team. I'm glad he did, and we actually went through lots of books & magazines to sort out the kind of pictures (& feel) to the ones we are going to take. I remember he mentioning that this was going to be a big task on his part too, and he wasn't sure if he could meet the mark. But I've seen his pictures before and had full confidence that his pictures will turn out fine.

The collection of the clothes by the designers the day before the shoot was another big hassle - as there were like hundreds of clothes to fit into the car. And each set (eg. dress, earings, necklace, skirt) was worth up to thousands of ringgits! And I was in charge of any damage or loss. Luckily nothing happened throughout, as we had a tight control... and we managed to bring all the clothes down to Malacca with the whole car boot full, including the back seats!

The pre-production may seem like quite a big hassle (it was!), but it was very fun and truly an amazing journey for me. I've always mentioned that it was like co-ordinating a mini movie... and learning all the ropes in such a short period of time :) This gave me confidence in my next step and of course my other works.

Next: A Beautiful Journey: Photoshoot Day 1

Photographer's Book

If any of you have photographer friends, you'll know that they could be quite opinionated when it comes to photographs.

We've had our fair share of encounters. And being photographers ourselves, we too could be a lil hard on our opinions at times. Well, all these is simply because 'beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder'.

However, we are proud to say the least, that my encounters with photographers on this book has been relatively more positive than negative - professionals to amateurs and hobbyists.

The aspects that they have mentioned include the composition whereby the focus or object is given good emphasis with its surrounding supporting it well. Take an example of a photo from the book



As you can see here, the focus is the models, but the staircase gives a good 'feel' and added atmosphere to the picture. Some people have even mentioned that the wall at the back has added the special touch to it, as its old rustic look. Not to mentioned the soft light approach adds to the whole mood, as if the models are going for a batik party!

Some photographers like the mixture of both batik and its background, giving a somewhat Malaysian feel - and which is not too old, neither too modern, but just a good blend.

Of course, many complimented the background aspects. Unlike many photographs from magazines, backgrounds are normally less intricate & detailed, this book however have background that are very unique, and to some very rich in details itself. If not careful, this can overshadow the object of the photographs.

However, eM.K. and myself had similar ideas & discussions on focusing directly on the models parading the batiks... and hence, that is what readers see when they first see the pictures - not the Peranakan (Baba Nyonya/ Straits Chinese) tiles, the colonial buildings or the paintings on the Chinese temples, but instead they first see the beautiful & bold colours of the vibrant batik.

Some photographers have even asked us pertaining to our photography works like where is our studio, how long are we in the trade, etc... and are truly amazed to say that we did this as the very first project, though eM.K. has vast experience in photography, taking photographs especially in events.

The compliments from photographers gives weight to our work. And we feel honoured when they genuinely like the book. In fact, when a photographer like the book, they will really appreciate it and will tell you all the reasons they like it. That, to us, is another feather on our caps :)

Book For All

A pleasant surprise last week. A day after I wrote about giving the book as a corporate gift, I met up with a director from a company.

Apparently, he was talking to eM.K. about photography (as the director business deals with cameras) and eM.K mentioned about the book to be given as a corporate gift.

He mentioned the same lines as we've mentioned before to why this book will be a suitable unique corporate gift to his high end clients - that his clients will appreciate a good book combining Asian values from its batik to the architectural backdrops using Malaccan architecture.

And especially for this client, this book is taken with superb photography using a 22 megapixel camera (that's why we provide the magnifying glass! :) ) and which have been complimented by professional photographers themselves.

And good news - the director bought the idea! I feel honoured as for a person in the photography industry to recognise this book. To make it sweeter, he plans to give it as a corporate gift, hence further re-enforcing his belief in the book himself, and our belief that this book is a book for all - from batik lovers to art enthusiasts and even photographers :)

Unique Asian Corporate Gift

We are proud to say that the Batik Inspirations book serves as a high end corporate gift. So far, we've had companies and even individuals who would like to give a unique Malaysian or for that matter, Asian corporate gift.

The book serves as a corporate gift idea because of its uniqueness of having both the book and the additional magnifying glass. Bundled together, it makes a unique gift.

Some clients who have bought directly from us have given this book as a corporate executive gift - from giving it to their employees, some even to their bosses, and of course, a lot have given this as a gift to their clients who deserve it.

To make things a little more sweet, the book is also purchased as a corporate gift not only from the region but also from overseas, making this gift sweeter, as a gift from Asia.

Batik Artist/ Batik Producer/ Batik Manufacturer

Along the course of marketing this book, Ive encountered with many batik manufacturers, some of which are batik designers or batik artists themselves, but also many who are owners of batik factories with a handful of batik artists under them.

Proud to say that there is quite a good response from them. Many of them bought the batik book because they would like to find out the latest batik motifs/ batik patterns/ batik designs from these top designers from Malaysia.

Of course, some of them use Batik Inspirations as a reference book, as the pictures themselves are able to tell them about batik and the ideas behind them.

Many batik artists also bought the book as a representative of Batik Malaysia - batik artists from Malaysia, Indonesia, and even from USA and India :)

Malaysian Fashion Designer

Today was a pleasant surprise. I was at one of my friend's (a fashion designer) boutique.

There was a customer there, who talked to me. She was saying that she wanted to get a list of Malaysian fashion designers - who specializes in batik, but couldn't find any catalogue of such.

I sincerely mentioned to her about the Batik Inspirations book, which has the addresses of some of the most well known fashion designers who incorporates with batik pattern/ batik design in their works.

She immediately took upon the book, and was very happy with her purchase as it showed the fashion spread by Malaysian top names with inspiration from the bold, beautiful batik colours.. All these with the complete list - address and contact of Malaysian fashion designers, some award winning and some members of Malaysian Official Designer's Association.

This was further enhanced by the employee of my friend who mentioned that the book is sufficient for all information she needs as its a compilation of Malaysian haute couture designers. What a compliment! :)

Batik Information

We've had a few requests for information of late from tertiary students - from Malaysia, Thailand and also Singapore.

Though we do not claim to be experts in the field, but we will ensure we can help these students as much as we could - whether it is about the topic itself, eg. batik making, batik history, batik today... or linking them up with the relevant Yayasan (Organisation) or relevant batik makers.

We understand the process of information searching on batik can be very tedious, especially if you are new, as we experience it ourselves. While we were getting information on Batik Inspirations, we realised that there were not much information available on batik, and those available are rather limited.

Hence, it will be good to be able to share what little knowledge we have on batik or batik malaysia. Again, it's all about promoting the beauty of this hand crafted works.

Website Update

We've recently updated and edited the Batik Inspirations website to give it a more pleasant & easy going feel - with the usage of blue.

There are also additional batik articles contributed to provide more information to all those who like batik or am just learning about the age-old tradition :)

Asia Review

Our latest review is by Frequent Traveller, a travle lifestyle magazine. It's heartening to see a full page write up on a magazine that is distributed in many cities in Asia... and it's also nice to know that Batik Inspirations is continuosly getting reviews :)

2 Beautiful Covers

Recently, Ive passed the cover of the 2 books to a few friends and associates. Many who saw the new cover immediately liked the new cover and are very impressed - which Im really proud :)

Some like both covers just as much - to them both are beautiful in their own way. They mentioned the International Edition Cover is very bold and daring and represent an Art book, while the Malaysian Edition is more subtle but still unique on its own - together with a nice combination of colours & represents Malaysia.

There are also quite a handful who says that if they really had to choose one, they would still go ahead with the first original cover.

All I can say is that, Im proud to have 2 versions out now - which both are adored :)