Market potential for hand-crafted textiles

In my academic days I did a study on the market potential of the Malaysian handicraft industry, which demonstrated, if not to the Malaysian Handicraft Development Corporation then at least to myself, that Malaysia's level of expertise in specialty textiles is good enough to exploit for big gain. A story in The Financial Times [Hangzhou has designs on Armani: Made in China may no longer be limited to plastic toys and cheap t-shirts] talks about harnessing the skill of local artisans in the way that I hope to have happen in Malaysia with our batik and songket.

If northern Italy was able to build its luxury industry on the skills of local artisans, Hangzhou has some of the same advantages. The city has a long tradition in silk embroidery and Sun Hong hires women in the villages around the city to do sewing . "If you try to do that sort of thing by machine, it always looks cheaper," says [Ms. Sheng Mei, a garment factory executive].

Ms Sheng admits she has had quality problems. She will not give details, but says these can be resolved with good management. "In China there are many people who can make good things, but they do not always try," she says. "It is up to managers to make an extra effort and check the quality that one last time."

Like the lady says of China, Malaysia also has quality problems but not the managers to deal with it. But Ms. Sheng has shown that it's not an insurmountable problem in her country, which means there's hope for developing something out of our specialty textile industry as well. It is also a good way to keep our heritage alive.