This year we were able to participate in the annual National Craft Day held by the Malaysian Craft Development Corporation. It is an annual event held right in the heart of Kuala Lumpur for a duration of two weeks. This Craft day is the biggest craft gathering or fair in Malaysia and is always a huge success.
MY Parang first attended last year’s craft fair ( 2015 ) and we made sure we attended this years event too. It is a fantastic opportunity to see all the crafts concentrated in one area . Not to forget, the craftsmen and women get to meet , discuss and exchange ideas. An event not only for buyers, but for the craft community as well. This year there were less exhibitors and we were able to get a spot in the main tent with all the other Parang , keris and other knife makers. Last year a few of us had to be placed in a separate tent due to the lack of space.
Besides sales, there was also live demonstrations of parang making, mat weaving , cooking , brass pots casting , live performances and we even had a visit from the Malaysian Queen as well.
Below are pictures from the event.
Our simple table for this year’s National Craft Day. We also had a screen showing all the youtube videos and reviews . We had some people stand for hours looking at the videos and many were amazed that our parangs have reached many parts of the world!
Besided selling MY Parang, we also had some exquisitely made skinning knives for sale. These blades can fetch up to rm 600.00 ( about USD 150.00 ) for a 6 incher.
Next to us was Pak Tam from Negeri Sembilan . He kept himself busy carving when the is time ( picture above ) . Below are more pictures of the tents and some of our neighbors during the national craft day. These are not all, but just a few. All in, there were about 30 parang makers who joined the National Craft Day .
And here are some pictures of the demonstration area . Here the blacksmiths make parang live in front of customers. Many people come to bring their blades to have them handled and sheaths made. Some even have a go at hammering the red hot steel.
This year we had a surprise visit from Her Majesty the Queen of Malaysia. We were caught off guard actually as no one expected her to drop by and visit. The best part of it, she purchased a 12″ MY Parang Duku Chandong from us!
We had a great but hectic time at the National Craft Day this year, but it was very well worth it. Hopefully the Craft Development Corporation will continue to support the craft industry by holding more of these kind of events. MY Parang would also like to say thank you to the Craft Development Corporation of Malaysia for this very well organized and established event and hope to participate again in the following years.
