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 humble table during the 2016 HKK
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!
Knife collectors and makers discussingThe assortment of finely made skinning blades made by Malaysia’s top makersTwo of Malaysia’s most sought after skinning blades. on the left is by Pok Ya, and on the right is by Pok JakThrough holeA completed skinning knife
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.
Our neighbors with some local artistsPak Tam from Parang TammanA traditional set of carving tools
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 .
The rattan and bamboo craft tentexotic wood sold tooPak Omar from JBR valleyThe tent we were inOur neighbour from Kota Belud, SabahAnother neighbor from Sabah
don’t be fooledThe smaller they are, the harder it is to makeAn exquisitely carved handle made of buffalo horn
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.
The parang demo areaLive demo on parang makingBlacksmiths forging a long parang
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.
Every year , the Craft Development Corporation of Malaysia holds a Craft Fair called the ” Hari Kraftangan Kebangsaan ” , and this year, we were honored to be a part of it. This year there was a huge turnout , consisting of 637 exhibitors, displaying all sorts of crafts Malaysia is proud of such as Bamboo, rattan and palm weaving, wood carvings, batik, pottery, jewelery, furniture , leather craft and knife making. The Craft Week is very popular especially for those who live in Kuala Lumpur at is brings all the traditional crafts from all over Malaysia, from Perlis right to Sabah.
Hari Kraftangan Kebangsaan 26th March – 7th April 2015
Usually it is held in the month of February every year, but this year due to the devastating floods which happened at the end of 2014, the Craft Week was pushed forward to the end of March. Most if not all of the batik ( especially ) and knife makers from the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia were badly effected. Most lost everything , and needed time to start new. We hope they managed to get good sales to during the craft week so they could recover from the loss .
Some of the crafts available at HKK
Besides buying and selling, there was also a lot of hands – on activities for visitors, such as batik painting , traditional music , kris standing competition, live carving demonstrations by the Orang Asal , mat and basket weaving classes and Parang making. It was definitely a busy two-week , and everyday we could see dozens of buses arriving and leaving with school children as well as government servants. Most of the parking lots nearby were choker full and the free shuttles were always busy arriving and leaving with full occupancy.
Knife making demonstrationOrang Asal wood carving demonstrationmat and basket weaving demonstrationKelantan knife makers pounding on hot steel
In the previous years, I would drop by and check out the various parang makers and sometimes pick a parang or two. Some come with 200-300 pcs for sale and some come with about 50 pcs. They vary widely in price, and sometimes you can get really exquisitely made parangs and goloks. You can also purchase exotic local wood, such as Kemuning ( Emas and Hitam ) , Arang Bunga , Juha ( Seribu Bunga ) , Serian , and many more. Below are some pictures of what you can find at the National Craft day .
Exquisitely made krisA parang with the sheath made of Juha woodA parang with sheath made form the Acacia wood
Most of the Parang and golok makers were placed in hall C, while some, including MY Parang were placed in hall E.
Keris and parangsswords, and spearsgardening toolsIt can be hard to choose when there are so many choicesBesides the parangs , you can also see the basketry in the backgroundA whole line of parang sellers
Most of the above pictures are from hall C, while the pictures below are from hall E . All together there were 13 halls covering all sorts of crafts. It can be pretty mind boggling and exhausting to cover all in one day, and it was pretty common to see the same customers coming over a span of a few days.
The Penang Craft Director Encik Rosli ( with cap ) at our booth in hall E
Some customers looking at MY Parang productsOur neighbor in Hall E ( Ary Craft from Negeri Sembilan )Hall E exhibitors (Parang Kraf from Johor)Hall E exhibitor ( Parang Tamman from Negeri Sembilan )Hall E exhibitors ( Smart kraf from Kota Belud Sabah )
Most of the craftsmen I noticed kept themselves busy when they can. Most of them brought their tools with them – carving knives, angle grinders and whenever they had time, they would be busy carving, sharpening or polishing their products. Besides selling their works to customers, there was also a “Back sales” going on between the sellers. No, nothing against the law, just special tool attachments, sand paper, brass tubes , wood , steel for making parang blades, various oils and polishing items, carving knives, jigs and whatnot. It was pretty amusing actually. The Craft fair is also a time for all the craftsmen from all over Malaysia to meet, discuss, share and learn new things from their fellow traders.
Busy when there are no customers
Another highlight of the National Craft Week is the blacksmith demonstration or known as ” Demonstrasi Kembang Api ” . Every year about 6-8 craftsmen are invited to demonstrate their skills at making everyday tools , like the parang, goloks, Kris, knives, Kacip ( a scissor like tool to cut betelnut ) , sabit ( sickle ) and lembings ( spears ) . They are located in an open booth , usually at the back of the premises . They do start pretty early in the day, as they take a long break when the day gets hot. Every time I arrive to man our booth at 9.30 am, they are already busy hammering orange colored steel . I believe they try to use the cooler part of the day to do the forging, then move to grinding and heat treating in the afternoon and evenings . Below are some videos I took of their booth.
The above is a video of a guy hardening a plane Iron
The video above shows the “Kembang Api ” open booth. You are welcomed to grab a hammer and start hitting.
As mentioned earlier, it was an honor for MY Parang to be able to take part in this year’s National Craft Week . It was a very busy two week period , not only selling MY Parang products, but visiting other Parang makers, discussing little details and learning new techniques. Some of our customers also have a wealth of knowledge and they are not stingy when it comes to sharing it.
We would like to give a big Thank You to Kraftangan Malaysia for letting us take part in the National Craft Week, and we hope we will be able to make it every year now onwards. We also would like to say thank you to the Kraftangan Staff who dropped by our booth to have a look at our products and give us words of encouragement .
All about Malaysian Parangs, Goloks and Duku Chandongs
