Nyonya beaded shoes - a heritage to be passed from generation to generation

MELAKA, Dec 25 -- Beaded shoes are expensive, but they are worth the value, especially for the meticulous work involved  to produce these heritage craftwork of the Baba and Nyonya community.

What’s special about these shoes is that they can be sent for repair and the beads sewn back or replaced to be passed on from generation to generation.

Owner of J Manik boutique, which specialises in beaded shoes. Joyce Ngiow, 52, said the shoes are expensive because making them requires attention to details.

“These shoes are products of fine art. It requires high precision and patience to make,” she said.

She said many of her customers are regulars, with some since 20 years ago.

“They keep coming back to my boutique asking for the shoes they bought years ago to be readjusted to fit the size of the new owner or for the beads to be resewn.

 "For example, if the mother wears size six and she wants to give the shoe to her daughter, who wears size eight, we can repair the shoes to size eight,” she told Bernama when met at her boutique in Jalan Hang Lekir today.

Melaka-born Joyce, who ventured into the business about 21 years ago, said the price of each pair of beaded shoes depends on the type of beads used and the time taken to produce it.

“For shoes that use Japanese glass beads, which are imported from Japan, the price is between RM450 to RM680 a pair. It takes up to six weeks just to make a pair.

“For shoes that use cut beads imported from the Czech Republic, which take about three months to get a pair ready, the price is between RM1,800 to RM2,250 a pair,” said the former flight attendant who had served with Singapore Airlines for nine years before deciding to quit the job.

She said she has her own shoemaker to make the shoes, which is made of quality leather.

 "We offer 'personalized service' to our customers because we want to ensure that they are satisfied, comfortable and happy with the beaded shoes we made for them, and is also one for J Manik to still be in the business.

"It cannot be denied that the price of the shoes is high,  but it is so because they are not easy to produce and quality materials are use to produce them.

“Everybody knows to sew beads, but to make a quality pair of beaded shoes, it requires patience and proper technique," she added.

Recalling her involvement in the production of beaded shoes, Joyce said it began with her interest in sewing when she was still young.

“I have been watching my mother and aunt sew their own beaded shoes since I was little. They would normally wear the shoes with the nyonya kebaya, either to attend formal  events or as casual wear,” she said, adding that sewing later became her hobby.

While still a flight stewardess with Singapore Airlines, Joyce said she accepted orders for beaded shoes from her Peranakan friends and spent her time when not “flying” making them.

  “It has been my dream to own a business and after nine years of working in Singapore, I decided to quit the job. The idea of ​​starting this business came from a friend who saw potential in the business considering the orders that I had been getting  for beaded shoes.

 “It is also an art that should be preserved. Beaded shoes are a product that symbolises the identity of the Peranakan. It is an intangible heritage that can become extinct due to modernisation,” she added.

 She hoped that the government could introduce the art of making beaded shoes in school to cultivate the interest among the young generation  and to prevent the craftwork from becoming extinct.

-- BERNAMA