Vibrant,colouful,beautiful & exquisite...these are the words used to describe the handmade goods from Rowena Lee the founder Hearts & Hands Craft shop which was founded in 1998. Being a pioneer in this field in Penang and a distinguish few who have 'survived' in Malaysia over the years has earn her multiple full page features on Malaysia's English Daily 'The Star'. Here's the story of a woman who single handedly brought Malaysian's arts & craft scene to a whole new level.
Rowena's love affair with handicraft started way back in her teenage years. Before making patchwork & Applique Quilting her area of specialization, Rowena was involved in the cross-stitching embroidery work business. After some time Rowena wanted to try something relatively new & different and hence she moved on to making Quilts.
Situated in a quite residential area of Tanjung Bungah Penang, Rowena's shop is situated in an unassuming terrace house with a charming wooden angle for a signboard. Once you step inside one will feel like you are in Aladdin's cave of creative gems :)
Lee, who learn the craft in Australia & through books years ago, loves combining fabrics to create different piece of "art" everytime and showed off her masterpieces by hanging them on walls, stacked in cabinets and placed on a small display bed.
Rowena said that she loves doing things which are different and found patchwork & quilting to be her answer as it is comparatively new here in Malaysia.She further added that quilting is a very time consuming task but the gratification she feels upon completing one piece makes her feel like starting a new one immediately.
Rowena uses 100% American cotton which easy to handle for beginners. For those who are unfamiliar with the term "Patchwork", it simply means joining separate pieces of cloth together while "Applique" is fixing a variety of cut shapes onto a surface to create the design. It's similar to patchwork except that with applique, there are more layers.
As I was looking around the work shop, a basket nice basket caught my eye which looks like it's made of rattan but turns out to be made of recycled paper glued together with multiple layers of varnish to provide the brownish hue while reinforcing its structural integrity. She also showed me what she calls her "Laura Ashley imitation" which of course is handmade by Rowena herself. She was in Australia when she saw a beautiful pitcher & basin but wears a price tag of over AU $ 2000 so she went out to get a clay pitcher & basin to construct her own pieces.
Those who are interested to learn the art of patchwork & quilting can arrange one on one classes with Rowena. Rowena related a story about one of her student which can't even fix a button or stitch a torn hem but the moment she look at one of her quilts she was hooked and since then she has produced several herself. Having bought a long arm machine for herself she also provide services to customers who find it too troublesome to do it by hand.
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About Rowena
Vibrant,colouful,beautiful & exquisite...these are the words used to describe the handmade goods from Rowena Lee the founder Hearts & Hands Craft shop which was founded in 1998. Being a pioneer in this field in Penang and a distinguish few who have 'survived' in Malaysia over the years has earn her multiple full page features on Malaysia's English Daily 'The Star'. Here's the story of a woman who single handedly brought Malaysian's arts & craft scene to a whole new level.
Rowena's love affair with handicraft started way back in her teenage years. Before making patchwork & Applique Quilting her area of specialization, Rowena was involved in the cross-stitching embroidery work business. After some time Rowena wanted to try something relatively new & different and hence she moved on to making Quilts.
Situated in a quite residential area of Tanjung Bungah Penang, Rowena's shop is situated in an unassuming terrace house with a charming wooden angle for a signboard. Once you step inside one will feel like you are in Aladdin's cave of creative gems :)
Lee, who learn the craft in Australia & through books years ago, loves combining fabrics to create different piece of "art" everytime and showed off her masterpieces by hanging them on walls, stacked in cabinets and placed on a small display bed.
Rowena said that she loves doing things which are different and found patchwork & quilting to be her answer as it is comparatively new here in Malaysia.She further added that quilting is a very time consuming task but the gratification she feels upon completing one piece makes her feel like starting a new one immediately.
Rowena uses 100% American cotton which easy to handle for beginners. For those who are unfamiliar with the term "Patchwork", it simply means joining separate pieces of cloth together while "Applique" is fixing a variety of cut shapes onto a surface to create the design. It's similar to patchwork except that with applique, there are more layers.
As I was looking around the work shop, a basket nice basket caught my eye which looks like it's made of rattan but turns out to be made of recycled paper glued together with multiple layers of varnish to provide the brownish hue while reinforcing its structural integrity. She also showed me what she calls her "Laura Ashley imitation" which of course is handmade by Rowena herself. She was in Australia when she saw a beautiful pitcher & basin but wears a price tag of over AU $ 2000 so she went out to get a clay pitcher & basin to construct her own pieces.
Those who are interested to learn the art of patchwork & quilting can arrange one on one classes with Rowena. Rowena related a story about one of her student which can't even fix a button or stitch a torn hem but the moment she look at one of her quilts she was hooked and since then she has produced several herself. Having bought a long arm machine for herself she also provide services to customers who find it too troublesome to do it by hand.
