MELAKA: 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.

       “For example, if the mother wears size six and she wants to give the shoe to her daughter, who wears size eight, we can alter the shoes to size eight,” said Joyce Ngiow, 52, who owns a boutique which specialises in beaded shoes.

       She explained that 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,” she told Bernama when met at her boutique in Jalan Hang Lekir.

       Melaka-born Ngiow, who ventured into the business about 21 years ago, said the price of each pair of beaded shoes depended 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 and 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 and RM2,250 a pair,” said the former flight attendant who had served with Singapore Airlines for nine years before deciding to quit the job.

       Recalling her involvement in the production of beaded shoes, Ngiow 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 she was a flight attendant with Singapore Airlines, Ngiow 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,” she added.

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

       “We offer personalised service to our customers because we want to ensure that they are satisfied, comfortable and happy with the beaded shoes we made for them.”

       She said that everybody knew how to sew beads but to make a quality pair of beaded shoes, it required patience and proper technique.

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