It’s not unusual to turn a hobby into a business and Leong Wei Yein, the co-founder of Craftiviti Sdn Bhd, did exactly that and turned it into something even bigger. Along with her partner, Eugene Tham, they run a homegrown online and retail store that provides raw materials and ingredients for DIY arts and crafts, perfumery and scents, and personal care products. Their business has sparked a wave of new entrepreneurs and micro-businesses selling homemade beauty products, candles and crafts. Wei Yein tells us more about it here.
Wei Yein at the Craftiviti store. Image from Facebook
Tell us the background of Craftiviti; how did it come to be?
“We were in the events industry and we have an events company. After five years, we decided to branch out and jump into retail and e-commerce, just to broaden our horizons and put our eggs in different baskets instead. In the beginning, we worked together with a craft company, however, that didn’t work out. When the partnership failed, we decided to keep going at it. But instead of focusing on arts and crafts, we felt that we wanted to venture into candle-making and soap-making, and brought in the ingredients for that. We saw the trend picking up at bazaars and markets and so, we sourced ingredients all over the world in order to help people make their own candles, soaps and personal care products such as lip balms or bath bombs.”
“We’re very happy that a lot of the up-and-coming or established DIY brands in Malaysia started buying from us. It’s also very warming that during this time, when the economy is not doing very well and a lot of people have lost their jobs, they’re able to supplement income or earn good money making their own products at home. So that’s how we’re supporting people right now. Moreover, the events industry has been shut down for the last two years, so we’re actually quite happy and blessed that we went through the trouble to explore retail and e-commerce.”
What was the most challenging part of switching businesses?
“From running events to doing retail and running an online store, it was learning everything from scratch.”
A selection of Crafti-Kits. Image from Faceboook
What do you enjoy most about running Craftiviti?
“I really enjoy the part where we get to inspire people to hand-make their own DIY products. A big part of our business is teaching people how to create their own products and have them realise that it’s actually very, very easy. They just need to have the confidence and the support, and we provide that. We have even come up with Crafti-Kits that beginners can pick up, take home and make on the spot. Everything’s provided including video instructions so it removes the fear that you will fail at making your own product. We’ve scaled it down to make it so easy that anybody can start making their own DIY personal care products. One of the things we’re happy about is when people realise that they can actually make these things themselves.”
“I think options are very important. For instance, if you buy a candle outside, you don’t really know the ingredients that are put into the candle and whether it’s safe for burning. So when you make your own candles or soaps, you get to choose and determine the exact ingredients you want in the product. You can also customise the colour, the shape and the scent to what you like so there are a lot of benefits to making your own products.”
The Crafti Express Bar. Image from Facebook
Online retail has really helped in terms of navigating through the pandemic. Can you share if there was a strategy that worked well in the early stages of business but now isn’t applicable due to COVID-19?
“Before the lockdowns took place, we opened Malaysia’s first DIY Express Bar, where customers were able to visit to make their own DIY personal care products. So you can just walk into our store, choose off the menu what you want to make – whether it’s soap, candles, lip balms or bath bombs – sit down and everything’s provided for you to make it on the spot within 30 to 45 minutes. There’s also somebody to guide if you are in any way unsure.
“We wanted that to be an education bar and we called it the Crafti Express. It was going very well to a point that influencers started coming in and there were even a few viral TikTok videos on it. It was really picking up and we were still slotting people in back-to-back for appointments at the bar, which can fit about three to four people. Then the lockdown happened again. We also used to run workshops that could host about 15 people but that has also stopped since the pandemic. Things that used to work back then to pull traffic into retail is now completely online.”
Colourful silicone moulds. Image from Facebook
What are some of your plans for Craftiviti in the long run?
“Well, this situation has taught us that retail square feet isn’t the way to go at the moment. We definitely want to expand on our Crafti-Kits selection; we have four kits right now which are doing really, really well. But there are still so many kits that we can do. The other thing is to come up with our own end product, which we already have, an organic skincare range called Yein & Young.“
What do you think the future will look like for SMEs?
“I think it will definitely take time. SMEs and retailers will have to rethink the walk-in experience for customers. Everybody’s very wary right now. So if we can move a lot of experiences and explanations and shop online, it would really help. But I also feel that once things start picking up, it’ll pick up very quickly because people want to spend as well. They’ve not been able to spend on things and on a lot of experiences, be it in dining or retail. So once the general confidence on the health aspect is there, the industry will definitely start booming a lot harder than before.”
