KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12 — It was a case of wanting to buck the trend that led to Rozana Musa becoming a ceramic artist. The Universiti Technology MARA (UiTM) graduate did her diploma and degree in Art and Design, and observed that many of her faculty mates opted to major in Graphic Design, a popular career choice at the time.

"I wanted to do something different so I chose ceramics,” says Rozana. But as she realised later, perhaps it wasn’t quite by accident: "As a kid, whenever I went back to my grandmother’s place in Malacca, I would go to the river behind her house and play with the clay.”

In the 1950s, Rozana's grandmother ran a grocery store in this heritage shophouse.

These days, Bendang uses a mixture of clay from the river and other local sources.

That same river continues to serve her well today; Rozana still uses some clay from the river to produce handmade ceramic wares under her company, Bendang Studio, which she set up in 2008.

It took a couple of years after graduation because Rozana was adamant about not taking a loan to set up her business, preferring to work and save up. She assisted established ceramic artist Umi Baizurah for several months, and also worked as a secondary school art teacher.

Ceramic plates that were made using the hand-throwing method.

Originally, Bendang was based at the back of Rozana’s house, in an open kitchen that looked out to the river. Later, the studio shifted to an old wooden shophouse where Rozana’s grandmother ran a grocery store back in the 1950s.

Last March, Bendang moved to their current premise, funded by grants from Kraftangan Malaysia and the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (KKLW), which named them the winner of the Rural Business Challenge 2014.

Bendang Studio’s current premises in Malacca.

Besides housing the studio, it will also have a showroom, scheduled to open by May. Designed by Rozana’s brother-in-law, an architect, the building pays homage to Bendang’s beginnings by incorporating elements of old Malay architecture.

Clearly, Rozana is someone who appreciates her heritage and likes to stick to her roots — even the name Bendang was chosen to reflect the bucolic fields that surrounded the river and her grandmother’s house.

Bendang Studio’s designs are snapped up as soon as they hit the shelves.

When it comes to her ceramic designs, however, Rozana’s aesthetics is decidedly contemporary. Her repertoire has expanded over the years, from sculptures — during her college days and after graduation, as a young ceramic artist who participated in exhibitions locally and abroad — to accessories and fridge magnets when she first ventured into commercial items, and her current offerings of mostly home- and table-ware.

It is for the latter that Bendang is particularly sought after these days. At Kedai Bikin, a home and lifestyle boutique in Bangsar and one of their first clients, Bendang’s collections sell out almost as soon as the items hit the shelves.

The kiln that Rozana made with the help of her lecturer.

Rozana drives up from Malacca to deliver new stocks every two weeks and has stopped taking orders via Bendang’s Instagram account in order to focus on supplying enough to Kedai Bikin, but is finding that it’s still not enough to keep up with demand.

Not that she doesn’t want to increase production, but handmade ceramics is a labour-intensive and time-consuming endeavour. "We are a small set-up,” Rozana reveals. "There are only five of us in the team, including myself, and we have to watch every step.”

Rozana takes pride in the fact that Bendang’s designs are all created by hand, every step of the way (left). Stamping results in embossed motifs like this (right).

Her team includes fellow ceramic graduates and an 18-year-old local from the village, whom Rozana is happy to pass on her skills to. "Even if we may have tested the formula countless times and think that we have perfected it, things may still not work out as planned.”

Ceramics is "fussy”, she goes on to explain, and there are "no short cuts... my arm cannot be small, I need all the strength to do all the handiwork!” There are always problems to troubleshoot, and "Once you load them into the kiln and fire it up, you have no idea what will happen or how they will end up... doa saja (just pray)!”

Time is another factor; it can take up to nine hours of firing in the kiln and then the ceramics need a full day to cool down.

Cups are among the smaller items in Bendang"s collection.

It sounds frustrating and high-risk but "that’s the unique thing about ceramics!” Rozana clarifies, and she would have it no other way. Bendang takes pride in making everything themselves, from scratch and by hand. That includes making their own glaze using natural ingredients, mixing their own colours, hand-painting the designs, and she’s even built her own kiln.

"With the help of my former lecturer at UiTM, we constructed a kiln using fibreglass that can withstand heat of up to 1040°C,” Rozana explains as she shows a photo of the boxy contraption with a brick base and recycled iron frame.

Up to 95 pieces of ceramics can fit into the kiln at one go.

The unique design clinched the Ministry of Science, Technology & Innovation’s (MOSTI) Anugerah Khas Inovasi Akar Umbi Jejak Inovasi in 2011, and a prize money of RM16,000 which Rozana used to invest in a bigger, industrial-strength kiln that she is now using. Depending on size and shape, it can fit about 95 pieces of ceramics at one go.

With the newer and bigger kiln, Rozana was able to move on to producing table-ware and she wasted no time in translating her creative ideas into saleable pieces. After Kedai Bikin posted a picture of their design and tagged them on Instagram, it led to many customers, including restaurants that wanted customised table-ware.

They may look the same but no two pieces are exactly alike.

One of her newest designs uses gold decals, and every piece is fired four rounds (left). Contrasting colours give these bowls a unique appeal (right).

Rimba & Rusa at Sunway Giza is among those who serve their food using Bendang’s creations, as well as Kedai Sebelah in Kelana Jaya and Jibby & Co’s newest offshoot restaurant, Jibby East.

To date, Bendang has produced a few hundred designs, and it’s safe to say that no two are ever exactly the same. Some are one-off items while others may be limited to just several pieces. Rozana employs a number of techniques in creating her distinctive designs, such as stamping to emboss motifs, sponging, melting glass on top of a colour base which then cracks and results in a marbling effect.

She also uses the Japanese Raku method, in which cracks are intentionally created as embellishments. One of her newest, which sports gold dots, were made by applying decal onto the plates and that required four rounds of firing.

It’s easy to see why her designs have such a strong appeal — classic and timeless in essence, with artistic touches and often, just a hint of whimsy. "We have participated in a number of international art events so far, including in Dubai, Tokyo and Frankfurt,” Rozana reveals. "They were great opportunities to not only showcase our collections but also to study what others are looking for. And we have found that our designs are just as well accepted by an international audience.”

While Bendang continues to fire up more coveted pieces for their customers, about 80 per cent of whom are in the Klang Valley, Rozana has plans to expand their range to include more home-ware. She also wants another, even bigger kiln so that she can go back to making what she started with — sculptures. It will be yet another loop in her "coming full circle” story, one that began with a little girl who used to mould river clay with her hands, unknowingly shaping her future and that of Bendang Studio’s.

This one-off piece is literally art on a plate (left). When you see a Bendang piece you like, grab it or it will be gone in a flash! (right).

Bendang Studio is located in Kampung Sungai Petai, Alor Gajah, Malacca which is about 15 minutes from Simpang Empat Expressway Exit, located on the side of the main AMJ road going towards the town of Malacca from the Simpang Empat toll station.

Connect with them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/bendangstudio), Instagram (@bendangstudio_official) or at their website http://bendangstudio.com.my/, and shop their collection at Kedai Bikin (8 Jalan Abdullah, Bangsar Tel: +603 2201 8803 www.kedaibikin.com).