PETALING JAYA, Dec 20 — If you appreciate fine craftsmanship and love pretty collectibles, November Tiffins by artist Haze Long will be ideal for this gifting season. Started just last month (hence its name), these hand- painted pieces with Christmas motifs are limited to only five to six pieces per design.

Tiffins or tiffin carriers, were known as tingkat since they are essentially stacked food carriers. In the old days, the Peranakans favoured these carriers.

True to Peranakan fashion, they decorated the enamel food carriers with elaborate designs. These are now collectibles, coveted by antique lovers. In India, tiffins (or dabba) are extremely popular in Mumbai where delivery men known as dabbawallas bring home-cooked food to the city's workforce. Hands up, those who remember how love blossomed over a tiffin carrier in the Indian movie The Lunchbox.

The designs are transferred and hand painted on the stainless steel tiffins

It takes a whopping 300 plus hours to paint the tiffins and dry out the paint before it is sprayed with a clear coat to protect it

Haze, who is forever the creator, started out as a beauty blogger before she branched out to designing websites and blogs. In 2013, she founded Art Misfits that does illusion and mural art pieces.

Since 2015, she has stepped back to focus on her own artwork that includes speed painting, fine art pieces and art installations. November Tiffins is her latest project.

The idea of using tiffins for art was first proposed for a solo art exhibition she had planned in April last year. While that idea didn't go ahead, she kept it in the back burner until now.

In the old days, tiffin carriers were mainly enamel. Since enamel can chip, nowadays the food carriers are made from more durable stainless steel. Haze explains that when you're decorating it with enamel paint, this requires it to be fired in an extremely hot oven to allow the paint to stick on it better.

Time is also needed to allow the paint to dry properly otherwise, it will come out later

Adorable woodland creatures are paired with floral designs for these decorative tiffins

Since that is not possible with her small set-up, she opted for industrial paint so the designs can last longer.

Preparing and painting these tiffins are incredibly labour intensive and back-breaking work. "It took us about 300 to 400 working hours to get these tiffins ready," she explained about the long process.

The upcycled stainless steel tiffins have to be cleaned and sanded down before work can start. Next, each one is sprayed with a primer and a base coat of colour. The paint needs about one week to cure properly before anything can be done.

Once that is dry, the designs can be transferred and painted. A final protective layer of clear coating is added to mask the design.

It'll be hard to chose between the elves, Christmas tree or a cuddly bear

Whimsical designs with rabbits and robins give a modern twist to these decorative painted tiffins

Unlike the typical Peranakan floral designs, Haze has added whimsical touches like angels, robins and Christmas trees to her designs. "We merge Peranakan motifs with woodland creatures and the Christmas bear." These give a modern slant to the designs, making them appealing to the younger crowd.

You also have a mix of Asian and Western elements, like orchids with Christmas holly. She admits it was a risk to try out these Christmas designs as a first-timer to the decorative tiffin business since she has no clear cut idea what the market will be like.

While the tiffins are more decorative, you can also use them as food carriers. Haze cautions customers from using anything abrasive as it may remove the paint. She advises buyers to wash them with a soft sponge. No direct heat should also be applied to the tiffins too.

Santa, can we have all of these from November Tiffins?

For upcoming festivals, she plans to only make these decorative tiffins via customised orders. A minimum order of seven tiffin sets is required. As the designs needs time to paint and dry, it is best the orders are placed at least three weeks in advance.

What you get in return... coveted, specially-designed tiffins made with a lot of love.

The Christmas collection for November Tiffins can be found at the Tiny Tropics booth at Bangsar Shopping Centre for their "Under The Stars" Christmas Bazaar until December 23. You can also order the tiffins on their website, http://hazelong.com/november-tiffins/