KUALA LUMPUR March 30, 2014-- While she enjoyed working on the computer as a design manager, Samsiah Jendol found it was infinitely more fulfilling working with her own hands. Samsiah, or Little Syam as she is also known, is one of the pioneers of traditional book binding in Malaysia.

Three years ago, the mother of two left her lucrative job to pursue her love for crafting.

Back in 1994 when she was studying in New Zealand, she studied book binding at summer school.

“After teaching workshops on book binding and participating in various bazaars around town for three to four years, I finally considered it as a full-time job,” said Samsiah.

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Friends said she was crazy as she was at the peak of her career. “I used to get paid a lot. But I needed a challenge. I don’t live as luxuriously as before but the quality of life is better as I’m able to be with my children at home,” she said.

Right now she operates from home and she is “mobile”, which means she can work from anywhere. This gives her the flexibility she wants although she has dreams of opening a retail shop in the future.

From December 2012 to May 2013, Samsiah together with seven other like-minded crafters started a pop-up shop in Publika called Lapan.

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Currently, Little Syam’s works are sold at China House in Penang and can be found online as well.

“When I started book binding, I wanted to pioneer something. Book binding was new here but it is not new overseas,” said Samsiah.

Her first workshop was in Taman Botani and now, she has 700 students! Besides having workshops every month, she gets invited to art schools to teach as well.

“People hear of me through word of mouth and social media,” she said. But the real reason Samsiah is popular is because she’s doing it out of passion.
“I love craft and money is not my primary concern,” she said. Besides book binding, she also makes dolls, passport holders and does silk screening.

The main media she uses is paper, fabric and silk screen. What makes book binding interesting and unique is the way the crafter makes it.

1. Samsiah starts the book binding process by making incisions on the paper stack. 2. Cut a piece of the spine – it could be any material. 3. Samsiah then draw lines so that she can align the holes properly. 4. She makes holes on the spine with a hammer and tool
1. Samsiah starts the book binding process by making incisions on the paper stack. 2. Cut a piece of the spine – it could be any material. 3. Samsiah then draw lines so that she can align the holes properly. 4. She makes holes on the spine with a hammer and tool

“You have to think about the theme, the different type of binding, colours and material,” said Samsiah.

She is a firm believer that students should be taught the basics but they should not copy the teacher’s work exactly.

“I tell my students to have their own journey in book binding. If they make an exact copy, they will not learn much,” she said.

For a weekend, she will teach four slots of book binding with four different styles in each slot. She teaches French stitch, Coptic, Long Stitch and Kettle Stitch. Samsiah learned some of the methods in New Zealand but the rest are improvisations she came up with.

“It’s so different now. I used to learn from books but now people can learn from YouTube. But it’s not the same. If you want to ask a question, it’s better to learn from someone,” said Samsiah.

She’s very flexible when it comes to teaching. “I’ll tell my students to try one slot first and if they like it, they can continue. Some are so good that they even start their own workshops!” said Samsiah.

5. Samsiah shows us how to make a long stitch. 6. Placing the cover of the book together before binding it together. 7. Making sure the stitches are strong enough to bind the book. 8. The finished product in different colours, materials and binding methods
5. Samsiah shows us how to make a long stitch. 6. Placing the cover of the book together before binding it together. 7. Making sure the stitches are strong enough to bind the book. 8. The finished product in different colours, materials and binding methods

She has a student in New Zealand who does book binding and participates in bazaars.

Also, after personally participating in bazaars and starting a blog, she gained the confidence to start her own book binding workshops.

Samsiah also manages an Etsy shop where she gets orders locally and internationally. She also gets custom orders for her Our Adventure Book.

Each book binding session takes about three to four hours to complete and it is RM100 per slot. She’s so well-known among crafters that she even has students flying in from New Zealand and Singapore to learn from her.

“It’s all about being systematic. Usually, students from an accounting or finance background make neat books because they are very systematic,” said Samsiah.

She demonstrated book binding during the interview session, showing us the long stitch method. She was very meticulous and patient as she bound the book step by step.

“Your personality is reflected in the book you’re making,” said Samsiah. And from the books that she made, we can tell that she is a patient person who puts a lot of love in her work!

For more details about Little Syam, check out her blog at http://little-syam.blogspot.com/ and her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/littlesyamdesign.