SEGAK NOH! CHEQ SUKA!

 "TUDIA SEGAK AIH BAJU HANG"

Based on the major heading and today's entry, it's an accent, or more like a lingo that I heard and use almost every day in this household. A Kedahan household, to be precise. I grew up my whole life with my Kedahan grandmother (OBVIOUSLY), after the divorce of my parents and I could say about 80% of my life was affected and brought up in a Kedahan way. Do you know what's my favorite thing about living with her? I get to borrow (or should I put in simpler words, steal ;p) her vintage traditional clothes! Consuming an excessive amount of calories per day didn't do me any good, unfortunately. Luckily, the existence of this one apparel that I can wear anytime, anywhere, and for any occasion comes to the rescue! It is.....................

*DRUMROLLS*

a Baju Kurung Kedah! I am so pumped to talk about today's brand because it is a combination of my two favorite things! A Baju Kurung Kedah and a tote bag! Okay, I think some of you guys might be wondering, what are you talking about? What is this whole Baju Kurung Kedah thingy? 

"Baju Kedah is believed to be originated from Southern Thailand. It was made from Cita cloth (cotton) with small flower patterns and thin and stiff gauze. Baju kedah can be described as a daily wear or as baju basahan."

Retrieved from:  https://www.memori-kedah.com/page_pengenalan.php?pageNum_Recordset1=12&totalRows_Recordset1=16&p=2&idstopic=1&idskandungan=7&mtopic=1

So now that I've shared the fact of the day, let's begin with an introduction to our products of the week! By the name itself, it depicts the classiness of our local women. Meet Arisha Iman Binti Iskandarrul Fithry, the CEO of her own empire "Gadees Klasik" which offers eye-catching Baju Kurung Kedah and foldable environmentally friendly Batik tote bag!

• Miss Arisha started Gadees Klasik during the first pandemic outbreak, in late 2020.
• As the main concept is to emphasize the classic elements in these modern days, Miss Arisha has decided to choose Batik for Gadees Klasik’s limited edition products as an appreciation 

Now that I have dropped a sneak peek about this business, let's dive in deeper about it, shall we? I have conducted an interview to know deeper about this one business that blooming especially during the pandemic. Hopefully, through this session, any one of my readers could be inspired and be bold to take challenges to start their own empire too!

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Q&A WITH THE CEO OF GADEES.KLASIK

Tuesday, 7/12/21, 3:00 p.m.

Source: @gadees.klasik via Instagram

Can you tell us more about the birth of your goods?

My journey in starting up this small business started from a very random talk with my grandmother and my two best friends during my semester break, in September 2020. I came up with the name “gadees klasik” to emphasize the whole concept of this brand. Classic elements in everything, for a modern gadees daily lives. I started off by selling cotton Kurung Kedah tops, and along the way, I have ventured into bringing more classic essentials such as foldable Batik shopping bags, limited edition Batik kurung kedah, and many more to come!

Source: @gadees.klasik

Please enlighten us more on your products!

Our first Batik product would be a collection of limited edition Kurung Kedah tops. All of the kurkeds tops from that collection were tailor-made, and most importantly, it was made from a premium, high-quality Batik chosen by me. Although the price was slightly expensive compared to the basic cotton kurkeds, we sold out in less than 3 days after we launched the L.E Batik Kurkeds. Which has made me come to a realization that Batik is always a thing, always versatile & you can never go wrong with Batik. Then, I've decided to come up with our second Batik product called Tas Jinjit Serbaguna.

Source: @gadees.klasik

Tas Jinjit Serbaguna is a foldable shopping bag, made from colorful and high-quality Batik. This shopping bag from Gadees Klasik can also hold up to 7kg of items, which is perfect for our gadees to run errands. We're inspired to bring in more “daily essentials” for our gadees, things, or items that everyone needs on a daily basis & that starts with a foldable, reusable shopping bag. Aside from saving the earth, our gadees can still look stylish, classic & different from our Batik Tas Jinjit Serbaguna.

Between the two of the products mentioned, which one is more praiseworthy?

Based on the customer’s feedback and the market’s demand, I would say that the Tas Jinjit Serbaguna is more praiseworthy compared to the Batik Kurung Kedah tops. But to answer your question on which product am I satisfied with the most, I can't choose, I'm just beyond happy to see that there are people out there who still value Batik, and are interested to support my small business.

Does batik bring back a core memory of something that happened in your life? If so, what way?

I've decided with batik and make it limited edition an appreciation towards the ancient, traditional fabric that has been used widely since forever. And to support that, me myself, I personally love Batik. It is a must for me to at least have a pair of Baju Kurung paired with a Batik top or kain sarong made from batik every Eid. That’s how much I adore the uniqueness of Batik.

Since the first day you started, what was your biggest achievement with gadees.klasik?

As of now, I think being able to sell, and gain sales from our Batik products is already a big achievement, but to measure it, I would say, the time it took for our Batik products to be sold out. Usually, it takes less than a day after we launch the collections for the products to be sold out. That is pretty impressive, from my point of view as a newbie in this business industry.

Obstacles in the industry up to now?

The main challenge would be to find high-quality and the perfect Batik material for our production. As we all know, there are cheap, average, and expensive Batik. So it’s quite challenging to ensure the quality of it and to find a reliable Batik supplier.

Where will gadees.klasik be flourishing in 10 years to come?

It is my hope, my dream and my biggest wish to be recognized as one of the local brands that is able to sustain traditional attires, Kurung Kedah and Batik wear in our country, and even internationally perhaps! And I would love to have a business, specifically just for Batik wear, with a concept of modern wear & classical elements.

What is your hope for this local treasure as an individual, for the public, and the company?

As a Malaysian, I really hope that Batik will forever be a part of us, our society, our country and it shall never be forgotten, no matter how advanced our lifestyle might be in the future.