This 26-Year Old Makes Miniature Wearable Roti Canai For a Living

In contemporary times, using clay to make miniatures has become popularised. It isn’t easy though as you need steady and deft hands to make cute art pieces as small as possible.

We spoke to the artists that created these adorable miniatures, Joyee Tan of the @1.12.space page who shared that she picked up the hobby when the pandemic began in 2020.

She searched for video and image tutorials of an item she wanted to make and slowly learned the techniques behind them. She also used miniature clay guidebooks to help her along the way and quickly found out that she was quite adept at it. Meanwhile we were probably wasting time doing things like making ‘dalgona coffee’ and failing. Oops.

Joyee had just obtained a degree in Graphic Design the year before and hoped to kickstart her career, but found herself without a job due to the MCO. Together with her friend Wei Jia who currently helps her with illustrations for the brand, they had the idea of turning her hobby into a small business.

The business kicked off as they gathered customers through Facebook and Instagram, and Joyee has turned it into her full-time job ever since.

She focuses on items like mini food which invoke a sense of nostalgia in us with pieces like ice gem biscuits, small fish biscuits in plastic containers with red lids, and ‘keropok roda’ in plastic packets. Each item is 100% unique as they are handmade carefully.

Joyee shared, “While making these pieces, passion keeps me going. Now it’s the nostalgia of childhood memories that inspires me the most. Also somehow, seeing beautiful items will compel me to transform them into miniatures and carry them around!

The time needed to craft each one really depends on the products, which have different difficulty levels. She prefers to make them in batches as the process is time-consuming and each item requires time to dry and harden.

Making 20 ‘kuih kapit’ pieces can take Joyee up to an hour to complete, excluding the time to paint each lid and cut the containers. She usually uses resin clay as her main medium, while alternating with soft clay or paper clay based on the texture she wants to create.

How do you like your roti canai? Plain? With curry and sugar? Joyee is happy to cater to her customers tastes and you can bring them around with you as they come in the form of keychains, earrings, and brooches. Otherwise, go for it in magnet form and stick it on your fridge.

While you can now have the option of having ‘Teh O’ Ais Limau Ikat Tepi’ dangling from their earlobes, Joyee is also currently exploring other options such as ‘Milo Ais’ and ‘Teh Tarik’. She usually takes two to three tries to create a prototype before it becomes the final product.

Wow, the pandemic really brought out the creative side in many Malaysians. Have an interesting story or business to share with us? DM us or email at [email protected]

Check out her pages here: Instagram | Lazada | Shopee