Shop Unique Merch and Stamps from Your Home State and Celebrate Local Talent with Apom X Pos Malaysia

Now in conjunction with the month of Merdeka, you can get your hands on some cool merch that has been designed by a representative of your home state from this awesome collaboration between Apom, a local retail brand featuring Malaysian culture and Pos Malaysia.

Last year during the lockdown when many Malaysians couldn’t visit their hometowns, Apom launched Project #empatbelas, which allowed 14 selected designers and artists across the 14 different states to showcase their state pride on various merchandise. A percentage of the sales is given to the designers.

Now they're back at it:

This year, the project is back by popular demand and allows the brand to showcase local talent as well as to create a network between designers from different states. In May, Apom released the call for entries for the project and received over 80 submissions, an increase from the previous year. These were eventually narrowed down to 14 designers and artists, each representing their own state.

“There are many things Sarawak is well-known for but to me, Sarawak is special because of the people, familiar faces, and the unique food. I’m also forever homesick when I’m not in Sarawak.” said Regina Lim, the designer from Sarawak.

Merchandise includes phone cases, totes, tees, and mugs like this one showcasing Johor, which is known for being the largest pineapple producing state in Malaysia. Any proud Johorians here?

Apom has also upped the ante on the project, working with our national postal service, Pos Malaysia which also happens to be one of the oldest brands in Malaysia. The designers will have the honour of seeing their own designs printed on limited edition stamp sets.

According to Apom, “We have so much talent here, but sometimes they are not given a platform to showcase what they can do. We hope through project #empatbelas these designers are able to get their work out there and showcase their passion for their states and more importantly connect with other fellow designers across the country through this project.”