Master Law
" ... I do not know when, but I will continue to keep my shop open until the day
I become immobile..."
The Blinds Maker
Our master blinds maker, Master Law (刘志华), who is now located at Lorong Bijeh Timah, Old Town Ipoh recounts the origins of his shop and his story. The shop name (like most of traditional Chinese businesses) : Lau Hoi Kee (刘开记), is comprised of his family origin name: Lau, followed by Hoi Kee, which symbolises the inherited family business from his parents. Master Law joyously recollects the memorable days of him and his siblings helping out in the family business everyday after school. To his knowledge, the shop is almost 100 years old and he has been in the trade for more than 70 years.
During the occupation of Malaya, there were many orders that came primarily from Japanese and British customers, specifically for domestic use within the confines of the kitchen and/or garden. Meanwhile, vendors too, approached Master Law for blinds to be used commercially. As a result of this high demand, his family decided to purchase a waving machine (circa 1967), from another blinds maker whose business was about to fold. Compared to the traditional hand made process, the machine precipitated the waving by about a third of the former time.
As time progressed, decreasing demand coupled with escalating maintenance fees, forced Master Law to stop using and maintain the declined state of the machine.When asked when this happened ‘...somewhere around 2000’, according to Master Law, suggesting the end of the incapacitated machine at that time. Unfortunately, the researchers were unable to catch a glimpse of this once hugely efficacious machine which now quietly resides in an unseen and forgotten corner of the shoplot as lamented by Master Law himself. Although amidst the drop in demand, Master Law was and is still fortunate to receive random custom made orders from abroad (especially Singapore).
As he points out, one requires strong stamina, skills and patience to assemble a good set of blinds as it involves precision in tying up the slats and draping it up properly for the painting process. Despite this extensive production and hard work, Master Law charges only a meager RM9.00 per square feet for his efforts. The full painstakingly hand-made process from measuring the raw ingredients to the application of base paint, according to Master Law, takes him about 2 to 4 days to complete a good set of blinds. As he ponders and points to a broken trishaw (filled with paint marks and historical memories), he reminisces ”...that was the trishaw I used to transport the blinds to my clients”.
A humble man with few words, Master Law professes that ‘...the work is time consuming , but I earn very little’. Hence, he neither sees his skills as an achievement nor does he feel proud about it. The research team, through the conversations, senses that his contributions are not fully recognized nor appreciated. To this effect, he is content with the fact that no one succeeds his skills beyond him. On the subject of retirement, Master Law paused and acknowledged “...I do not know when, but I will continue to keep my shop open until the day I become immobile..” sighing with a smile albeit with very little hope.
" ... I do not know when, but I will continue to keep my shop open until the dayI become immobile..."
- Master Law
