The Batik Boutique, a company established and run by American Amy Blair, was born out of a frustration faced by many expatriates. “I couldn’t find gifts that were really Malaysian to take home to my friends and family,” Amy remembers. Her solution? To work with a local seamstress, then in Penang where Amy and her husband first settled in Malaysia, to produce her own gifts. Soon she was arriving back in Texas with handmade batik baby slings and coasters in hand. Her friends loved the products, and it didn’t take long for Amy’s entrepreneurial spirit to kick in.
She realised she could make money, make her friends happy and help out her local seamstresses, and The Batik Boutique took off. The company has expanded greatly since then but Amy says the main driving force—having a successful
business that is also doing good for people—remains. That said, Amy now has an additional focus. In setting up and running the brand, it became apparent that in Malaysia there was a lack of appreciation for the batik art form. That, Amy thought, should change, and she has set about raising awareness for the beauty of this most Malaysia of expressions. It’s a huge task but one that The Batik Boutique is eager to take on.
“2015 could be the year it takes off,” Amy says with a smile. With sales of her batik products increasing all over the world, we’d have to agree with her.
