Da Som Inn

We have just recently opened an inn at 28 Jalan Tukang Emas in Malacca.

We have 10 rooms, 3 downstairs and 7 upstairs.

Prices per night are from RM108 for a double room to RM198 for a room that can sleep up to 6 persons. RM30 is charged for each extra bed.

All rooms are air-conditioned with bathroom and Cable TV.

Do contact us at (06) 2866577 or (06)2866578 (Fax) for enquiries.

We will upload photos as soon as we can.

Paintings for sale

I have 3 paintings for sale. Here they are...









Left: Birds in Flight











Left: Dragon Bulls In Forest














Left: Dreaming of Flowers



Please contact me at umyang.tan@gmail.com if you have any queries.

Painting...

This is a picture of my wife holding the fabric of cats I most recently completed.

The person who commissioned it received it this weekend. She is indeed most pleased. She said that it is "GORGEOUS!" As you can see from the big broad smile on my wife's face, she too is very proud of it!!

All the energy used to complete it was all worthwhile. *BIG CONTENTED SMILE*

The Rompers

Here are the pictures of the rompers! My client loves animals and asked for her pet dog to be on at least 2 of them. She gave me a picture of her pet Jack Russell as a guide.




Here are the other 3 designs...

A New Beginning...

My wife and I just came back to Malacca, and our shop, about 5 months ago. We had been away for over a year. My family needed us in Pahang and so we went up to do our part. There, we are in the construction business which is also about creating things, albeit in a much larger and more structured 3-dimensional way.

Upon our return to Malacca, we had to get started all over again as we had disposed of all the dyes we had previously. Our brushes, equipment and other instruments had to be resurrected from the boxes they had been put into. The shop was also a little dusty and needed a good clean. Despite our absence, it had been open as it was left in the care of a friend. He kindly agreed to just receiving whatever he could sell as payment. The shop was well-stocked with our work and thanks to him at least half of what we had left behind was sold. The half that remained needed to be laundered and ironed for a sweet-fresh smell and appearance. They are still considered new as they are unworn. As it is, dyed, waxed and painted materials go through several washings before they are considered ready to be used or worn. Another wash just meant that they are VERY clean.

Our return was welcomed by a regular client from Singapore. When we first met her in 2004, she was expecting her first child. She returned with her son, now 22 months old, and requested for some white cotton rompers she had brought from Singapore to be personalized. To us, this signaled a wonderful beginning as we had our first commission so soon after our hiatus. We had just returned 7 days prior to her visit. She also went through all our freshly laundered stock and bought more than 20 pieces comprising T-shirts, shorts and material. It was indeed a very positive and encouraging start for us. The commission motivated me to startwork faster and to get into the creative juices going once again. I also had to start on and complete an earlier commission requested by her sister for paintings of her cats. She had left with us 2 albums of photos of her cats.

The following is a picture of her son in our shop. Doesn't he look delighted and delightful?

In my next post, I'll share with you pictures of the rompers I designed for him. I will also share the paintings of the cats in future posts.

More samples of art-to-wear...

Sometimes we dye our fabrics and t-shirts before painting designs on them. We have used techniques such as marbling and tie-dye to create unique and one-of-a-kind wearables.

The sample to the left with the cat...the t-shirt was first marbled...pastel shades of green, coral red and blue. Then the design was created using batik techniques...melted wax. Sometimes we also paint the back of the t-shirt with a different design. This one has the cat's derriere.

The sample on the right was first tie-dyed pink with streaks of blue and green. Then the snowflake and sun designs were stamped on using a liquid which takes away the base dye.

Umyang Batik Art to Wear

Here are a few samples of some of the work we have done over the years.



This one shows 3 samples of T shirts. We used the technique of batik. That is using melted wax which is applied to cloth before being dipped in dye or the design painted in. Wherever the wax has seeped through the fabric, the dye will not penetrate. Sometimes several colors are used, with a series of dyeing, drying and waxing steps.

The thin wax lines are made with a tjanting (canting, pronounced chahn-ting) needle, a wooden-handled tool with a tiny metal cup with a tiny spout, out of which the wax seeps.

After the last dyeing, the fabric or t-shirt is hung up to dry for at least 5 hours. Then it is dipped in a solvent to dissolve the wax, or placed in a vat of boiling water, or ironed between paper towels or newspapers to absorb the wax and reveal the deep rich colors and the fine crinkle lines that give batik its character.

Introducing ourselves...

We are a Malaysian, Tan, and Korean, Mi Seon, couple who specialise in using the traditional art form of batik painting to hand paint modern wearables, both tops and bottoms. We use other painting, and dye-ing, techniques as well to create funky and delightful designs.
Each is one-of-a-kind. No repeats.

Come visit us at No 6 Jalan Hang Kasturi, Melaka (Malacca), Malaysia to see what we have to offer for yourselves!

Email us at umyang.tan@gmail.com if you have any queries.