A Crafter’s Paradise
Let me confess…I haven’t been to BJ Complex or its surrounding shops in years.
So it’s no wonder that I didn’t know about this great little shop that anyone who is interested in making crafts will go absolutely crazy over.
It’s called You Mei and upon entering you will spy rolls and rolls of ribbons, laces, sequins and strings of beads. They also have ready assembled flowers, butterflies and such that you can take and sew to your clothes or add to your craft work immediately.
Man, I should have come to this place when I started doing my belly dance costume instead of canvassing every shop in the town area. The people in the shop were really helpful and knowledgeable. In fact, LT, one of my class girls spent a whole day there so that they can give her a quick tutorial to sew her bra.
Initially, I was really naive when I thought that I can finish the whole thing with just one type of silver sequins and beads. How wrong I was. I bought some additional materials from them today including three lovely butterflies for my skirt. Not sure how I’m gonna use them, but they will definitely save me lots of time.
I’ve completed both cups now and am starting with the staps. If I thought doing the cups were hard, the straps prove to be harder still because I have to take into consideration that they need to stretch and their flimsiness make holding the sequins in place difficult.
Some girls in the class played about with the idea that after our performance they can sell off their costumes to help raise funds for charity, maybe at the next WBD. It’s a good idea and definitely will prevent having another costume taking up space in our closet.
But for me, I don’t know if I’ll be able to part with it after spending so much effort just making it.
Truly this hafla is the personification of the term “blood, sweat and tears”.
Blood because of all the tiny needle pricks I got.
Sweat because practicing in the workout studio on Saturdays is like practicing in a sauna.
Tears, well, there were some with the needle pricks.
Girls, Gambateh!
Thanks for all your help, You Mei. You’ve definitely given me lots of ideas to digest.
October 12th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
Hey girl…I’ve walked past this You Mei shop many times in the past when I used to frequent BJC (which was yeeeearrsss ago!) and a few months ago, I wanted to buy some buttons and tot of this place. Went there with my man to look for it but ended up walking round and round BJC trying to locate the shop! Ended up with no buttons and a very dark-faced man tagging behind me.
So where is it now ah? Which floor and near to which side of the dang building?
One thing that turns me off about BJC is the way the mgmt run the escalators on each floor. To force customers to walk past all the shops, the escalators are programed in a way that one has to walk to the very end of each floor just to go up the next level. There were many times I took the dark, scary looking stairs than walking the building’s length just to go to the top floor! By the 3rd time I did that, I swore never to bother going to BJC again!
October 13th, 2008 at 12:27 am
It’s actually one of the shoplots outside BJC opposite where Nestie & Co used to live. The very last block of shoplots, in fact. The shop is near the end of the block.
October 13th, 2008 at 6:13 am
Aiks..it moved OUT of the BJC building ah? It used to be inside leh….or did I mistake it for the other craft shop that used to be operating from inside BJC? Hmmmmm….
Anyway….thanks, girl.
October 13th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
I’m not sure leh. I know there used to be a craft shop inside BJC and I did go looking for it the other day but it has closed down. Not sure if You Mei is the same one.