Yong Peng/Malaysia

In 1952, Mr. Choon Tek Piau 钟德标 learned tailoring at the age of 14 by chance, a friend recommended him to be a trainee in Batu Pahat, but he had no nothing about tailoring. It was a challenging and intense training period, with his redouble efforts of work, he gained a lot during it and eventually became a career he never dreamed of.

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​His passion motivated Mr. Choon to start his own tailor business " Tong Hong Tailor" 東方服装行 at age of 28 years in his hometown - Yong Peng. He is now successful in business for 52 years. For Mr. Choon, happiness is seeing the next generation of my customer's children wearing the clothes that he has made, which makes him happy and proud.

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Mr. Choon is concerned that the tailoring trade will disappear within a few generations due to the fact that young people no longer want to make clothes for a living, Moreover, he believes that they don’t have the time or temperament to perfect tedious tailoring techniques, which require years of practice. Nowadays, there are fewer and fewer traditional tailors like this in Southeast Asia, and it is a declining industry.