July 2009 - EcoKnights had the pleasure to meet Mrs May Oh and her daughter in the past month at a workshop organised by the Petaling Jaya City Council. Attracted by the array of beautifully handcrafted (and one of a kind!) handbags and purses, we decided to invite Mrs May again for a lunch time talk in which a brief demonstration of her skills were also presented.

Mrs May is a retiree who has a flair for handicrafts. About two years ago, upon her retirement, she decided to pick up bag making and this was no ordinary activity.Much to her amazement, she realised that there's aniche market out there for customers who appreciate and love accessories made from recycled items.

Made from pull tabs from aluminium cans, Mrs May has transformed often unwanted aluminium into a work of art - in this case - hand bags. Gold, black, silver and blue - these are some of the colors of the handcrafted bags which keeps Mrs May occupied.

It's amazing how she managed to make unwanted YET recyclable pull tabs into very usable items. All her products are reasonably priced and very affordable. In fact, one can't seem to be able to tell that her bags are made of unwanted junk. 

Mrs May started off making these bags for friends and relatives. Upon their encouragement, she decided to start off her own venture and has sold several hundred bags over the last two years. She purchases unwanted aluminium tabs from restaurants and removes the pull tabs herself. Upon some hammering of the edges (to ensure that the tabs are not sharp and can injure anyone), she washes the tabs, dries them under the sun, and carefully selects the color tone, before proceeding to her work of art. 

EcoKnights is super proud of her efforts and is really supportive of her work. Catch Mrs May from time to time during some of our green events and you can personally view and touch these recycled aluminium bags from this wonderful lady. 

Stay tuned for more event updates on EcoKnights whereabouts and you might just be able to come over and browse at Mrs May's collection.