KUALA TERENGGANU: Tailor Loo Oi Lin believes that East is best, so she makes beautiful batik cheongsam to represent the fusion of Chinese and Malay cultures.

“My friends laughed at me when I first told them about the idea,” she said.

“However, 10 years on, I am the one still laughing,” quipped Loo, 51.

Operating from her humble shop in Kampung Cina or Chinatown, Loo has been making batik cheongsam for customers from as far as Johor and Sabah.

She gets about 12 orders each month.

“Most of my customers are teachers. They want these cheongsam for official functions as well as Chinese New Year celebrations,” she said.

Born and bred in Terengganu, Loo said she also sent the cheongsam to out-of-town customers by courier service.

Loo, who has two assistants, opens her shop daily and is especially busy when Chinese New Year is around the corner.

“My shop closes only on Friday once every two weeks. However, no matter how busy I get, I never feel burdened as I really love designing the perfect batik cheongsam for my customers,” she said.

Loo also makes kebaya, shirts and pants, all from Terengganu batik. She said her batik cheongsam is priced at RM80, kebaya RM100 while batik shirts cost RM55.

Asked whether her 27-year-old son, her only child, would take over the business when she retires, Loo said he was not interested in becoming a tailor.

“However, I am praying that he finds a wife who shares the same interest as me,” she said.