Into the World of Machines

I had a very interesting experience on Tuesday when I visited the JIAM 2008 Exhibition @Expo. It is an international exhibition organized by a Japanese organization, showcasing textile & fabrics related machineries. It is held in Singapore for the 1st time. I'm lucky my granduncle's company participated in this mega exhibition, so I was invited to the show :) This was a whole new experience for me! I saw many huge machineries, which I don't even know what they are used for until the vendors gave a demo!

It was nice to come across a traditional manual way of making buttons :) They were giving away FREE buttons. Yay... who doesn't like free gifts? hehe... :P

Those Knotty Fans out there who LOVE my buttons, well, check out my sponsor & supplier - Sintek-Link! Yup, my granduncle's company. They now also distribute these very popular studs from Korea. The machine he's showcasing is the heat-press machine by his business partner - Hashima. Check out the company logo above Mickey Mouse. It's made by my VERY YOUNG UNCLE (only about 18yrs old!), Yixiong. I promised him I'll "feature his work"! :P

I chanced upon this exhibitor, Masayuki-san, showcasing sewing machines, who live in Yokohama. Knowing I just visited Yokohama, Osambashi, a few weeks ago, we started chatting about sewing & craft. This lady, Masayo-san, impressed me with her sewing-machine skill.

See how factory steam-iron a shirt in seconds! I felt like a kid in Science Centre! I was trying so hard to hide my excitement, in case I'm so obviously a "mountain turtle" there!

I vividly remember my jaw literally dropped when I saw this incredible machine. Not only can it do embroidery in minutes, it can even stitch strings of sequins & lace onto the design!!! O boy, how clever! & you know what? Since it's machine-made, the stitches are all "perfectly uniform"! iyo.... I'm still very overwhelmed! & of course these machines don't come cheap. I overhead a vendor quoting a potential buyer S$2million for the above embroidery machine! *I think my jaw dropped again*

2 sewing machine companies have very good & effective marketing strategies. They organize fashion design competitions & sponsor their machines to leading fashion academy in Japan. The effect, beautiful trendy fashion showing off the capabilities of their sewing machines, & of course, making these young aspiring fashion designers their loyal fans.

It was a strange feeling watching what these steel giants are capable of doing. I almost realize then why many people cannot understand handicraft & hence unappreciative of crafters' effort! Yes, it's scary, but this is real. Actually I'm most awed & amazed by the "handicraft" of these mega giants. The heroes behind these unbelievable inventions are truly incredible! They are definitely very creative individuals too!