Siti Amirah Pilus, 36, started out by designing floral arrangements as wedding gifts in 2014. The past three years, however, have seen her switching entirely to velvet wire – a crafting material consisting of a flexible wire core encased in a soft material.

This combination of metallic interior and plush exterior makes it ideal for creating a variety of craft projects, especially those that require bending, twisting and shaping.

“I began learning how to do velvet-wire arrangements after being intrigued by a tutorial on Instagram. It was difficult at first, but it became easier once I got the rhythm and pattern,” she told Bernama at her home here, where she carries out her work.

The mother of four said small velvet-wire creations can be completed within five minutes, while larger ones like flower bouquets take up to two hours.

Her handiwork is sold at prices ranging from RM3.50 to RM250, depending on the type and specific requests by customers.

According to Siti Amirah, most of her customers order flower arrangements and bouquets as gifts for convocation or retirement events, as they do not wilt like real flowers, making them lasting keepsakes.

“The response has been very encouraging. Every month I earn over RM1,500 from these arrangements, and once made up to RM8,000 when my product went viral on social media,” she said.

The Jempol native is one of the entrepreneurs guided by the community development department (Kemas), from which she received a one-off assistance of RM5,000 through the Quick Win Programme.

“My dream one day is to open a shop to sell my crafted and decorative products on a larger scale. For now, even though I’m doing this on a small scale, I’m happy when my customers are satisfied with my handiwork,” she added.