And looking at the array of stunning merchandise she produces for her business GoCHeeKS, it is evident that much thought, effort and time was invested into making each piece exquisite.
Speaking to FMT, Chee revealed that she’d always had a passion for art. “My parents were very nurturing, and my mother bought the best tools such as paint and pencils for me,” the 61-year-old shared, adding that she also participated in various art competitions.
However, her parents feared she wouldn’t be financially stable as an artist, so she pursued a career in banking instead.
“From 2009 to 2010, it was a stressful time for me due to the global financial crisis. And when I couldn’t sleep, I would paint,” she recalled, adding that she found it helpful to have a balance between her creative right brain and her analytical left brain.
Before she knew it, she had painted enough art pieces to hold four exhibitions to sell everything. However, she developed tendinitis in her right shoulder soon after. And because the inflammation of the tendon was acute, she couldn’t paint large art pieces anymore. “And as an artist who couldn’t paint, it was very frustrating for me,” she recalled.
A pair of scrub shoes
After her last exhibition in 2015, she flew to Melbourne, Australia to visit her daughter who was working as a doctor there. And one morning, she found herself staring at her daughter’s pair of plain scrub shoes.
“Our family loves wearing nice shoes and I thought about how she has to wear these rather dull shoes to work every day,” she recalled.
Unable to shrug the image of the scrub shoes off, she purchased several pairs of canvas shoes once back in Malaysia, hand painted them, and sent them off to her daughter.
Delighted with the shoes, her daughter posted pictures of it on her social media, inadvertently setting off a stream of requests from her followers who saw the post.
Chee was ecstatic at this turn of events and graciously accepted all the orders. However, after working on a few hundred pairs, she realised it was not a scalable effort. “Painting on each shoe is like painting a small piece of art and every pair has a different design,” she shared.
She was still a full-time bank employee then and devoted her weekends to fulfilling her orders – leaving her with little time to rest.
So, she decided to digitise and print her artwork on fabric, which is how her brand GoCHeeKS was born.
Mesmerising masterpieces
With this technological development, Chee has produced beautiful shawls, twilly scarves, kimono cardigans, hair scrunchies, face masks and bags.
Since 2021, she has also been collaborating with Helping Hands Penan, a non-governmental organisation that facilitates the sale of woven crafts made by Penan women.
After purchasing these bags, Chee adds her signature touch. “I call this the ‘GoCHeeKS x Helping Hands Penan’ series,” she said. This series consists of woven bags adorned with applique and rhinestones.
Among her latest creations are handphone stand holders – and these striking and colourful pieces can certainly brighten up one’s workstation!
Additionally, Chee also holds corporate events. “I conduct a twilly scarf-tying activity, where I demonstrate different methods to tie twilly scarves that I have designed,” she shared, adding that this is suitable for companies looking to boost engagement with their clients or staff.
Rewarding journey
Expectedly, running a business does have its share of challenges, and one of them is finding ways to grow her distribution channel. Chee revealed that she is highly dependent on social media to garner sales.
Thankfully, GoCHeeKS is part of Persatuan Pembangunan Artisans (PPA), an NGO that helps local artisans promote and market their products through an online platform, physical stores in the Klang Valley as well as pop-up events. “As I don’t do any advertising, these are helpful,” she shared.
So, looking back, how has the journey been for this banker turned artisan?
“I do this for passion and it’s rewarding when my customers tell me they love my products,” she shared, adding that she jumps out of bed every morning enthusiastically.
Check out Chee’s beautiful creations on GoCHeeKS’ website, Facebook and Instagram. Or contact 017-222 9793.
Read more PPA stories and get to know its artisans by clicking here.