‘Basket Lady’ finds extra income through hobby

0

MIRI: Housewife Anna Ong Nee Na has managed to turn her hobby of weaving baskets out of plastic strips into a fulfilling business.

Known to her friends as the ‘Basket Lady’, Ong was first drawn to the hobby by a basket she bought in Singapore.

From merely copying the patterns on the basket she bought, Ong has since managed to come up with her own designs.

“This is just a part-time affair for me to kill the boredom and leisure hours and keep me actively awake, too, rather than just sitting idle the whole day at home. At the same time, it’s a business for me to earn extra income from the sales of my baskets,” she told The Borneo Post recently.

“Weaving baskets is quite taxing as it takes about one to two days to complete one, and the bending of baskets sometimes hurts my fingers.”

Ong’s collection now comes in all sizes and patterns, and the baskets have even found homes overseas in Australia, the United States and England.

She has also donated baskets for sale during the Palliative Home’s annual dinner and for the Miri Petroleum Women’s Association (PWPM).

“A hobby can be a business depending on what we want to achieve, as long as we are determined,” she added.