IT CAME, IT WENT

September 1, 2024September 1, 2024 / Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Aren’t we all in a hurry? Everything seems to be in a rush or rushing to catch the tail end of something. Tail end of a moment? Now, that will be a feat to watch. A moment is what I believe to be wa-a-a-y faster than a second. So, can you imaging trying to catch it’s tail end? I think a dog, running in circles, trying to catch its tail is more likely to succeed though the odds are stacked against that from happening. Compared to us trying to catch the tail end of a moment.

We were waiting in anticipation for the weekend to come, because it was the “Merdeka” weekend. Malaysia’s 67th Independence anniversary. Though some purists will tell you that it was to be Peninsula Malaysia’s (Malaya in 1957) Independence. Sarawak and Sabah got theirs a few years later, what is now known as “Malaysia Day”.

Also, it was the first time that we, the Batik Influencer, Jeannie; and I, would be manning a booth at Amcorp Shopping Mall’s Flea Market starting on a Friday and ending on Sunday.

Friday came. We were at our designated booth on the 1st Floor by 11.00am, set up and displayed the things that we hope would have found new owners by this weekend. At first, we only expected the people traffic flow to be from the office crowd since Friday was a working day. The crowd was good, with a good mix of those still working and those who were not.

*The first two of JEANNIE’S OWN Batik Cape Creations were quickly snapped up by these two ladies.*

There was a D.J. / M.C. this weekend. He was good. We weren’t at our booth for too long before the M.C. (let’s call him that for the rest of the article) made his way to out booth and interviewed the Batik Influencer. He promoted her batik capes (Jeannie’s Batik Capes under the lable of JEANNIE’S OWN) over the air. I met him, but we did not recognise each other).

*The M.C., Denis; getting to know about the Batik Influencer’s Batik Cape Creations under the JEANNIE’S OWN label.*

A while later, I saw my cousin, Darren Atkinson, walk by. When he heard the M.C.s voice over the speakers, he said that was Denis Lim. I said it couldn’t be because we met each other earlier. However, I did not recognise him, and vice versa. No names were exchanged at that point of time.

Darren went looking for the M.C..

Friday was soon over, and Jeannie and I headed for home by about 5.00pm. We wanted to avoid the office crawl (literally). It is the usual time when you can see snails move faster than us. Looks like I’ve been influenced by “Turbo”.

*The Batik Influencer demonstrating the multiple ways of using the JEANNIE’S OWN Batik Cape Creations.*

One of the first people to visit us on Saturday morning was the M.C., Denis. Now, I knew who he was and vice versa; after Darren. We were all connected through the youth of Assumption Church, Petaling Jaya. (1) We reminisced of the great times we had when we were the youth (we still are…depending on how one looks at it😉😂) of the 1970s and 1980s.

My cousin, Chris; stopped by, too. We had a good chat since our last coffee meet up a few weeks ago.

We had many people come see us during the three days we were at our booth. There was never a time the Mall was quiet. The M.C. did a fantastic job, keeping the crowds entertained and updating them on where there could find great bargains for the bargain hunters. He also advertised the products of all the booths had to offer.

Emir visited us, and so did his sister. They picked up a few things of ours for their use. My Fujimi brand e34 BMW 535 SOHC unbuilt model kit which I bought in 1989 and kept all this while, has now found a new owner, who apparently does not intend to build it, but to keep it like how I kept it. He has a real “Mazda red” (colour) e34, double vanos model, as his daily use. He loves it.

More of my Hotwheels collection have found new owners, leaving me with barely 10% of my original collection left. They all must have new owners.

The Batik Influencer met with more fashion industry people and talked away about batik and how it is a growing powerhouse in the international arena. I met many more people who have become followers of http://www.leatherpotato.com. They have wished me well on the upcoming book and have indicated an interest in getting a copy each when it reaches the book stores in Q1, 2025. For, you, readers; a multiple number have indicated that you want a copy, it is coming real soon. It was supposed to be out for the Christmas holidays. However, due to a slight delay, it will be out in Q1, 2025 (not too long from now). I am excited to see its fruition.

We headed home by about 5.30pm. But first, we stopped by at Kwai Sun for dinner…

NOTES:
1. Petaling Jaya is a city in the state of Selangor, Malaysia.

THE DYNAMIC DUO OF LA BATIK INFLUENCER AND THE HATTED WRITER

February 4, 2024February 9, 2024 / Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

As the Batik Influencer or “La Batik Influencer” and I, the Hatted Writer; were setting up our booth at F1.16 on the first floor, our first customer to purchase some Hotwheels vehicles, was Jason. Jason purchased some Hotwheels vehicles from us a couple of weeks ago, too. We had a chat about how he started his collection, which he says is still a small number. He collects postage stamps, coins and bank notes, too.

*“La Batik Influencer” demonstrating how to use her cape.*

Not too long after that, La Batik Influencer had customers enquiring and purchasing her batik cape creations. She was in her element. We both; were having fun.

I was quite interested in getting a flat cap. Ok. It was more than just “quite”. So, I paid my friend, Mahmud, the specs and hats guy; a visit at his booth which was located just above us, one floor up.

I tried on the tartan flat cap, one that caught my interest last week when I first visited Mahmud’s booth. This time round, I tried on two other flat caps. I am posting pictures and videos here, of the flat caps I tried on. Which do you (readers) think suits me best? Leave your comment/s and vote in the comment section. Let’s see if your views align with mine.

I did quite a bit of research on the flat caps. Flat caps are rounded hats with a small stiff brim in front and are considered a culturally historic item of clothing. The origins of the flat cap can be traced back to Britain in 1571, when Parliament ordered all non-noblemen and boys over the age of 6 to cover their heads with wool caps on Sundays and holidays. It was said that this law was probably to help the wool industry.

Today, it is a trendy headgear that goes well for both casual and formal wear.

I won’t ask which is my good side because I look good all ways. Just saying. Haha.

*A round of golf, perhaps? Now, where did I put my Dint putting iron?*

I did not spend too much of time at Mahmud’s booth as we had a continuous flow of visitors at our booth. I will pick up the cap later today (Sunday) when I have some free time in between visitors and friends coming over to out booth.

The Hotwheels vehicles drew quite a bit of attention as they usually do, as people (more like seious collectors) could tell from the navy blue coloured blister packs that what I had on sale were all over 10 years old, with many of them quite rare.

*This young lad purchased 5 vehicles. His dad paid for the purchase.*

*Listening intently.* *She bought the beautiful red dragon on gold (plate) brooch.*

This gentleman liked what he saw of La Batik Influencer’s Batik Cape creations.

*Judy, who is a friend of mine on Facebook; was very happy with her acquisition of one of La Batik Influencer’s Batik Cape creations under “Jeannie’s Own” brand.*

One of my Facebook friends, Judy, came by with her husband, Derek; whose relatives in Klang are friends of ours. Two of them were my primary school teachers, in the late 1960s, early 1970s; fondly remembered by the boys of La Salle School, Klang. Judy was very happy with her purchase of the lovely navy blue / golden brown combination “Jeannie’s Own” brand batik cape. It was our pleasure to meet her and Derek in person.

You know how the saying goes, “Time flies by quickly when you are having fun”. It was as though we had just set up our booth and now, it was time to pack up. We look forward to being here again tomorrow morning. Till then…

I put this article together after 3.00am this morning.

1st Floor, Amcorp Shopping Mall,
Booth 1.16, Level 1
Amcorp Shopping Mall,
8, Jalan, Persiaran Barat, Seksyen 52 Petaling Jaya, 46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Date: Feb 03 and Feb 04, 2024
Time: 10.00am to 5.30pm (can be extended to 7.00pm)

37,000 VIEWS AND COUNTING

December 8, 2023December 8, 2023 / Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

2nd Floor, Amcorp Shopping Mall,
Booth 2.11, Level 2
Amcorp Shopping Mall,
8, Jalan, Persiaran Barat, Seksyen 52 Petaling Jaya, 46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Date: December 9 and December 10, 2023
Time: 10.00am to 5.30pm (can be extended to 7.00pm)

We, that is, the Batik Influencer, Jeannie Ong-Atkinson; and myself, Alan of the leatherpotato.com; will be at Amcorp Mall by popular request.

Jeannie has been very busy dealing with customers directly. I have been on several writing projects. All these have kept us “tied up”.

Now, we have some time that we have dedicated to our “fans” and customers. Jeannie will be showcasing some of her new designs. Come early to grab the one that fancies you the most.

Leatherpotato has had tremendous support with over 37,000 views. Many of these readers would like to meet with me. Meet us at our booth. This weekend, we will be at Booth #2.11 at the west wing.

The Batik Influencer has several new pieces in the offering, under the label of “Jeannie’s Own”. She will definitely be kept busy introducing her new pieces. She loves it, loves to talk about batik, about how it can and will resonate in your life.

Come over for a chat, exchange ideas, experiences and have fun. We have had so much of fun over the last several times that we had our booth put up. We expect this weekend to be even more fun, especially since we are all in the Christmas spirit.

Talking about Christmas spirit; there will be super duper special deals for the sale of Hotwheels vehicles, only for this Christmas period. So, come and grab the models that you like. Most of them are rare, being 10 years and older models. Most of them are still in their blister packs, like new.

There are two rare ladies Swatch dress watches up for grabs, too. There are many, many other things that could interest you, that it would be too long to list each and every item down here.

*Make yourself at home. Relax and chill. Now, this is the way to choose the Hotwheels vehicles you, want.*

*This is how you get to enjoy your “Jeannie’s Own” Batik cape.*

*Browsing through the hundreds of keychains, keyholders, keyrings. These are very popular with collectors, as most of them are over 35 years old.* *Which makes them unique and somewhat rare.*

This weekend is going to be exciting. If you want to sing impromptu Christmas carols, we will join you, too. Who knows? A Elvis Christmas caroler might just show up and sing some solos. Wishful thinking, I know. It’s Christmas. Anything is possible. The Batik Influencer (Jeannie) and I are looking forward to seeing all of you over the weekend at our booth.

WEEKEND AT F2.09

September 23, 2023September 23, 2023 / Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

A day’s diary.

It’s Saturday, past noon. The Batik Influencer and I have set up post at F2.09.

It has been a pretty good start.

Except for a little “odd step”. As Jeannie and I were lugging big heavy bags of our “wares”, with more bags slung over our shoulders, literally with no hands free, just wanting to get these things to our booth as quickly as possible; a young representative from a U.N. booth, stopped Jeannie to ask her if she would like to be a member or something like that. I understand that this lady was trying to make a sale. However, she should have had some common sense to see that we were in no position at that very moment to entertain her. Jeannie gave her a stern look and continued towards the lifts to go up to our booth.

The beginning had some pretty good music streamed across by someone from another booth nearby.

A collector (chemist by profession); picked up some cars and key chains.

Another person, a teacher; came soon after and bought some key chains, too. And then, another person, one who bought quite a few key chains last month and the month before that, stopped over and said he will come again later to acquire more key chains when less people are around.

Once the people started coming to check out the Batik Influencer’s Batik Cape Creations, there seemed to be no stopping. Jeannie was in her element, sharing the influence her grandmother, who was from the east coast state of Trengganu; imparted with her the beauty of batik. Her grandmother used batik everyday. Jeannie also loved the uncountable designs and the different hues and colours of this traditional wear.

*A gentleman, enquiring about Jeannie’s Batik Cape Creation. And Jeannie, sharing the many uses of her Batik Cape Creation.*

*Net, as he searched for the key chains that suited him, purchased 12 of them.*

*The Batik Influencer, doing her stuff. Flying, soaring high, introducing the colours of Batik in her Batik Cape Creations.*

We had a steady stream of people visiting our booth. Besides the batik capes and key chairs, several Hotwheels and Matchbox cars were sold as well. The 1979 Corgi “WonderWoman” car has found a new owner, too. The buyer, appreciated the mint condition of this 44 year old model.

*A prospect trying a batik cape on. She and her husband were convinced this was the one for her. A very satisfied customer.*

In between the day, while I manned the booth; Jeannie went to ronda-ronda (1) the food fair on the ground floor. One of the first purchases she made were the currypuffs from the same lady she bought these delights from a couple of times before. They were consistently tasty as the previous purchases.

Jeannie also bought more than 1kg of dokong langsat (a Malaysian fruit). The lady was selling it for RM8 per kg. Jeannie decided to buy 1kg. However, the lady kept tambah-ing (2) more and more dokong langsat until the weighing scales showed RM10 worth. Jeannie obliged her with the extra sale.

*These are super delicious doughnuts (donuts for the Americans)*.

Doughnuts – of the delicious kind! Jeannie bought homemade pack-of-4 doughnuts (Queen’s [King’s?] English spelling. The Americans spell them as “donuts”) for my lunch. These doughnuts were really good. There aren’t the branded ones you get from the two top chains of doughnuts stores. RM10 for a pack of 4. We aren’t too sure if the seller is going to be here at Amcorp Mall every week from now on, but she will be here tomorrow. However, this young entrepreneur is here whenever Amcorp Mall has an F&B fair. So, if you are looking for some great Sunday morning or afternoon bites to go with your “mugga” (coffee) or “cuppa” (3) (tea); head on to the doughnut booth at the entrance of Amcorp Mall.

Met Gary, when a couple of Corgi cars for sale on the table, caught his eye. He said he has some of the same models… and we started talking about many things we have in common. Gary said he is in USJ, Subang Jaya, on most days, after sending his daughter to school. He shared with me more cool (one place in SS12 has large ceiling fans) places that I have yet to visit. A large part of our discussion was on “leatherpotato“, how it started, why it started, where we are now, and what the immediate to short term future has in store for it. Looks like I’ve got my work cut out. Interesting.

*A satisfied customer, her husband; the Batik Influencer, Jeannie; and me.*

Jeannie and I popped by (more like we took turns) to visit Khatijah Marianne’s booth, “Anne Rocks”. She and her husband have got many, many items personally designed and coloured with passion, to colour your homes and offices, for any occasions. Drop by their booth on the 2nd floor.

Marianne came over to have a look at Jeannie’s batik capes. She was witty as usual. She’s a lovely, lovely person. If you can manage to coax her to sing, she may sing for you. She is the daughter of Michael Magness, a pioneer member of the famous Malaysian band, “The Strollers”.

Jeannie and I decided to call it a day at around 5.45pm. The good playlist of music which we heard from the time we settled at our booth, was still playing. Lots of great songs were on the playlist throughout the day.

As for the lady representative of the U.N. that we met at the beginning of the day; we will give her some time (that is if she is still there tomorrow) on our time schedule, to listen to what she has to promote. We wanted to give her some time on our way out at the end of our day, but the U.N. booth had already closed.

NOTES:
2nd Floor, Amcorp Shopping Mall,
Booth 2.09, Level 2
Amcorp Shopping Mall,
8, Jalan, Persiaran Barat, Seksyen 52 Petaling Jaya, 46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Date: Sept 23 and Sept 24, 2023
Time: 10.00am to 5.30pm (can be extended to 7.00pm)

Ronda is a Malay word for roam or in this case, “visit”.
Tambah-ing. Tambah is a Malay word for “add more”. In this case, the “-ing” part is just jazzing and having fun with some English.
Mugga is my expression in relation with coffee, as “cuppa” is to tea.

BOOTH 1.03

July 28, 2023July 28, 2023 / Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

We will be at:

1st Floor, Amcorp Shopping Mall,
Booth 1.03, Level 1
Amcorp Shopping Mall,
8, Jalan, Persiaran Barat, Seksyen 52 Petaling Jaya, 46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Date: July 29 and July 30, 2023
Time: 10.00am to 4.00pm (can be extended to 7.00pm)

It is the weekend again. Yay? Don’t sound too excited? I am. I am grateful and excited for each new moment.

Listening to Dave Cox – “The Dance” with my Bose QuietComfort II

At the end of last month; the batik influencer, Jeannie and I were at Amcorp Shopping Mall. We ran a booth on the first floor. It did not take us long to realize that each floor of the bazaar (I prefer this word than “flea market”, though this is what it is more commonly known or referred as, or recognized as) seemed to have a character on its own.

When we had our first couple of experiences in running a booth at the bazaar weekend; we were on level 3 or the 3rd Floor. We had our booth on level 2 in May and for the first time, we ran our booth on Level 1 on the last weekend of June.

Level 1 was the most active with visitors. Levels 2 and 3 were quieter seeing less visitors. However, many of the visitors on these floors seem to know what they were looking for. They were quite specific in their search for specific items.

Jeannie started off the booth sales very well. She has as usual, a strong following for her batik ideas. Many people come looking for her.

Jeannie had a great time over that weekend. In fact both of us did. I believe that the customers did, too. There were lots of fun, jokes, laughter, people modelling in the batik capes they had just acquired though their purchases from the batik influencer.

There was a lot of browsing, which followed with finalising purchases of many of the other things on offer, too.

There was a man who from what we hear, had a booth at the entrance of the mall, selling tapioca chips made from tapioca (of course). He sold only a one size large packet @RM10 each. The chips were simply delicious. We saw many people with the bag of chips in their hands, munching away. Jeannie could not resist and had to get a packet for ourselves. Once we started eating….Yum! There was no stopping us from finishing the packet…not so much “us”…more like Jeannie.

*“Don’t I look fab?” This is the best picture over the weekend. She has indicated that she will be back for more batik capes from the batik influencer.*

The Hotwheels car collection was another crowd puller. The ones I had on sale were from another era, an earlier one at that; of at least 15 – 20 years old. Many of them are rare or not easily obtainable from stores near by or from other sellers. They were easily distinguishable by their blue blister packaging. People of all ages stopped by to browse the models I had on sale.

*“I like it. I will wear it straight away”, this lady seems to be saying in her thoughts.*

*That’s the one I want, hoo, hoo, hoo, Hotwheels!*

The main topic of cars was on BMW. I had put up quite a few items of the BMW brand for sale: rare BMW F1 keyholders / keychains, BMW 3-series coasters, a beautifully crafted BMW computer laptop bag… Many, many people shared with me their passion for BMWs, their BMW hobby club memberships, what they have done with their cars and their lookout for more BMW items.

The biggest conversational piece was on the Fujimi BMW 535i unbuilt model kit pic below) that I had on sale. I purchased this kit somewhere in 1989. However, I never got to build it. This e34 BMW was the build up of my interest in BMW. This kit is very rare in this region at least. It will definitely find a new owner very soon.

*BMW 535I 3.5L 12 VALVE SOHC 6-IN-LINE Fujimi kit.*

There were many readers and supporters of leatherpotato.com who visited us to get first hand news as to where we are charting the website’s course for the future. A few of the supporters are budding writers themselves. They sought advice mainly as to what to write, why they should write “that way” and how to stay focused. Good questions. I hope I have helped them somewhat with some insights as to how they should answer these questions themselves.

We are looking forward to seeing all of you tomorrow and Sunday at Amcorp Shopping Mall. We will be the usual crazy fun bunch as usual. We are putting more new items on sale. Come and look for “a” or many bargains as we should have something for almost everybody. See you there.

HOT WHEELS: THE COLLECTOR’S CASE – For Sale

June 1, 2022June 2, 2022 / Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Hot Wheels
1) The first Hot Wheels car that was produced was a dark blue custom Camaro in 1968.
2) Mattel has sold more than 6 billion Hot Wheels cars since then.
3) The most anyone has ever paid for a Hot Wheels car was more than $150,000. One wealthy fan paid that price at auction for a pink Beach Bomb model that is extremely rare because only two were produced.

‘*58 Thunderbird. Red, chrome base, gray int., tinted windows, maroon and silver design w/Hot Wheels logo on sides, Malaysia (2004*)

*’57 Chevy, white, red tinted windows, bonnet (hood opens), chrome base, red rims, Malaysia (2003)*

This set of 15 vehicles is for sale: US$48.00 (excluding shipping)
RM160.00 (excluding shipping)

Hot Wheels: The Collector’s Case

HOT WHEELS: The Collectors Case Includes, ’58 Thunderbird, Rivited, Boulevard Bucanners and more. 15 vehicles

$48.00

Price in Malaysia, RM160.00 (excluding shipping)
You can choose to make payment via:
MAYBANK
Alan Ian Atkinson
Account Number: 114299048159
email to: alan@leatherpotato.com
your
1) payment receipt
2) name
3) address
4) contact telephone #

leatherpotato

The future is now. Live it!

#hotwheels