The bead generation

If the beading technique is good, a shoe can last from generation to generation and become a family heirloom, says ManekNya's co-founder Swee Lin. — SAMUEL ONG/The Star

ACROSS a wooden work table, ManekNya co-founder Lee Swee Lin slides a handful of impossibly tiny, delicate-looking coloured beads for closer inspection. The pieces, no larger than 2mm, come in a range of sizes and shades; some rich and opaque, others lustrous and speckled with light.

“Not many people know that these are made of glass,” she notes. “Some worry about using an iron on them, but since all of the beads we use are glass, they won’t melt like plastic ones would.”