Graphic designer turns scraps into gifts and custom-made products

Hard at work: Leong sewing a pouch at his workshop. He also makes handbags from leather scraps. — THOMAS YONG/The Star

JOHOR BARU: What started out as a way of impressing his wife soon turned into a full-time career for a 47-year-old man who produces handmade products from leather scraps.

Leong Sai Pial, a graphic design graduate and car modification enthusiast, said he initially took discarded car leather seat scraps from his friend’s workshop that were still in good condition and sewed them into purses and handbags for his wife as gifts.