Friends Craft Cooperative

27/05/2026

Pottery Apprenticeship Program [2/6]

In the first month, apprentices not only developed their basic pottery skills, but were also introduced to the pottery community and culture. This includes discussions and lessons with Master Cheah , Master Yi Min , Master Kok Ming , and Muizz Azziz from to learn about lifestyles and perspectives from craft practitioners.

Following our reading group “Who would be a Potter?”, apprentices each conducted further pottery research into a favourite artist of their choice. They presented their findings over 2 weekends on local and international ceramic producers from Dr. Shamsu to En Iwamura.

Friends Craft Coop’s Pottery Apprenticeship Program is a 3 month full time training supported by .

Thank you for the shoot!

19/05/2026

“5th week of our apprenticeship at Friends Craft Coop ⭑.ᐟ

Take a look at the chicken mugs and egg plates we made, each one handmade and painted by every apprentice! They’re so cute you probably wanna sue us ( ˶°ㅁ°) !!” - & Lan

16/05/2026

While we have never been very good business people, I like to think we have tried to be good people. And really, that’s the secret sauce; that’s what has helped us build trust and community.

Lately, as we become more public as an organisation, we started getting questions such as, “Oh you built your business around community” or “What’s your strategy for funnelling your community into more sales?”. If we are honest, it makes us sad.

The truth is that for us, “community” is not a marketing strategy nor a means to profit extraction. We experience it as a real give and take. As a Coop, our member and material pricing is radical in having close to no margins. And as a nonprofit, 100% of our “profits” get reinvested into social programs to increase accessibility to craft and to help craftworkers generate income. In the pursuit of radical accessibility, our founders couldn’t take any salaries for over 2 years. This is not to invite sympathy, but to communicate our sincerity. We really do put our money where our mouth is.

Thankfully in 2025, the Coop stabilised not only financially but operationally. We are really proud of our offerings as an organisation that runs on ~RM300,000. In 2025, it was opening 6 days a week to serve 100 members a month. It was our apprenticeship program, our youth outreach, our pottery trips. It was generating RM70,000 in craftworker incomes, teaching 12,000 student hours, hosting 1,950 unique participants, placing 250 pieces of furniture in homes, organising 27 events, conducting 18 free classes, collaborating with 5 local potter masterclasses, and investing over RM60,000 into new equipment for our members. To put the effectiveness of our organisation into perspective, one BMW a year could make all the Coop’s goods and services free for the public. In fact, it would be less, because we wouldn’t need to spend on marketing and such.

A community organisation is transparent, and we have prepared this annual report with all our secret sauces. We hope this will help the public better understand the work that we do, and the community that we are. We hope this inspires you to build this utopian project together with us!

Website for full report.

16/05/2026

03/05/2026

Small Fixes made front page, page 2 and 3!

We are quite bad at updating coop Instagram after events 😅, but wanted to post this for the milestone.

Special thank you to , En Mad, and all our coop volunteers. Some of our friends were also sneakily involved.

We have received a lot of inquiries regarding future Small Fixes. While events are fun and we may run another later in the year, our primary focus is on developing personnel, partnerships, cash flow, and logistics to provide repair services long term rather than only via one off events. Only by integrating sustainable solutions into everyday labour and economy can we make it stick! Stay tuned!

13/04/2026

Call for works: Think Inside The Box Exhibition

Our best works come through constraints. For our first micro-exhibition “Think Inside The Box”, we are looking for artistic works that fit within 8 x 8 x 8 inches (20 cm). This is an opportunity for you to explore and refine your ideas / techniques through a project of a manageable size.

Location: Friends Craft Coop (green room will be renovated).

Format: Selected artists will showcase and sell their works over a 9 day long exhibition.

Our commitment: Prominent artist profiles, custom shelving, funds to advertise the exhibition.

Fees: Free / optional

Deadline for application: 21/4/2026
Deadline to deliver works: 21/5/2026

Full details and application on website:
friendscraftcoop.org/friends-think-in-the-box-exhibition

Credit for photos of works used: .fel .pottery

12/04/2026

Call for works: Think Inside The Box Exhibition

Our best works come through constraints. For our first micro-exhibition “Think Inside The Box”, we are looking for artistic works that fit within 8 x 8 x 8 inches (20 cm). This is an opportunity for you to explore and refine your ideas / techniques through a project of a manageable size.

Location: Friends Craft Coop (green room will be renovated).

Format: Selected artists will showcase and sell their works over a 9 day long exhibition.

Our commitment: Prominent artist profiles, custom shelving, funds to advertise the exhibition.

Fees: Free / optional

Deadline for application: 21/4/2026
Deadline to deliver works: 21/5/2026

Full details and application on website:
friendscraftcoop.org/friends-think-in-the-box-exhibition

Photos are illustrative. Credit for photos of works used: .m.gallagher .pu .potters

28/02/2026

Deadline: 14 March 2026

When we began producing pottery, we struggled to find good mentors, consistent suppliers, an affordable space, and a community of potters. We spent these years building friends craft coop as a stable infrastructure to support others like ourselves.

With the support of , we introduce to you our Pottery Apprenticeship Program
_____
Tarikh tutup pemohonan: 14 Mac 2026

Dulu, masa kami baru start dalam bidang seramik, susah sangat nak cari mentor, pembekal, dan komuniti tukang. Kami ambil masa bertahun-tahun untuk membina Friend Craft Coop sebagai infrastruktur yang stabil untuk menyokong individu seperti kita, yang ingin menjana pendapatan dan membina kehidupan melalui kraf.

Dengan kerjasama , kami memperkenalkan Program Perantisan Seramik 2026.

15/02/2026

📍Location: FRIENDS Craft Coop, PJ Industrial Park
🗓️Date: 28th February 2026
⏰Time: 10 am to 6 pm

The Coop is organising Small Fixes! A day for us to offer our craft skills to repair, recycle and reduce waste to the public.

Coop members are volunteering to provide free simple furniture repairs + clothes swap + sewing. We have also invited Repair Tukangs in knife sharpening ( ), shoe repair (Mr. Mad seks17), and electronics + applicances + software tech support ( ).

We hope you can come appreciate the value of craft and pertukangan in living sustainably.

👀 you at Coop for 👨🏽‍🔧

11/02/2026

Meet Our Members #7

Wan Yan holds a heart-shaped bowl in her hands, her proudest piece to date. 🫶

Pottery was not immediately smooth sailing for Wan Yan. She had to overcome cracked pieces exiting the kiln, dull glazes, and patchy paintings.

However over the last 6 months, not only has she learnt through friends made at the Coop, she also has been consistent and deliberate at improving. Wan Yan comes to the Coop at least twice a week, and her glaze application is now more even and intricate. Her wheel throwing also produces more even walls and bigger pots.

In the second photo, see her progress through this small collection of heart shaped ceramics.