00:05Without her, I can say Kedai Mum will not exist.
00:12Without her, I won't even be able to sell.
00:17Behind those words is a partnership built on love and necessity.
00:22A mother and her youngest daughter bound together by the uncertainty of a pandemic.
00:26In 2020, 68-year-old Catherine Thieu found solace in crochet during the long months of lockdown.
00:34What began as a quiet pastime soon became something far greater.
00:39A lifeline to help cover her growing medical expenses.
00:42With her daughter Tammy Lim by her side, that humble hobby grew into a small but meaningful business.
00:48The income helped fund her cataract surgery and ongoing medical costs and in time gave birth to Kedai Mum.
00:55I can be independent financially because of my medical condition.
01:04And medical bills are expensive nowadays.
01:09Private hospitals are all very expensive.
01:11So, it came in very handy at this time, selling all my things, having the finance to buy healthy food,
01:23to buy medication for consultation.
01:26So, I was happy crocheting and this is how Kedai Mum started.
01:34But crafting the pieces was only half the story.
01:38Getting them in front of customers was a challenge Thieu couldn't tackle alone.
01:42That's where Lim came in.
01:44Bringing the business to life online, managing social media and building the connections her mother couldn't reach on her own.
01:51Along the way, I'm only producing.
01:54I can't sell.
01:56But Tammy comes in very handy with her social media skill and her aggressive nature.
02:06I don't mean fighting with people.
02:08I mean she's persistent and consistent to attain what she wants.
02:14And each time, I would like give her $700 or $1,000, you know, because she has been helping me
02:22so much.
02:24So, in this way, I was very happy that in a way, I could contribute.
02:32Without her, I can say Kedai Mum will not exist.
02:38Without her, I won't even be able to sell.
02:45While Lim handles the reach, Thieu tends to the heart of the work,
02:49guided by a quiet philosophy that keeps the weight of sales from ever-clouding her joy.
02:55I can say this with confidence.
02:58I don't look at it in this way.
03:02It has never occurred to me.
03:04What if it didn't sell?
03:07No.
03:08But when you start doing handcraft to want to sell, don't try to entertain this kind of talk.
03:16Try to be positive with what you're doing.
03:18Even if it don't sell, for example, like this cat don't sell, I give it away.
03:24And it makes me happy.
03:26And it will make that person happy as well.
03:29So, this is how I see it.
03:31Kedai Mum is more than a small business.
03:34It is the thread that ties a mother's craft to a daughter's determination.
03:38Practical in purpose, but deeply personal at its core.
03:42For Thieu, every stitch carries meaning.
03:45A reminder that purpose can be found at any age,
03:48and that the most beautiful things are often made slowly,
03:51by hand, with love.
04:14A reminder that purpose can be found at any age,
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