Self-Learn the Impossible

By Liaw Xin Yi

Tragedy, loss of a beloved one and crisis are happening since Covid-19 strikes everywhere within the world. It made us realize that there is no excuse stopping us from doing what we want to do. Every cloud has a silver lining. There are people who are inspired to step out of their comfort zones and seek positivity during this pandemic. They decided to turn the hardship into opportunities through a skill, namely Self-learning.

Online makes self-learning more possible 

As movements are vastly restricted during the Movement Control Order (MCO), people started to make full use of the online platforms in realizing the chances of self-learning. It could be said that Covid-19 has brought opportunities for them on the bright sides.

Dessert series collection of handcrafted hair accessories and artworks. Image courtesy of Yi Von via abco.kl

Yi Von, the owner of abco.kl which is a handcrafted hair accessories and artworks online shop, has had a strong interest in arts since she was young. The passion was further spurred up and led to where she is now with the availability of online sources. “YouTube tutorials and Instagram enable me to figure towards my passion and attempt different art styles whenever,” she said.

Taking up new skills might sound impossible with the absence of instructors and physical classes. However, Chai Lian, the owner of an online handmade candle shop namely Eureke.be has proved how online sources guide an individual from zero to hero.

She stated that she has watched a lot of online tutorials such as YouTube and Red (XiaoHongShu) when learning to handmade the candles from scratch by herself and diversify into various cute designs.

Handmade cake candles. Image courtesy of Chai Lian via Eureke.be

Besides self-learning, they also utilize the internet to the fullest by venturing their skills into online shops or e-commerce due to prolonged time staying at home. The examples include abco.kl, Eureka.be, Pentonies and Bake by JYun in which their businesses are all initiated on Instagram since Covid-19 last year.

While for some of them, they utilize the online platforms to increase their exposure to a wider audience. For instance, Ong, a freelance food illustrator for Little Doopii has been using Instagram as a database and gallery for his illustration. “I wish to showcase a variety of art styles and also share about Malaysian food culture to more people using this platform,” he said.

Malaysian food illustration. Image courtesy of Ong via Little Doopii

Recent Chinese New Year food illustration of Bak Kwa (Chinese Pork Jerky). Image courtesy of Ong via Little Doopii

Minimal to none limitation

Self-learning could have little to zero limitation despite being alone or limited budget. William, a freelance photographer and creator of Willshooks7, mentioned that his self-learning of photography did not require extra cost as a phone camera was all he needed as a beginner. For him, despite any equipment, skills and passion are all a person needs to take great photos.

Street photo taken in Korea. Image courtesy of William via Willshooks7

On the other hand, Jie Yun who is the owner of Bake by JYun, an online homemade bakery shop perceived that self-learning and conducting the online business all alone are actually not hard to handle. “Although it‘s going to sound difficult, with proper time management and acknowledgement of abilities, most of the items are possible to be accomplished” she said.

In terms of budgeting, Jie Yun also said that she has yet to face any over budget issue so far. This is due to the affordable baking ingredients and reduction of advertising budget through constant postings via Instagram.

Customized cake. Image courtesy of Jie Yun via Bake by JYun

Importance of Research

In relation to this, research with trial and error have prominent roles in reducing the possible challenges for those who lack background or experience related to the skills. For instance, Zhi Ying, the owner of Pentonies which is an online store cater for journaling enthusiasts, stated that for her “Original by Pentonies'' series, she would usually go for trial and error by spending hours in illustrating different designs inspired from online research.

It was also emphasized by both Yi Von and Chai Lian that research plays an essential part in each of their processes for self-learning and e-commerce. Along with trial and error, they were able to find out the best material qualities, trustable suppliers and proper budget allocation.

Little Prince bookshop sticker flake from "Original by Pentonies - True Beauty" series Image courtesy of Zhi Ying via Pentonies

Glasshouse sticker from "Original by Pentonies - Flower Theme" series. Image courtesy of Zhi Ying via Pentonies

Boundless inspirations

As innovation and creativity are the key points of self-learning, there are a lot of inspirations that could be closely related to our surroundings, experiences and the things we favour. There is no sky limit for the ideas we wish to express through our self-learning skills.

According to Zhi Ying, she usually would browse for a lot of ideas and find inspirations in naming each series. “Another inspiration comes from my personal experience whereby in my “Flower theme” series, it was the time when I was in downfall and realized the importance of self-love,” she said.

It was also stated by Yi Von that the two mascots of abco.kl, Jellybeans Frog and Meow were inspired based on both her and her business partner’s favourite animals, which are frog and cat. The ideas of their products also came from desserts with sweet and cutesy concepts.

This is similar to Ong who creates food illustrations. “I want to express the food that I eat every day in a form of art along with the simple but cute character of “Little Doopii”,” he said.

Just do it

In a nutshell, self-learning always seems to be impossible until we really take the first step. Towards the end of the interview with each of these inspiring individuals, similarities were found in terms of the benefits they gained from self-learning as well as the advice they shared based on their experiences.

For them, the little by little satisfaction could be gained when there is accelerating enhancement shown in the skills learnt and more public attention attracted. Perseverance in the passion is also the core for reaching the long-term goals.

They also advised that no one is going to initiate for us and just do it if we are really interested in something instead of overthinking. Tomorrow is merely that much, so do it now for whatever we feel is right for us.