Fantasies and dreams can be business creations. Inspired by Disney, couple Rachel and Colin are letting magic begin for their business venture…
When a business’ name is Disney-inspired, one can expect dreamy offerings. That’s exactly what Rachel Kong and Colin Yeo set out to do with their Andalasia Creation.
“The name Andalasia is from the Disney movie, Enchanted,” Rachel, the die-hard Disney fan, was quick to explain. “I love everything Disney. So, when we decided to start our venture, we chose a Disney-related name.”
Bored out of having to stay at home during the Movement Control Order and also driven by the need for an alternative source of income handmade resin craft became their business creation.
“Resin craft is quite common,” added Colin Yeo. “But to stand out, it will have to be the technique and the creation that will give us the specialty edge. And they can be found in our Dream design and the Galaxy design that are difficult to imitate and produce.
“These two designs fit to a T as representative of our name and brand in bringing fantasy to life in everyone’s life,” enthused Colin Yeo.
Even though new, Andalasia is already creating waves in the personalised gifts and memorabilia business segment with its range of customised chess sets, pendants and necklaces, trinket boxes, coasters, key chains, to name a few.
More recently it has taken to producing a Pets Collection targeted at pet lovers who want to keep a part of their fur kids with them forever. Pet owners can mail Andalasia the fur or ashes of their pets. Andalasia will then incorporate the fur or ashes into a Galaxy design key chain or pendant as a lasting keepsake for the owners.
Colin added: “Although we have basic designs and items, we are constantly looking at designs that nobody can do and new items that have not been thought of yet. We conduct quite a bit of online market research.
“Even then, managing customers’ expectations is the toughest, I must say. There are limitations to what we can do in terms of customisation and personalisation. We have to make these known to be fair to both parties.”
Currently, Andalasia Creation markets itself only through social media platforms. It helps that Rachel specialises in marketing and online campaigns -- tasks that she undertakes daily at her day job as a marketing and business development executive.
“We invest in online advertisements on social media channels such as Instagram and Facebook. We basically handle everything ourselves from advertisement designs to ad buy to engagement. We take turns to monitor the socmed platforms,” said Rachel.
Currently the majority of Andalasia’s customers are Malaysians within the Klang Valley/Selangor area. The company also partnered with Etsy (an American e-commerce website focused on handmade or vintage items and craft supplies) recently to market two of their products.
Going regional or international? “There are many individuals and businesses offering epoxy items out there. Competition is stiff so we must really offer something special like our Galaxy design,” Colin rationalised.
Before Conditional Movement Control Order, Andalasia had started signing up for pop-up stalls. “We actually signed up for several bazaars in popular malls to heighten our profile. Unfortunately, all of them had to be cancelled,” commented Rachel.
“So far, we are doing quite alright but not significant enough to make a living out of it. We definitely need our primary jobs.
“Our dream is to start an art café where customers can come and learn resin craft while enjoying a cup of coffee. Even then, one of us will still keep our day job – just to be safe,” shared Colin.
Meanwhile, if you are looking for that unique and customized item for yourself or your friends (especially if they are pet lovers), check out Andalasia Design.
