LEGACY OF AW POTTERY

Text and Photo by Lee Jie

Driving along the oldest highway in Peninsular Malaysia, Federal Route 1, while passing by Machap, a colorful castle-like building beside the road will definitely catch your eyes. 

It was easy to spot the entrance to the showroom because it was marked by two giant figures that resembled a couple performing a Malay cultural dance, designed with a glossy mosaic covering of ceramic chips.

Established 70 years ago, Aw Pottery is definitely one of the most popular tourist attractions in Malaysia. Once you step into Aw Pottery, you can see the ceramic products are sighted everywhere, in the garden, restroom, workshop and the unique showroom. The entire studio is full of artsy feel. 

Aw Pottery Studio was founded by the late Mr. Aw Eng Kwang in 1940 when he immigrated from Chaozhou (Teochew) with his skills in pottery making to Johor. The Aw Pottery Studio had a humble beginning making pottery cups for collecting latex from rubber trees before developing into a famous studio and art center.

Mr Aw’s talent as a sculptor was first recognized when he joined the First Sculpture Exhibition in Singapore in 1967 and held his first solo sculpture show in Kuala Lumpur in 1968. The natural creativity and magical handwork of Mr.Aw led to the success of Aw Pottery.

Aw Pottery lampstands, planters and shades were widely used by major international hotels in Singapore and Malaysia. 

Besides opening a small pottery plant in Johor, Mr Aw also expanded his market abroad to  the United States of America and products from their pottery plants in Ru Yang, Chaoan and Guangdong in China were exported for distribution in warehouses

In 1980, Mr Aw and his wife retired to Berkeley, California where he continued making art until he passed away in 1996.  

After Mr Aw passed away, Aw Pottery faded to a dormant stage until the youngest daughter of Mr Aw, Ms Lee Lang Aw returned to Malaysia in 2013 to revive Aw Pottery’s mission: To Educate, To Serve, and To Inspire. 

One of the highlights of Aw Pottery is their beautiful restroom which was designed by Mr Aw. The restroom has been there since the 70’s. Aw Pottery is situated along Federal Route 1, travellers from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur definitely pass by here. Hence Mr Aw built this restroom and decorated the inner and outer wall with different shapes of ceramics into floral patterns. 

Besides that, there is a beautiful garden in front of the entrance of Aw Pottery. The garden is well designed with different florals and pottery. Visitors can take a break and take some photos in the garden.

In the studio, you can purchase different porcelain products - from decorative ornaments, kitchenware, doorgift,  made by the staff at an affordable price. If you are fans of pottery and gardening, Aw Pottery must be heaven for you as you can buy various types of high quality pots at affordable prices too.  

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In the early years of producing ceramic-ware, Aw Pottery was using a traditional wood-fire kiln or as known as “Dragon Kiln”. Sprawled across a wide atrium in the rear, this brick-walled kiln measured 50 meters long, 4 meters wide and 2 meters high, and had two side entrances. 

appels 

When it was fired-up, Mr Aw and his workers worked 24-hour shifts in a carefully timed week-long cycle to prepare the “green” products, stack them inside the kiln, smoke them and maintain the fire before allowing the kiln to cool down. 

However, Aw Pottery stopped using this dragon kiln after 30 years of spewing smoke and fire due to the high level of pollution and high cost. It's now become a museum showpiece in their studio. 

Apart from that, Aw Pottery Studio do offer pottery classes and workshops. Visitors can discover the joy of creating pottery art in the studio. There are two workshops that are offered by Aw Pottery

1. Wet clay (RM22/person) with 500g of clay,

2. Ceramic wheel throwing (RM75/person) with 1 kg of clay

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Address: 13 Kampung Macap, Johor

Contact Number: 07-754 1476

Facebook: Aw pottery Malaysia

Website: https://www.awpotterystudio.net/

Operating Hours:

8.30am-5pm, Friday to Tuesday

Closed on Wednesdays & Thursdays