Pursuing Pompom art – a new type of knitting that appeared in Vietnam, Le Lam Nhat Huy was able to create a stable income, spreading this model to many people.
After graduating in graphic design from the University of Architecture in Ho Chi Minh City, Le Lam Nhat Huy (30 years old, living in the Go Vap district) like many other students, has experienced many fields related to the profession. However, he soon realized that he should do something separately, not follow the crowd.
In September 2016, while surfing a social network, the 9X guy happened to see an article about Pompom art, then began to learn and “fall in love” from there. Pompom is a way to shape monochromatic wool rolls into a round block, then create a very meticulous pet and cartoon characters.
According to Huy, Pompom art has long been formed and developed in European countries, appearing on woolen hats. It is known as the ruffled fruit in apparel. In recent years, this art has been created by artists in Japan in the shape of animals and cartoon characters.
“Pompom has a special feature compared to normal knitting patterns in that, instead of just knitting the outer shell, and then stuffing cotton inside, they can shape it right on an object. That helps the product. more durable products, displayed in the house or anywhere for a long time”, the 9X artist confided.
In the first time pursuing this job, the young man encountered many difficulties because this art had not been done by anyone. Nhat Huy had to stay up all night to study materials from books, newspapers and the Internet to learn how. In addition, the familiar raw material used is cotton, which makes the products made rough and unsatisfactory.
Not long after, Nhat Huy had the opportunity to come to Canada for nearly 2 years, so he took advantage of that time to look for raw materials.
“Luckily I found acrylic wool yarn. This is a fabric containing at least 85% pure acrylonitrile, has high elasticity, good heat resistance, and is affordable. I used it as the main material for Pompom and maintaining the amount of yarn imported every month,” Huy said.
Returning home in August 2018, Nhat Huy officially seriously pursued this job. When posting the first products online, the 9X guy received many compliments and positive feedback from customers.
To complete a product, the artisan takes from 30 minutes to 3 days, depending on the size and complexity. The price of each product ranges from 60,000 VND to 2 million VND.(1$=25,000 VND)
First, Huy will sketch the model on the computer in advance and then wrap the wool, shape, trim, arrange and connect the parts together to make the product come alive.
“All 3 steps are important, especially the trimming of the product to match the real sample. This job requires the worker to focus on analyzing the main characteristics of the sample and constantly editing to perfection. The process of wrapping wool is the factor that determines the position of the color patches arranged on the pompom,” Huy shared.
Nhat Huy confided that he always sets goals to work with his heart. Each product is carefully made by him, investing in the best materials. Gradually, there is trust from the community, more orders are coming. Many people in the community who love to play wool also come to him to buy materials and learn how to knit.
Recently, Mr. Huy has also cooperated with a publishing house in the UK to publish the book Pompom – Angles in this art. The book has been published in many countries, and translated into languages such as English, German, Finnish,…
In 2022, Nhat Huy was also invited to teach knitting at the Ho Chi Minh City Women’s Cultural House. Here, spreading his passion to many people, Huy has never missed a lesson and is very dedicated to guiding each person.
“The class includes both adults and children. The funniest part is that after the class, everyone completes at least one product and is excited to take pictures. It can be said that this is a subject that helps everyone relax after the class. working day, practice more perseverance and meticulousness”, 9X guy said.
Not only creating a high income from the business of wool yarn, and Pompom products on online shopping and teaching applications, Nhat Huy also has a youtube channel with more than 15,000 followers, daily sharing a lot of useful knowledge. useful. In the near future, artisan 9X plans to write one more book about Pompom, spreading this art to more people.