16/07/2026
The Day I Was Scared of Apprentices
In 2016, when I started my fashion journey, it was also the year I opened my shop. I had no apprentice at the time until a young man came to me, saying he wanted to learn fashion but couldn't afford the training fee.
I understood his situation and decided to help him by accepting him without collecting any payment.
For about six months, everything seemed
fine.
But with time, he started changing. I noticed he was no longer coming to the shop regularly. Later, I found out that he already had a sewing machine at home and had started taking jobs on his own.
Sometimes, he would bring the machine outside their veranda and work there instead of coming to the shop.
Not long after, another young man came to learn fashion. Unlike the first apprentice, he paid his training fee and started learning normally.
The two of them became very close, and I didn't think much of it at first.
One day, my charcoal box iron got damaged. The first apprentice brought his own box iron from home so we could continue working.
Then, a few days later, he came to the shop and told me he was no longer interested in learning with me and wanted to take back his iron. That was the only iron we had in the shop. Without considering that there was still hot charcoal inside, he emptied it, picked up his iron, and prepared to leave.
As he was going, he turned to the second apprentice and said, "What are you still doing here? Come, let's go. I'm opening my own shop, and I'll teach you."
To my greatest surprise, the second apprentice stood up and followed him. Both of them walked out of my shop that same day, leaving me completely alone.
I was heartbroken.
The same person I helped without collecting a kobo ended up hurting me the most. That experience broke me and taught me one of the biggest lessons of my journey as a fashion designer.
Sometimes, helping people comes with painful disappointments. But despite that experience, I chose to keep moving forward, and it became one of the lessons that shaped me into who I am today.
