A self-proclaimed artisan, Enah turns leaves, flowers and other natural materials into sustainable wearable art through natural dyeing, eco-printing and sun-printing, often on preloved textiles.
Her creations range from garments and hats to tote bags and other accessories.
FMT Lifestyle visited her studio in Segambut, once her childhood home. Surrounded by mango and durian trees, the kampung-style house is where Enah draws much of her inspiration – and sources many of the materials for her art.
After years in the corporate world, she took the leap seven years ago to turn her childhood passion into a full-time career as an artisan and mixed-media visual artist.
“When I graduated from university, I said to myself that by 50, I want to resign and follow my passion,” said Enah.
And that is exactly what she did. But long before leaving corporate life, Enah had been honing her craft for years, creating commissioned artworks for friends and sharing them on social media.
While she initially dabbled in visual art, painting and sketching on canvas, Enah stumbled upon sun-printing one day while browsing the internet. Sun-printing involves placing leaves, flowers and other objects onto fabric, then exposing them to sunlight to create silhouettes.
“I started out by making simple clothing for myself, like a baju kurung with a cassava leaf pattern. I will often look at things that most people don’t notice much in their daily lives and wonder if I can turn them into something interesting.”
This curiosity extends to her natural dyeing experiments. Enah showed a light purple shawl dyed using fresh pulasan peels, while another yellow fabric was dyed with a mix of Holland and red onion skins.
“Every time I cook, I don’t throw away the onion skins. I put them aside in a bucket for my art.”
She explained that the process starts by mordanting the fabric with a solution such as alum, slowly simmering the natural dye materials for around an hour, then soaking the fabric in the dye bath overnight before drying and rinsing.
Enah is also serious about keeping her work sustainable, sometimes giving discarded white linens from hotels a second life as art.
Besides sun-printing, Enah also uses botanical pounding, a form of eco-printing where fresh leaves and flowers are hammered onto fabric, transferring their colours and shapes to create one-of-a-kind patterns.
Her work has not gone unnoticed. In 2025, Enah was chosen to showcase her eco-conscious designs at the “JIWA Kuala Lumpur” fashion show, where she presented a collection inspired by the architectural motifs and heritage of the Sultan Abdul Samad Clock Tower at Dataran Merdeka.
For Enah, even the imperfections can add meaning to a piece.
“When I’m creating something outdoors, like sun-printing, my droplets of sweat fall onto the design and become part of the artwork. So, in a way, I become part of the story too.”
And because she works with real leaves and flowers, no two pieces are ever exactly alike. Rather than measuring success by sales, Enah hopes people value the effort behind every creation.
“Someone once asked my customer, ‘Are you wearing Enah Samad?’ That made me so proud,” she recalled.
Today, Enah can be found behind her booth at bazaars around the Klang Valley or running workshops at her Segambut studio.
Speaking about her journey so far, Enah said the impact of art on her overall wellbeing has been one of the biggest changes.
“In my previous job, I used to have frequent asthma attacks. I was skinny and exhausted all the time. Now, all that has changed, and I finally feel like myself again,” said Enah.
She is currently preparing for a sustainable fashion exhibition, with other artisans, to be held at the end of the year in collaboration with the National Textiles Museum. So, there’s more to come from Enah.