It started with a few conversations.

Our journey to Taiwan did not begin at Creative Expo Taiwan.

A few months earlier, Oh Wednesday had the opportunity to meet and connect with Taiwanese creators and IP professionals at an IP-focused event in Malaysia.

Those early conversations gave us a closer look at Taiwan’s creative and IP ecosystem — not only the characters and products that reach the market, but also the relationships, licensing models and partnerships that help creative ideas travel beyond their original audience.

For a small independent store in Kuala Lumpur, it opened up a bigger question:

Could Oh Wednesday become a bridge between creators, markets and opportunities across the region?

An opportunity to go further

Through the recommendation and support of the Malaysian Creative Intellectual Property Association (MYCIP), we were later given the opportunity to join a business programme connected with Creative Expo Taiwan 2026 in Taipei.

This time, the purpose was not simply to visit an exhibition.

We went as a buyer — to meet creators, brands and IP owners directly, understand their work, exchange perspectives on our respective markets, and explore where meaningful collaboration might be possible.

Over several days in Taipei, those conversations allowed us to go deeper than we could through emails, catalogues or social media.

We talked about retail, consignment, licensing, merchandise, audiences and the realities of bringing creative work into another market.

More importantly, we listened.

Looking beyond products

As a retailer, it is easy to begin a conversation by asking a simple question:

What products could we bring into our store?

But the trip encouraged us to think beyond that.

Behind every character, illustration or object is a creator, a story and often a much larger body of ideas. Some may work well on a retail shelf. Others may have possibilities in collaborations, licensing, events or entirely different formats.

For Oh Wednesday, this became an opportunity to better understand how we might work with creators not only as a retailer, but gradually as a creative partner.

From Taipei back to Kuala Lumpur

The most meaningful part of a business trip often begins after the trip itself.

Since returning to Kuala Lumpur, we have continued conversations with several creators and IP partners we met through the programme, exploring ways to introduce selected work to Malaysia and develop longer-term relationships.

Some conversations may become retail collaborations. Others may lead somewhere different.

We are still learning what those possibilities can become.

What matters is that the connection has begun.

For Oh Wednesday, the journey from Kuala Lumpur to Taipei was not simply about finding more things to put on our shelves.

It was about widening our creative network, learning from another market, and taking another small step towards what Oh Wednesday could eventually become:

a platform connecting creators, ideas and opportunities across borders.