A true batik aficionado: Tumbu Ramelan (center) sharing her piece of mind on batik Indonesia at Rumah Inspirasi.
There are batik observers, batik collectors, and then there is Ibu Tumbu Ramelan. She is beyond all that. When it comes to batik, there is light in her eyes and suddenly everyone around her becomes friends. That is how much her love for batik does to her. I am lucky to meet and learn from her in our two brief meetings. Here are some pieces of mind from her on batik that are inspiring as well as wise: Batik holds multiple meanings, never one dimensional. Batik print is not batik, it’s textile. Relax, Malaysia did not claim or patent batik as its property, instead — because of this misperception– we should thank Malaysia for the batik boom in the past four years. And this: it’s about time that Indonesia has a museum dedicated to batik. Now I want to dedicate this video for Ibu Tumbu, a true batik aficionado. Viva batik Indonesia:)
The sharing and meeting session with around 50 vintage enthusiasts at Rumah Inspirasi finally took place, on a pouring Saturday. I got many interesting questions from the audience such as: how to decor a small apartment with vintage items? how to take care of old vinyls?who is your favorite vintage singer? and: what is the cheapest vintage item that I ever bought? The last one is a bit tough because … I have plenty of answers. That Vietnamese lady ceramic doll…I got it at USD 1. The handsome Samsonite briefcase in camel was only Rp 35K –now the similar item can hardly be found and if any at all, it would cost seven times the price. Well, putting that aside, I am glad that through this talk show I can share what vintage can do to us all –and trust me it’s all good: it’s stylishand unique, it’s affordable (o yes, compared to antiques, that is), it’s environment friendly (because no new energy produced), it makes you creative(mixing it with current items can be a challenge for many people), and did I say it’s cooltoo? Now I want to thank the team at Martha Stewart Living Indonesia who gave me the chance to share those messages and to the participants who came to get inspired, to inspire and stayed till the end. Have a fun week ahead!
Last Thursday Martha Stewart Living Indonesia launched Rumah Inspirasi at Grand Indonesia, 5th floor skybridge. Rumah Inspirasi is a home – a real home, with everything inside: kitchen, living room, bed room, even a powder room– built by the magazine to house the best that a home can make. Anything from handcraft, cooking, decoration, art and culture will be displayed and discussed here by and with the experts. And I am so proud that Jakarta Vintage will be part of it. On Jan 8 at 3-5pm –-Saturday afternoon– Jakarta Vintage will share and chat with around 30-50 audience on “vintage hunting and decorating with vintage”. You are all invited. See you there.
Natural looking and camera shy, with the cat woman styled glasses…Is this typical Indonesian woman of the 60′s?
Indonesian vintage models — have you ever wondered how they look? Well, it’s actually easy to check them out in google image or youtube, or maybe in those old photo albums in the garage. As for me, I have these Varia magazines, 60′s edition –which I found in Blok M Square two weeks ago. Looking at the cover models on the magazine that was popular until the late 70′s, I can’t help but comparing them with today’s famous faces such as Dian Sastro and Julia Perez which covered Clara magazine a while ago. One is more natural looking, camera shy and motherly….and the other one is more sophisticated, confident and polished. Is it so? One thing for sure, those Indonesian women, vintage or not, are all beautiful. D’accord?
One is a face of the 60′s, the other one is today’s most recognized face in Indonesia. Eyes to the camera, both pretty and confident.
Nowadays everyone seems to be obsessed with going global and the whole globalization thing….except Ika Vantiani, Muhammad Taufiq (Emte), and Rukmunal Hakim. The three artists are proofing that local is the way to go. And it can be cool too. Or dark. Or playful and beautiful. I am talking here about their art works which are now being exhibited at Eastern Promise Pub & Restaurant in Kemang under the theme: LOKALISASI. Ika is known for her vintage styled, paper-based collage, while Emte and Rukmunal are illustrators with strong local flavor in their works. Through their works dare I say that local is the new global, perhaps? I dont know, but now with over 30 pieces of arts that they are exhibiting, I wonder which one I would bring home to fill my vintage space. Maybe the ones I feature here?:
Tapestry, there was time –perhaps between 70′s and 80′s– when every home in Indonesia had it. Framed as hanging decoration, or used as tablecloth, or even as dress. Yes, that was the time when every mother, grand mother, auntie and sister make tapestry as a hobby. And funnily they make almost the same patterns — lady by the window, gentlemen riding horse, lady weaving, and so on. How uniformed! Here are some tapestry decoration which I found randomly in Kebayoran Lama, Taman Puring, and Jalan Riau Bandung. Even more beautiful now that we hardly see it anymore, no?
Gentlemen riding horse for hunting. Look at the dogs below. I like it.
Have you visited a palace to enjoy the beauty of it and then seen the not-so-pretty picture behind it? I have, in my latest visit to Keraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat or Keraton Yogyakarta. After two hours and so enjoying and admiring the Keraton collections, I had a chance to see “the un-palace”. I was referring to the houses behind the palace which belonged to the relatives of the Sultan. During two hour “unauthorized” tour in and out some houses in the palace complex, I had mixed feelings and plenty of questions, I trust you might have too, just by looking at those pictures. Putting that aside though, I must say it was actually as fun and inspiring inspecting authentic and historical antiques and vintages in spite of their poor condition. Have a nice weekend everyone!
In China Mao is so ubiquitous, in a painting shop in Panjiayuan flea market, Beijing.
Thirty-seven years after his death, he is still alive everywhere you go in China. Even in Panjiayuan flea market in Beijing, as you can see here. Mao Zedong, the founding father of People’s Republic of China, is present in the form of painting, calligraphy, photo, statue, plate, mug, and well, practically anything. His figure seems to remain popular as the newer icons such as Deng Xiaoping and Hu Jintao, the more current China leaders, come and go. To many Mao never dies, pretty much like vintage, to me. Have a nice weekend everyone
Finding flea markets has been my #1 thing to do in almost every city I visit. Including and especially in Beijing where the biggest flea market in Asia is located, that is Panjiayuan flea market. Here there are about 3,000 registered sellers waiting for you every weekend, offering anything and everything. From opium scales, old pipes, Mao and Buddha statues, paper lanterns, jades, ceramics, calligraphy, to painting and… oh the list is so long that I wonder: is there anything that they don’t sell. The big number of sellers and categories of stuff sold in Panjiayuan represents and reminds me of China as a country of many wonders. Yup, everything in this country deserves to be put in the record book. Time.com puts this flea market at #7 of things to do in Beijing, and tripadvisor.com ranks it at #18 as a shopping destination. For Jakarta Vintage, it’s obviously #1…well, no, maybe #2, after the Great Wall of China which is also a must visit. By the way, from this place I took home with me some Cultural Revolution memorabilia like plates and statues of Mao. So predictable, I know, but in my defense those items can hardly be found here in Jakarta or anywhere else outside China.
Last week I went to Tanah Teduh, in Jati Padang, Pejaten, and felt so proud to be an Indonesian. How can I not? Tanah Teduh is a complex of 20 houses built by leading Indonesian architects with a strong commitment to environment and local materials. So in two hectares of land, no tree-felling was allowed, ponds retained for water processing and catchment and, natural light and air flow optimized to reduce electricity consumption. Cool. And all Indonesian-made materials are taking a center stage here, indoor and outdoor. The interior of the show unit for example, is an exhibition of fine Indonesian furniture — all vintage from the 60′s and 70′s. This is where my vintage-obsessed mind goes ecstatic, naturally. I totally agree with Ronald Akili, the founder of this project who says: “I hope Tanah Teduh will be a source of inspiration and a project that Indonesia could be proud of.” Bravo architects Andra Matin, Wendy Djuhara, Anthony Liu, Yori Antar, Adi Purnomo, Ahmad Djuhara, Eko Prawoto, Ferry Ridwan, Tan Tik Lam, and Zenin Adrian who made it happen. So last week I was proud and impressed by my fellow Indonesians. I am sure you would be too. Sources: tanahteduh.com and doinc.org
An antique glass painting of three ladies in kimonos which I found at Hana-Zuno flea market in Tokyo is a real steal. Besides, it goes just beautiful with the Chinese tennis player lady from Taman Puring. Do you have a street find or a flea market buy that you want to share here? Please send the photo(s) to luthfi_hasan@yahoo.com. Lets find and share!
