We like that the resorts also care about Indonesian artisans and products from Indonesia. There are only the best products from all around in Indonesia in the boutique of The Apurva Kempinski. You will be amazed about all the different kinds of crafts and accessories. Although it is not limited to only women accessories as we saw chocolate and home ware as well.

We are proud to be part of their portfolio and we are so happy about these contacts and people, who want to work with us. We wanted to finish our mini-series about the partnerships in high standard and we have a few new amazing places to add later, but for now this is set in high and positive vibe and we are going for that bright future we dreamed of for months.

Thank you all for your support and lets us know when you see our bags and other accessories there. Let us know what you would like to add or change. Let us know anything you want as you are part of what we are now.

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We are constantly questioned if we can deliver bags or have some other locations around Bali. We try to help our customers as much as we can, but appearing in Seminyak and Legian is a great solution for all.

You can find us in The Seminyak Beach Resort and Spa, Jl. Kayu Aya, Pantai Seminyak and also check us at Salila Spa inside Away Bali Legian Camakila Jl. Padma Utara, Legian.

Let us know when you visit those places and how you like it. We would appreciate your feedback and thoughts.

Find the map and contact here.

The post Find our Wildindo display in Seminyak area appeared first on Wildindo.

We are also pleased and impressed by iOCO’s business building as that’s what we are trying to achieve in WildIndo too. iOCO already accomplished one building where there is a space for production, designers, office and beautiful store we are now part of.

Find the map and other locations here.

The post iOCO partner display in Kuta appeared first on Wildindo.

Asking how our products are traditional? It is not only about the products, our products are modern and designed well. Our tradition is part of our people, artisans and craftsmen, who are behind each item. The tradition of passing skills from generation to generation and spending hours and days making those lovely and unique pieces.

Puri Wulandari is more culture oriented tradition and their people are exceptional. Their boutique and restaurant is accessible for public and we would recommend to go there to enjoy peaceful afternoon and views of the canyon.

Find the map and other locations here.

The post Looking for our shop in Ubud? We moved to a way nicer place. appeared first on Wildindo.

As in any business there are challenges to overcome. One of the first challenges for Friska, was to find a reliable tailors as the quality was not enough and timeline was never close to what was promised. Throughout the years she found few tailors and artisans, who now work with her directly in-house and externally. The quality is right where it should be and timeline is accomplished accordingly. Our tailors now can help you make your own clutch in our workshops in Bali.

Although quality of products improved over the years, she has never searched for her clients. They all came to her and made custom bags or wholesale order. That was actually nice to realize after running a business for 3 years without realizing other businesses are actually searching for new clients. That’s just a proof that the designs and products are great. And yes we start looking for new clients as well, because we want brands and people to understand that handmade products are worthy. We are mainly talking about Wildindo and few other brands who really care about their people, high quality products and life in developing countries.

People, location, bags, jewelry, designs and strategy have a common thing. Constant changes. It is part of any life and in Wildindo we deal with changes almost every week. One of the recent major change was take apart our Bamboo shop due to increased prices of the land rental. Bali is still growing and sometimes prices get crazy. It was a very nostalgic moment for Friska as it was the beginning of WildIndo. Even though there is not much connection to the bamboo shop anymore, it was still the start of our journey.

What Wildindo plans in future?

Friska’s need and what makes her happy is to continue working on new designs. There are bags and sandals, but also upcoming jewelry and home ware. Sustainable living will be one of our main parts. We are also partnering up with luxurious modern and traditional hotels, who appreciate handmade quality products. We want to stand for high quality and well designed products and as an ethical brand. We will be updating you soon on our blog about upcoming news.

Thank you all for supporting us and buying beautiful handmade products from ethical brands.

The post Our three year fashion and handmade journey continues appeared first on Wildindo.

Every product needs raw material, bamboo grows everywhere in Asia and Bali is no exception. Bamboo is softened and cleaned with salty water from the ocean. Then processed bamboo is delivered to artisans.

When artisans receive the bamboo rolls, they cut it to the sticks and start measuring and adjusting size of those sticks for the bags. It is a precise job and our artisans use the measure box, where they can see which stick is too long and mark the cutting point.

Prepared and measured sticks are then tight together with a string and small wooden balls are placed in between them. This technique allows artisans to make a certain pattern and design.

Some parts of the bag needs to be strong and hold together for good. There is little bit of glue for this purpose. It starts to look like a bag you know 🙂

If you ever saw somebody working with wood, you know that before finishing you need to use sandpaper to make it smooth and clean. Bamboo needs that too if we want our bags last long.

There is the almost last part of the process, which is coloring and sun drying of the bags. Bamboo bags are not smoked as Ata bags, they are sun dried.

Last checks and corrections. Then bag is approved and is available for you.

This is how we make our bamboo bags in Bali. Would you like to see specific products and bags we offer? See and shop for the final bags below.

Go to our bamboo section or click on the picture below or visit our shop in Canggu.

The post Making Bamboo Bags in Bali appeared first on Wildindo.

Cow condition in Indonesia

I grew up in Sumatra and I still remember when my grandpa brought me to the meadow next to our village to feed his cows. He must have had around 5 cows and I used to go up on their back while they were eating the grass. That’s what you can call cow farm in Indonesia, pretty much free range cow for meat and leather. I can still see these activities in Sumatra, Java and Bali where several cows eat grass in the fields. We take our leather mostly from small farmers from Magetan, Jawa.

Time to harvest leather

We live in Bali where the main religion is Hinduism. However the rest of Indonesian islands is inhabited with muslims. Once a year Eid al-Adha (Islam ceremony – Festival of Sacrifice) need to give Qurban. The cows or goats are sacrificed and shared with people who cannot afford to eat meat (to the poor) and relatives. Cow leather supply is abundant after the ceremony. It would be a waste if people do not use skin of those already  dead animals.

Tanning Process

As there are many cows in Magetan, they also became famous for leather  tanning. Traditional tanning process itself using non chemical tanning such as Acacia bark and its components. I will be explaining more details on types of leather and process in one of the next articles.

The post Vegetable Tanned Leather appeared first on Wildindo.

About Ata bags

One of the main Balinese products is a bag from Ata grass. Ata grows in the jungle as a weed and our artisans harvest it from area around Teganan village. It goes through a process of cutting and smoking before it is made into a beautiful bag. It all started with plain and star round bags for Wildindo. These simple and elegant bags are still very popular and you can find them on many corners of Bali. Our artisans also evolved into small patterns with the black roots of Ata grass as you can see on the picture. The little moon pattern brings small piece of individuality and uniqueness and is so cute.

What are the main parts of every bag our artisans make?

1. Material and surface
2. Double lining vs single lining
3. Leather or natural strap and handle

Material

If you see any leftovers ata grass on the surface, side or bottom of the bag, there are usually a few, it’s not a problem, you can simply cut it with nail-clipper or scissors. This happens because there is the end of the ata string and the new one starts. Sometimes it happens during the drying stage when the string ends outside of the line.

After sun-drying or smoking, the material and the bag itself becomes light and durable. In case water is spilled on the bag, you can wipe it and let it dry.

Double lining with Batik

In short, Batik is colored cotton cloth and also a method of coloring. You can read more about it on wiki Batik.

There are many different types and we use designs from our Balinese artisans. Patterns with lines, flowers or animals are just amazing and we line the bags properly. That means double lined to make them smooth inside and without any defects and glue. Most of the time you will easily recognize single lining, because you will see glue or ruined Batik as you need to be more careful when putting the cotton inside the bag.

Strap, handle and clasp

Some bags have straps, some have handles and some have it all. We use leather or the natural ata grass made into a wide string. There are also some plastic straps, so just be aware and check the material properly. Clasp also vary, it can be natural or leather with a button. We mostly work with leather, but we have selection of bags, which are fully natural, completely vegan. All made from ata grass. The strap is handwoven same way as a clasp on a picture with Ata Star bag,

Sometimes in the beginning the clasp button is really hard to close and click. In case that happens, there is a simple fix. Make tiny drop of oil on the tissue and use it on the button. Or just keep using it and it will fix itself eventually. We check our buttons and bags, but it might happen to you somewhere else.

We do what we can to provide best Ata Bali bags to our customers and we are proud behind our hard work for every single bag as it is not easy to make and it takes time to deliver it in high quality.

How do we make our Ata bags in Bali?

1. 

   Harvesting Ata grass is not easy as it might sounds, it twists among the trees so you cannot easily get it. It grows mainly in jungle on the ground bush and trees.

2. Preparing Ata grass strings for the bag. Our artisans use any objects where you can make a sharp hole, then you pull the strings through, simple.
3. When you have enough strings you can start waving the bag of your choice and shape.
4. One of the last and important parts is drying, we do sun drying and smoke drying. You can see the difference between fresh and dried.
5. Placing Batik embroidery made in Bali. We buy Batik from Balinese artisans. Every Indonesian island has slightly different Batik style and pattern.

Facts:

We always use real cow leather.

We make our bags with double lining Batik embroidery.

We pay a fair price to our artisans for a high quality bag.

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