A Yogyakarta craftsman gives teeth artistic touch<\/p>\n
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
Go to local souvenir shops. There, you will find extensive
\nhandicrafts made out of different materials like wood, dried
\nflower, clay or recycled paper.<\/p>\n
A resident in Nogotirto village, Sleman regency, Saryanto,
\ndecided to give teeth his artistic touch. For almost 10 years now
\nthe man has been supporting his family by producing and selling
\nsouvenir items made out of cow and horse teeth.<\/p>\n
\"Thank God, now I can build my own house after living in
\nrented houses for years,\" the 34-year-old man said referring to
\nhis two-story house built on a plot of land he purchased several
\nyears ago.<\/p>\n
His business has also allowed the father of two to buy
\nequipment, such as lathes and drills, and employ six staff.<\/p>\n
\"I hope my business will always stay good so I will be able to
\nkeep paying my children's school fees,\" said Saryanto who plans
\nto send his children to university.<\/p>\n
When business is good, Saryanto's demand of raw material --
\nraw processed teeth -- can reach up to 150 kilograms a month. But
\nwhen business slows, he only needs 50 kilograms of raw teeth.<\/p>\n
Saryanto said a kilogram of raw teeth usually consisted of 250
\nto 300 teeth and could make up to 100 sets of necklaces of
\nvarying designs. Saryanto makes necklaces with one, three teeth
\nor five teeth.<\/p>\n
A necklace with a single tooth is sold for Rp 1,000, Rp 1,500
\nwith three teeth and Rp 2,000 with five teeth. He also produces
\nearrings made of a single tooth that he sells for Rp 500 each. \"I
\nonly make this as a special order for a sculptor in Jakarta. He
\nuses the earrings for accessories for his sculptures,\" Saryanto
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Born in Salamrejo, Kulonprogo regency, Yogyakarta, Saryanto
\nsaid he started the tooth business by accident.<\/p>\n
The inspiration came after he saw someone wearing a unique
\nleather necklace with an animal tooth as a pendant.<\/p>\n
\"It seemed to be a good business for me at that time,\" said
\nSaryanto, who had been going through a bad patch which included a
\ntraffic accident and six-month lay up, and a slow leather
\nsouvenir business with his friend.<\/p>\n
But the new business did not come easy. At that time, animal
\nteeth were not easy to find. Only after a hard effort, he finally
\ncollected a kilogram of raw teeth and produced 100 necklaces.<\/p>\n
\"To my surprise, I could sell them all in less than a week.
\nOther souvenirs of the same number would need more than a month
\nto sell out,\" Saryanto recalled.<\/p>\n
Realizing the good market, he then began hunting down animal
\nteeth throughout the city, going from one slaughterhouse to
\nanother. He even went as far as Bandung, West Java, to buy more.<\/p>\n
\"At that time, cow or horse teeth were just neglected. Then,
\nall of the sudden, they were asked to collect and sell them to
\nme. That's why they ignored my order in the beginning. But then I
\noffered them Rp 3,000 for a kilogram of teeth though they only
\nasked for Rp 2,500 per kilogram. With the offer, I just wanted to
\nconvince them I was serious with my order,\" Saryanto said. Now,
\nhe had to spend Rp 12,000 for a kilogram of raw teeth and the
\ntransportation fee.<\/p>\n
Preparing the teeth was the most time consuming step in
\ncreating the necklaces, he said.<\/p>\n
The raw teeth were first boiled for three to four hours. Then,
\nchlorine was added to help separate the remains of meat from the
\nteeth's root. The boiled teeth were then left soaked in the water
\nfor a night before they were washed twice using detergent.<\/p>\n
\"We have to do so to prevent the teeth from smelling,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The next step was drying the teeth under the sun for two
\nconsecutive days until they were dry and bright white.<\/p>\n
\"Then they are ready to be further processed,\" Saryanto said.<\/p>\n
The next step was creating a hole through the teeth using a
\nsmall drill before combining them with beads of different colors
\nusing nylon cords.<\/p>\n
At present, Saryanto's merchandise could not only be found in
\nYogyakarta but also in other cities like Jakarta and Surabaya.
\nSome foreign art shop owners including those from the U.S.,
\nKorea, and Spain, according to Saryanto, also bought his
\nproducts. \"I don't know how much they sell the souvenirs I
\ncreated there, but I sell my products at the same prices for
\nthem,\" Saryanto said.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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