Rini: An extraordinary craftswoman
Rini: An extraordinary craftswoman
By Ananda Moersid
JAKARTA (JP): It all started in 1979 when the fingers of a small, gifted woman couldn't stop turning out beautiful bamboo basketry following classic lines while incorporating strange new shapes.
Rini Yoeda is no ordinary craftswoman. Her interest was sparked in 1979 when she participated in a project initiated by the Department of Fine Arts of the Bandung Institute of Technology and the National Export Promotion Board. The bamboo section of the project was headed by her husband, interior designer Ahadiat Yoedawinata, who made design prototypes in various media for the local craftsmen to copy.
Bamboo basketry was one of the media covered. Designers, craftsmen and artists pooled their talents for several months to create prototypes that they hoped would revitalize Indonesia's handicrafts industry. The team disbanded when the project ended, but some of the village basket weavers continued asking for more work.
The village weavers were inspired by the project's innovation and creativity but were unable to do anything in their villages. Looking for someone to back them, and a way to make a living, they turned to Rini. With very little capital she established Craft Works, a small workshop in her husband's studio and set the basket weavers to work. For a long while, the only buyers were friends who happened also to be designers.
The first outlet was Bob Sadino's Kem Chicks in Kemang, Jakarta, then the big department stores like Sarinah and Pasaraya followed. But success breeds imitators. Almost all the basket weaving villages in Tasikmalaya, West Java, copied Rini's designs -- poorly.
When she complained about this, Bob Sadino, himself a noted entrepreneur, told Rini not to worry.
"As a designer, you will always be ahead of everyone as long as you maintain the quality," he assured.
This mother of three didn't give up. Problems like quality control, using glue instead of nails and heating the strips of bamboo to bend were easier to tackle than the human factor.
"Once, basket weaving was an essential part of village life, like potting. A basket maker was a respected member of the community. Today they have to compete with plastics and other modern materials. Their loss is not just financial, their entire being is shattered," Rini explained.
Motivator
Rini therefore played the part of designer and motivator. She sat down with the weavers to help solve problems that cropped up as they weaved a new design she had sketched on a piece of paper. Design solutions surfaced as they shared their experience.
Both Rini and the weavers discovered that the design process was beneficial for all parties. The craftsmen learned about the language of design, like good proportion, color and texture while she found out about things she couldn't have learned in school, like basket structure related to the tensile strength of bamboo.
"The basic skill was already there and needed only minimal awareness (she doesn't like to use the word education) to make it work," Rini explained.
To ensure that the weavers felt they had earned their skills, Rini never paid them a salary. Instead, she bought everything they produced. The price was based on workmanship, so quality control was introduced without really trying. At first, the weavers naturally overpriced their work, but they soon had their own friends as their competitors and quickly learned about the free market.
Then Craft Works began to participate in exhibitions and sell their wares in shops on commission. Orders began to come in from as far away as Japan, Finland and America.
After 12 years, Rini was exhausted by the financial and bureaucratic hassles she faced as a businesswoman. She longed to be an artist again. She collaborated with her husband to create some beautiful aesthetic elements at the Preanger and the Panghegar hotels in Bandung, and the office of the Indonesian Emissary for the Common Market in Brussels, to name a few.
Green
Bamboo termites are a big problem. They can ruin entire shipments of bamboo goods. Some companies use mild insecticides to kill the insects that are attracted to the glucose in the wood, but Rini is against the use of harmful chemicals. All her finishes and paint are non-toxic.
Rini believes that by employing the time tested method of harvesting bamboo only during the dry season, when there is less moisture in the wood, and good planning can limit the damage done by termites.
She gets her suppliers to harvest the bamboo during the dry season and stands it upright while it dries. The basket weavers can then obtain the bamboo directly from the airy storage areas. She also hopes that the government will follow Thailand's and the Philippines' lead in aggressively marketing the finished bamboo products.
"There is a general trend in Southeast Asia to go Green, to respect mother earth. I hope this goes along with promoting the handicrafts industry a Green way. I also hope that revitalizing the industry leads to jobs and boosts income, not only for the village weavers but for everybody concerned," she asserted.
Tailor made
Today, baskets bearing the Craft Works trademark are only sold at her studio and at Kem Chick's. But you can find her newest designs in some of most the exclusive restaurants and hotels in Java. Buyers are willing to pay high prices for new designs, although some are done poorly.
Close examination shows why Craft Works products are different from the rest. They are sturdy and last more than five years. Yet they are gracefully airy and follow classic basketry lines while remaining modern. They therefore blend easily into any modern household. More importantly, they are very useful.
All her baskets are very detailed, every handle and rim are finished in bamboo or rattan binding sometimes as thin as two millimeters. That is something that has almost vanished in traditional basketry because nowadays they are using more yellow plastic string.
Rini also derive some of her inspiration outside of Java. She has been influenced by the traditional backpacks worn by the Dayaks in Kalimantan and the ceremonial rice baskets of North Sumatra. You can also find Japanese sushi tray influences alongside the humble besek from the crowded and noisy markets of Java.