Santosa Doellah: Enriching the world with love of batik

Lila Fitri Aly, Contributor, Jakarta

Piracy is rampant in Indonesia. Not only does it rob the artist and the music industry of royalties, but it also is an infringement of intellectual property rights, including patents. But all efforts to stop, or even curtail the crime, have met with failure.

One of piracy's victims in Indonesia is Santosa Doellah. Although his name may not ring a bell, many people are familiar with his Danar Hadi house of batik, where the latest designs of Indonesia's heritage are made.

"In Indonesia, the protection of our patents is not strong, so it's useless to register our patents," Doellah said pessimistically.

The businessman, who will celebrate his 61st birthday on Dec. 7, attempted to patent his designs in 1985. All the necessary paperwork was prepared and he spent lots of money. But due to all the red tape, Doellah gave up on trying to patent them, since no progress had been made.

Despite the financial loss his company has suffered from other companies stealing his designs, Doellah has never considered them to be rivals. What matters to him is giving his customers the best and he makes their satisfaction a priority.

He said he thanks God that he is never short of ideas for creating new motifs. In fact, he said his continuous flow of inspiration is like moving water.

"Water continuously flows and I believe there are always new motifs and colors," said the father of four.

Danar Hadi is well-known for its traditional motifs used for its cloth. For its garments, Danar Hadi has only been slightly influenced by the fashion capitals of Paris, London, Milan and New York to enhance its Indonesian character.

Collaborating with the country's best noted designers was another step. Prajudi, Carmanita, Ghea Panggabean, Edward Hutabarat and Sebastian Gunawan are a few of those who have lent a hand in designing garments for Danar Hadi.

As batik has become national apparel, Danar Hadi offers choices for all sizes of wallets.

For those with a big budget, exclusively designed batik with elaborate motifs and colors are available.

A different approach is taken for those who tighten their belts, and Danar Hadi provides affordable cloths and garments for this group.

With the three big festivities coming -- Idul Fitri, Christmas and New Year -- Danar Hadi is reaping the benefits from holiday shopping.

"Sometimes I run out of material while in fact I want to give my children similar motifs and colored batik," said Doellah, who graduated from the School of Economics at the Bandung-based Padjadjaran University in 1966.

For outside markets, Danar Hadi creates simpler abstract motifs. The largest markets are the United States, Japan and Italy.

Before the Sept. 11 tragedy, Danar Hadi earned 30 percent of its revenue from exports. Sales have since fallen to only 10 percent and the fashion house is intensifying its local market.

Born in Surakarta, Central Java, on Dec. 7, 1941, Doellah is the fifth of 10 children born to his father, a pediatrician, Hadipriyono, and his mother, a housewife.

His mother died when he was seven and Doellah went to live with his grandparents. His grandfather is Wongsodinomo, a well- known batik businessman and founder of the Federation of Indonesian Batik Cooperatives (GKBI), who introduced Doellah to the batik business.

Married to Danarsih on Aug. 1, 1967, Doellah decided to begin a batik company in 1975 called PT Batik Danar Hadi, which is a combination of the names of his wife and his father.

With his three sons involved in the venture, the family business has grown into a leading and integrated garment company.

"None of my other nine family members are serious in the batik business, except me."

Initially, the company only employed nine batik craftsmen but the staff has since grown to include 5,000 workers. With its base still in Surakarta, Danar Hadi has 15 showrooms -- each 1,000 square meters in size -- and 42 outlets scattered throughout Java and other islands.

Between his tight schedule, Doellah finds time to design and get involved in the batik-making process.

His love of rare batik -- from the ancient Surakarta Palace designs to those with influences from India, the Netherlands, China and Japan -- inspired Doellah to build a gallery located at Jl. Slamet Riyadi No. 261 in Surakarta. His love for batik has also encouraged him to publish a book called Batik, the Influences of Era and Environment.

Doellah's love of the Javanese culture and its artwork has inspired him to start an antique business. He sells Javanese antiques to India, Germany and Italy.

He was given the Upakarti award by the government in 1985 and an award from the Indonesian Association of Architects in 2000 due to his success in preserving the Ndalem Wuryaningratan, one of the ancient royal residences in Surakarta.

In the future, Danar Hadi plans to stick to its own batik designs, motifs and colors. Doellah hopes that local designers use batik for their collections and that noted foreign designers will also someday turn to batik.