Sarik dealers hunt for best buys
Sarik dealers hunt for best buys
JAKARTA (JP): "We buy junk from you and sell antiques to you"
is the life motto of the Sarik antique dealers on Jl. Ciputat
Raya, not only in serving customers but also in surviving tough
business times.
These natives of a tiny village in West Sumatra have literally
cornered the local market in selling antiques. Much of their
success can be tied to their willingness to go in search of
mementos and knickknacks for their shops.
Most dealers travel far and wide to find goods at bargain
prices, restoring them to sell as rare, expensive antiques to
buyers in Jakarta.
"I go to villages in West, Central and East Java to hunt for
antiques. I can spend up Rp 12 million (US$4,800) a time," said
Pepen, a manager at Limo Lapan art shop.
He named Purbolinggo, Kudus, Solo and Klaten in Central Java,
Blora and Cirebon in West Java and Surabaya and Madura in East
Java among his favorite hunting grounds.
Antique furniture can also be found closer to home.
Pepen said dealers can still find antiques among dilapidated
old Dutch buildings in Kebon Jeruk, South Jakarta, and Kota,
Central Jakarta.
In the villages, Pepen said there were always people willing
to help him find what he wants.
He said he could obtain oak cupboards at between Rp 250,000
and Rp 400,000, wooden chairs costing Rp 30,000 to Rp 40,000
each, and couches ranging from Rp 100,000 to Rp 150,000.
"After repairs and providing a good finishing, an oak cupboard
can sell for as much as Rp 7 million ($2,700). It all depends on
the quality of the wood," Pepen said.
He had no guilt about reaping huge profits.
"I don't consider it cheating," he said.
"We always give fair prices for every item. We could give good
prices for reproduction items, but never for original products
made from good wood," the 28-year-old said.
Limo Lapan's big seller is its dining table sets.
Every week at least four sets are sold, and every two months
the firm exports a container full of furniture to Spain, Italy
and the Netherlands.
Another antique dealer, Hari Dharma of Madura art shop, said
even dealers get cheated at times.
"People come here pretending to be owners of an old house
loaded with antiques to sell," said the 10-year business veteran.
"But actually they rented the house, and the stuff they offer is
all made of new wood painted dark brown and deliberately covered
with dust."
Trust, he said philosophically, underlies the antique
business.
"You have to trust your dealers. We've become experts through
experience. Sure we got cheated once or twice. But after that, we
learned how to identify real antiques."
Some shops have diversified amid the fierce antique furniture
competition.
A glance at the shops' wares shows a potpourri of products --
old silver and gold jewelry collections, furniture and stylish
suspended lamps are featured along with traditional weapons and
wooden primitive and tribal art sculptures.
There are also traditional paintings, sarongs and textiles
from almost every corner of Indonesia, including Palembang, West
Sumatra, Lampung, Flores, Timor, Kalimantan and Irian Jaya.
Lukman, owner of Pat-limo art shop, says the public's
appreciation of traditional clothes and fabrics grew in the 1970s
following several textile exhibitions.
Traditional fabrics are now common adornments for walls of
offices and other public buildings, he added. (07)