Hand Woven Cotton Midi Ikat Skirt from Bali - Grey Gardens

Artisan Organization: Donald Wira Putra

Country: Bali & Java

"I love creating batik apparel because batik has been a part of Indonesian heritage for generations.

"I was born in 1977, the second child of four children. My parents started creating clothing in 1974, so I grew up in an environment of sewing and batik. And I became accustomed to making clothing from the time I was little. My parents specialized in hand-embroidery and batik.

"Although my parents make clothing, they never forced their children to walk in their steps and follow them into this field. My parents raised us in a democratic way. They love us and support us in every decision we take. And they still love us equally, even though not all of their children are involved with clothing and apparel.

"However, I'm following in my parents footsteps and continue their works. Creating batik in traditional way is done using two techniques, both of which utilize wax. The first is batik tulis and is made using a canting tool, which is a special cone-like pen, to draw on fabric. The other uses stamps to make batik cap or 'stamped batik.' Our designs use both of these traditional techniques.

"Today, we have 45 people who work with us — 13 men and 32 women. And I coordinate creating samples before a piece of apparel goes into production. First, I make a batik pattern and select the colors, then make the batik into fabric. After the fabric is ready, we create samples. When we feel the samples are as good as the design, then we go to production. Our clothing is made with 100 percent cotton, and we also control the quality of everything we do. That's why our batik is awesome.

"Our designs are mostly inspired by the beautiful things around us, such as people walking, paintings, murals, interior design and other batik patterns. And we make sure each design is of good quality, since we want people who wear our apparel to be proud of what they wear and proud of our Indonesian heritage. That is one of our goals — we don't simply create clothing and then sell it. We also create our designs with love and pride.

"By creating and offering good batik, I hope to help people appreciate how complicated batik is and how batik is an art form. It is also our Indonesian heritage, full of the history and pride of our people. Thanks to you, I now have the chance to show the beauty of our batik to the world.""