Kadek Satya

Artisan Organization: Kadek Satya

Country: Bali and Java

"I was born in Celuk Village, Gianyar, Bali, in 1970. My parents give me the name Ni Kadek Satya Risnawati. And I feel so lucky to be born in Celuk, a village which has been known for its fine silver crafting for generations. My father was also a silversmith, and my mother sold the silver. She promoted our silver from door to door before they had their own shop.

"I'm the second of two children. When I was a little girl, my friends and I used to visit our neighbors and watch them making silver jewelry. And over time, I helped them and they taught me some basic knowledge. My father also taught me to work with silver but, since I still went to school, I learned only when I came home from school. I started getting serious about making silver jewelry when I was 18 years old. For the first time, I just tried to make a design and then put it in the shop. And the amazing thing was that someone bought it! I felt so happy that I had found something really important to me. So I continued being serious in this field.

"Besides making silver, I do have other hobbies, such as singing, traveling and exercising. The one that I usually do is Pilates, and that type of exercise is really fun. I meet a lot of friends in Pilates. My friends are kind and friendly. Most of them also consider me a friendly person, easygoing and also generous.

"Now I'm married and blessed with two daughters and a son. I got married in 1995 to a very handsome guy. At the beginning, our married life wasn't so easy. We made a few designs and put them in our parents' shop until we had enough funds to build our own shop. When we finally did have our own shop, things didn't go as planned either. There was one time someone hijacked my email and transferred some money. That really put us down for some time. Fortunately, we were able to bounce back.

"The bun and jawan motifs are the traditional silver motifs from Bali which we still use to make great designs. And one of my characteristics is that I combine silver with resin a lot. For me, resin is easy to shape to adorn my designs. I hope my work will meet your expectations. Thank you for giving me a chance to introduce my designs to the world.""