Nastiti

Artisan Organization: Nastiti

Country: Java

“I was born in Jakarta in 1980. My parents have lived in Jakarta for a long time, and I was raised, educated and also married in Jakarta. My father was a retired man from a government company, and my mother ran a business selling electronic goods. I like living in Jakarta. Even though many people say that the traffic is real bad and the air is not so good, this is my home, and I like it.

“I remember the early years when I started to enter school. Because I was really close to my grandfather, my parents took me to preschool near my grandfather’s house. In that way I would still be able to see and play with my grandfather. After that I went to elementary school near my parents’ house. Because my parents taught me to be a strong, independent woman, in senior high school I sold food and beverages.

“When I graduated, I started to run my own business selling clothes in a boutique. But that first attempt was not that good. After some time I changed my direction to selling home linens such as bed covers, curtains, pillow covers, sleeping bed nets, and cushion covers. I thought at that time that people normally did not pay much attention to the motifs. When they liked the color and the textures, mostly they would not be particular about the motif. Besides that, I saw a window of chance back then. When Jakarta started developing so many hotels, apartments and also a hospital, they would need a lot of linens. And what I predicted was right-- I could supply the home linens demand.

“Now I am married and have a daughter and a son. Being a mother has really changed my perspective towards life. I would give anything for my children. Having them also provides me extra motivation to be better, to be able to give them what they need and what they want. I was glad when NOVICA found me and said that my products are good and we could work together to introduce my products to the wider markets.”"