The Evolution of Beadwork in Bali - By Michele Cempaka
Beadwork in Indonesia is an ancient tradition most prevalent on the islands of Sumatra, Kalimantan, Timor and Sulawesi, where decorative beadwork pieces have been used in ritualistic ceremonies for millennia. In Bali, beadwork has been traditionally used as ornamentation for sacred items. For example, white beads are sewn onto Lontar leaf temple baskets in preparation for offerings. This is a unique method which involves utilizing two needles simultaneously. The Balinese are seemingly the only culture in the world to employ this technique.
Beadwork has become popularized over the years, so that today, there are many wholesalers and retailers in Bali, both foreign and Indonesian, who create a wide variety of intricate and striking beaded designs on sandals, purses, clothing, and many other items.
Pratima, a successful bead wholesaler with a thriving business on Bali, came here long before beads were used to adorn clothing or fashion accessories. Her passion for beading began at the age of 19, when she fell in love with glass beads in the markets of Sierra Leone. Later, while hitch hiking overland from England to India, she learned her first beadwork techniques. Her skills were further honed during her time studying with Native American Indians, They taught her ‘Peyote stitch’ which can be found on all the beaded lighter covers sold around Bali today. They are the first model that Pratima created using that stitch.
One recent afternoon I sat down with Pratima (actually an English lady) and she related now foreign beadwork came to Bali. “The Native American Indians also taught me “Lazy Squaw Stitch”, a quick method of beading that makes the beads raise up slightly in the middle, so one gets a nice three dimensional effect. In Kenya they make everything on wire and that’s a job we give the men to do here in Bali. We’ve used a lot of the Zulu beading method too, as it’s simple because one just wraps the beads around a chord in one go. By contrast, the tapestries get every bead stitched down, as do most of the bags and sandals. We put six beads on the needle with nylon thread and sew them down, and then we go back through the fourth bead and sew them down again. In some styles every single tiny 1mm glass bead is sewn down individually.”
Pratima discovered more techniques in Mexico, Guatemala and Peru, bringing these singular techniques with her when she arrived in Bali in 1981. At that time she only had $150 USD and no ticket out, so she needed to work! She busily beaded by herself and sold her wares at Blue Ocean on Legian beach. An Italian lady bought her very first earrings and ordered 30 more pairs to be delivered before she left at the end of the week! Being an impossible deadline, this was the start of Pratima teaching the Balinese women in her nearby village.
Pratima then gradually started introducing beaded bags, shoes and jewelry. Linda Garland, founder of the Bamboo Foundation, was the first to really help Pratima in the early days, by designing unique interior decorating pieces for her to bead.
“I used to go round and visit Linda, in the days before telephones and say, “Linda, please help me, I have to pay my rent next week and have no money left.”
“She’d say, “come on dear, lets have a design session,” and we’d sit up late and become totally inspired. She’s an amazingly creative woman, having started several industries in Bali, including all the carved wooden animals, bamboo furniture and more recently, bamboo houses. Together we created some wonderful interior design pieces, and she was the one that introduced me to my main tapestry client and also, God bless her, to Milo.”
Milo, a famous fashion designer from Italy, was the first person to introduce beading into Bali more than 30 years ago, incorporating beading into his exquisite fashion designs. “Milo really got me going in the fashion world. He has got to be Bali’s, if not Indonesia’s best fashion designer,” says Pratima.
“He invited me to create his designs for accessories to match his clothing, and that was really inspiring for me. I’ve always been the veritable ‘Bag Lady’ making little bags for myself since I was a teenager, so what an honor to be able to make bags for Milo! It was because of Milo and his brother Ezio that I first moved down to Seminyak from Ubud. They both started giving me a lot of work and it was too far to drive my motor bike back and forth from Ubud all the time. After that my career really took off, especially when Milo introduced me to my wonderful Italian client of the last 20 years. Thank you Milo, Ezio and Linda. Without you I might still be a starving hippy!”
The business gradually grew and over the years thousands of styles have been created incorporating the various beading techniques from Pratima’s travels. Many of these designs and techniques are now frequently seen all over Bali in what has become a very successful and established handicraft industry.
“Beadwork is a wonderful craft for the Indonesian women, as it’s possible to bead for a few hours in between babies and cooking. It empowers women and enables them to be self-sufficient, earning their own income from home,” says Pratima.
Pratima says that the large beaded tapestries and wall hangings are the most fun to do. The client tells her the size and types of materials to use, giving her a free hand to create beautiful and intricate tapestries. Some of the tapestries Pratima has made were copies of old Sumatran designs.
“It felt wonderful bringing these traditional motifs alive again, only making them even larger – seven meters by one and a half meters for two of the tapestries. They each took 25 women three months to bead and they still hang in the Four Seasons, Jakarta. A friend checked recently for me and no beads have fallen off in15 years. My women know how to bead very well. They have spent so long doing it and for sure, many of them are a lot better than me now!”
From its early beginnings in the rice fields of Ubud, the company now employs a large amount of women in their homes on a piecework basis, and produces thousands of pairs of beaded sandals a year – their most successful line. They also make large beaded wall hangings and curtains for hotels and receive commissions to make special one off pieces for distinguished people including the Dalai Lama. Their biggest client is a large Italian company who they have been supplying since 1989. They have also sold their beadwork in the renowned retailers, Harrods, Liberty’s and Neiman Marcus.
The office staff co-ordinate the work, creates new product lines, quality control incoming pieces and then pack and ship orders – all in a family atmosphere in a thatched roof house in the heart of Seminyak. The company has a Balinese manager who has worked for the company for 20 years. He makes all the invoices and packing lists, prices the goods and has kept all the accounts. The company has had computerized accounting since 1990. Quite a few of the staff have worked for the company for nearly 20 years and many of them for over 10 years.
“I have a couple of mottos that have served me well over the years. When unsure always give the workers the benefit of the doubt. What may be a relatively small amount of money for you may be a great deal of money for a Balinese or Javanese lady. So be prepared to make small sacrifices along the way and be adaptable, don’t stay rigid with one’s principles. It’s just a mistake and mistakes happen. Express what the mistake is in a kind way and never loose your temper. Anger is not a common emotion in Balinese society and they are not used to it. Our Western shows of anger don’t sit well and are worth avoiding at all costs. The Indonesians are such a warm hearted, loving people, a gentle reminder works much better than a burst of anger.”
“On the practical side of things, the main secret of my success has been my wonderful Balinese manager Nyoman, who has stuck with me over the last 20 years. We have been a fabulous team, and without him, the business could never have grown in the efficient way that it has. As the orders became larger and larger, he took it in his stride and took so many of the administrative aspects of running the business off my shoulders. Thank you Nyoman! And thank you also to the team of dedicated workers that have stayed with me for all these years. We have grown up and matured together and now several of the women and men who started with me when they were young are now grandparents!”
Pratima feels that it is time for her to pursue her spiritual path in life. So she is putting her business on the market for sale. She already has a couple of interested buyers, but she’s really looking for the most suitable person possible, to sustain the livelihoods of all the women and men who have worked for her over the years.
“After all we are like a family after so many years together and I am looking for someone who will be kind and loving with the team and not disrupt our well established system too much. I also need someone who will continue respecting the requirements of our main Italian client, as we have worked together since 1989 and they are the main reason for our success. So the new owner needs to guarantee that they will maintain reliable production for my existing clients too. I would also love it, if the new owner managed to increase production, as the team is always happy to have more work to pay for school fees and general family life. My advice to the new owner is to be patient and tolerant and avoid getting angry; always find that space of love in your heart when you are interacting. It’s easy with the Indonesian’s, they teach you!
For any enquires about purchasing the business or having beadwork made for you, or simply for buying stock, please email:
info@FashionBusinessForSale.com
Further details about the business can be found on the website:
www.FashionBusinessForSale.com
