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Exotic Tenun Gringsing from Tenganan village, Bali

Many of us know exactly how exotic Bali is with its beaches, cultural, arts and craftsmanships - but few only know about the weaving traditions exist in Bali other than Songket.

In Tenganan village - in east Bali - is known as the oldest village - where the oldest & real natives of Bali Aga society lived there before Majapahit era. Their weaving (Tenun) called Gringsing is very unique and known as Double Ikat cloth, not found anywhere else in Indonesia. 

The gringsing is known as double ikat, because, unlike other textiles, both warp and weft threads are dyed in complex patterns before weaving – the final design is achieved by combining these threads’ patterns into carefully preconceived ornamental form. This is an extremely complex and time consuming process

There are about 20 varieties of gringsing in Tenganan, with motifs such as the lubeng, cemplong, wayang and sanan empeg. The word Gringsing -Gring derived from the word meaning 'sick' and -Sing meant "no", therefore Gringsing means to avoid pain. 

Picture: Gringsing weaving, cemplong motifs

Gringsing motif that forms a plus sign describes the philosophy of life for people in Tenganan, the "balance", just like the Swastika, a symbol of balance in Balinese Hinduism. There are only 3 colours are in Gringsing: white or yellow represents air or oxygen, the red symbolise heat or energy, and black symbolise water.

Exotic! that's the word for Gringsing Bali weaving !

Raw materials for Tenun Gedog Tuban

Batik gedog Tuban has characteristics that are not found in other traditional batik, which is the raw material is woven gedog. The process started with cotton planting, spinning, weaving, batik writing and dyeing with natural materials (colouring) to produce a piece of batik gedog cloth; therefore it is very time-consuming - about 3months to finish a cloth.

There are two kinds of cotton plants : Brown cotton (called Gedog Lowo) and white cotton - they produce two original colour of Tuban Gedog cotton thread as shown below:

Then the thread are being processed into woven cloth, which is done by hands supported by traditional and very modest equipment. The Brown cotton cloth called Gedog Lowo and the white one called Gedog Putih. Brown cotton weave are more expensive than White cotton cloth as it is much harder to grow the Brown cotton plant.

The cloths are now are ready for batik writing, and here are examples of Brown Cotton Tenun Gedog Tuban with Hong bird motifs and Sekar Jagat motifs. 

I love tenun gedog Tuban, I love the unique texture of the cloth, the traditional process they have in making one, and appreciate how they survive in preserving their tradition in these modern days without loosing it's charisma. How beautiful Tenun Gedog Tuban is, and how rich Indonesian heritage is.

The unique & exotic Tenun Gedog Tuban

Do you know that in Tuban, in East Java, uniquely have what we called Batik Tenun, which in one traditional cloth they use both Tenun and Batik process. They first make the cloth with Tenun equipment then they do Batik on top of it, therefore the material feel much thicker than Batik found in other area in Java.

This art is also known as "Tenun Gedog", which name came from the sound of the loom when they do the weaving process “dog…dog…dog..” This loom is very modest and require lots of commitment to use it. 

To make a piece of Tenun Gedog, require around days of preparation, and the process of weaving and Batik afterward will take a full month. It started with handpick only the best of Kapuk Lawa, a kapok tree near Tuban to be used as raw material for thread. Moreover for a natural-color dye Tenun, it takes much longer time to make it since they need to extract the colour from plant first like violet or indigo are derived from indigo leaves (indogofera tinctoria) and brown from the bark of soga wood (peltophorum pterocarpum)
The perfect blend of Kapuk Lawa, traditional looms, and the use of natural dyeing in the making of Tenun Gedog brings special character to this cloth, thicker and heavier compared to other kinds of cloth.

It's a pity that Tenun Gedog has slowly left behind and only found in rural areas 20s km of Tuban like in villages like Margorejo, Gaji, and Karangrejo - mostly only elders are still produce them, as the youngers generation prefer to do Batik rather than weaving (Tenun) because the process is much faster and less complicated. On top of that,  works say in rice field are found to be more profitable than weaving.

Nowadays you may find more and more Batik Tuban rather than Tenun Gedog Tuban, faster to  produce and also much cheaper compared to a piece of Tenun Gedog.

Bag Personality - which one are yours?

I love sizeable bags, which I can put everything into it; and therefore you've never miss a thing when you need it. I'm wondering why the bags sold in stores are becoming smaller and smaller in size.. that's why Kuppu bags are spacious :-) Well, we need to put in quite many things like wallet, handphones, car key, make up, name cards, pens, wifi set, sometimes snacks etc etc.  It has to be functionally works and of course at the same time looks pretty. 

Now about the type of a bag, you name it - Tote, Shoulder bag, clutch etc etc - there must be reason why some women love to use specific kind of bag and by default always choose the same type of bag whenever they shop for a new one!

I once read an article about Bag-PERSONALITY, how to tell a women by her handbag! If you really want to know her secrets then look at and into her HANDBAG. Wow!

Shoulder Bag
Women who wear shoulder bags are practical but also want to look good. Wearers tend to be even-keeled decision makers. Women who prefer shoulder bags refuse to be "a fashion victim".

Tote Bag

often represent women who are fun loving and practical. The wearer is youthful in outlook, with things to do and places to go. Tote carriers are often refined, lead busy lives, unobtrusive but definitely not passive.

Clutch Bag
Women who carry a clutch bag are confident enough not to worry about carrying their whole life in their bag.These are ladies who can get through the day without their entire life being by their side.
They are able to streamline, knowing exactly what they need out of life and are not afraid to let someone else carry their keys or whatever else won't fit in their bag.

Under-the-Shoulder Bag
A small handbag tucked neatly under-the-shoulder implies sophistication and class. Women of high stature who work in upscale offices are more inclined to choose this style of bag. For these women, a bag is more of an accessory than a necessity.

Bags with Buckles, Zips and Jewels
Women who choose leather purses with lots of zips and buckles are unleashing their wild side.These are ladies who are more likely to act before they think and are always ready for a good time.
Extra buckles and zips tend to signify a "bag girl" image.
However, embellished and bejewelled bags represent a woman who is confident and fun to be around.

Oversized Bags
Wearers rarely swap bags.Women who regularly lug oversized bags are practical and down-to-earth and prefer to keep things easily-at-hand.

Finally, if you have a favourite colour, this can also say a lot about your bag personality.
Bright colours like fire engine red, bubble gum pink or lime green indicates the wearer is fun loving and warm at heart.
Neutrals, such as black or brown, represent women who are chic, poised and down-to-earth.

Which one are yours? :-)
So whether you are fun loving, down-to-earth, sentimental or confident, Kuppu have a gorgeous choice of bag types and colour to suit your personality!

NTT Tenun Ikat & Oscar Lawalata

I always amazed with people that have deep passion for his country and heritage. Oscar Lawalata, famous Indonesian fashion designer is one of them. His love to NTT (East Nusatenggara) Tenun Ikat makes him dedicating more than ten years of his life to do research, create motifs, and teach weaver community in NTT (East Nusatenggara) innovations on weaving technique, motifs and colouring.

He's personally involved in trainings to improve skills of the weaver, which mainly women, and the quality and quantity of Tenun Ikat production.

Thanks to Oscar, NTT Tenun Ikat successfully introduced to European market, and perceived as having high economic value compared to branded fashion.  It is therefore help to improve the NTT weaver standard of living in a way. 

I've been trying to find his book called "Langkah Kain Nusa Tenggara Timur" ... will share with you more once I got them. Bravo Oscar Lawalata!

pics: Oscar's in Jakarta Fashion Week 2014