Local Handmade Enthusiasts

14/04/2021

Matyó embroidery

Found in northern Hungary, the Matyó region is known for its unique, colourful embroidery. Added to the UNESCO Intagible Cultural Heritage list in 2012, it’s characterized by the floral motifs that are common the area’s folk art. Head to the area itself to find authentic Matyó embroidery to take home as a memento; the town of Mezökövesd is a fascinating insight into a traditional way of life, with old Matyó houses in which traditional arts and crafts are on display.

13/04/2021

One of the many pleasures of living in Indonesia is having the opportunity to learn about and collect Indonesian Balinese Masksarts and handicrafts. The diversity evident in Indonesia's 300 plus ethnic groups is reflected in the diversity of its art forms. Just as every ethnic group throughout the archipelago has its own language/dialect, cuisine, traditional dress and traditional homes and they have also developed their own textiles, ornaments, carvings and items for daily use and special celebrations. The rich cultural heritage of art and handicrafts is one of Indonesia's true national riches.
NB.livinginIndonesia

12/04/2021

There is no better way to know that a product is handmade than by meeting the person who made it. We have a unique opportunity to know the story behind every single one of these items, and we also have the chance to promote our seller community. And this is exactly what we do. We introduce collaborative, local products in Indonesia and all around the world on the regular.

Join us into the community and help local artist :)

01/09/2020

Local Handmade,
This time we will talk about Culture from East of Indonesia, Papua :)
First will be Traditional Woven bag called Noken.
December 4, 2012 was declared a cultural heritage of the Intangible World by UNESCO in France by Arley Gill as Chair of the Committee, which aims to protect and explore this culture.
Noken made by raw materials of Manduam tree, Nawa tree or forest orchids.
Normally local people in Papua carry this bag with their head and basically this bag are same as other bag as people wear it as daily to put their stuff inside.
The traditional Noken bag has a symbol of a good life, peace and fertility for people in Papua, especially mostly in the Central Highlands of Papua, such as the Mee / Ekari, Damal, Yali, Dani, Lani and Bauzi tribes. What's interesting about this Noken is that only Papuans can make Noken. Since childhood, women in Papua must learn to make noken, because making noken from the past until now can symbolize the woman's maturity. Because if a Papuan woman cannot make Noken, she is not considered an adult and that is a condition for marriage.

Making Noken is quite complicated because it uses manual methods and does not use machines. The wood is processed, dried, sorted into fibers and then manually spun into rope / yarn. The color variations on Noken are made from natural dyes. The making process can take 1-2 weeks.
More about Papua will coming in next post :)

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Drop your culture in comment below and we will post about it :)

Source: Wikipedia & google

20/07/2020

Matryoshka – The Russian Nesting Doll
Historically, the idea to create a nested object was born in China during the Song Dynasty long time ago as 960AD – 1279 AD! It started with The Chinese crafting nesting boxes.

Some historians of Russian life argue that matryoshka dolls originated from Japanese traditional dolls. However it's known that Russian masters would make hollow detachable Easter eggs from the wood long before the first nesting doll was made.
The first Russian nesting doll set appeared in Moscow in 1890's. It was carved by Vasily Zvyozdochkin from a design by a folk crafts painter Sergey Malyutin. The doll set consisted of eight dolls of decreasing sizes placed one inside the other.
It's hard to find a symbol of Russia more popular than the traditional Russian nesting dolls.

It takes a lot of skill to make a Russian nesting doll set. Traditionally, matryoshka dolls were made from linden or birch and their production would involve the participation of the whole family. The dolls of the cylindrical form were painted in different ways: it could be a peasant girl dressed in a sarafan and a headscarf, a man or a child. Matryoshka dolls are often painted holding a basket of berries, bread, or a bunch of flowers in their hands.

Please share and comments below :)

07/04/2020

Sasando – Rote Island, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

Sasando is a chordophone instrument that is played by plucking the strings, similar to when playing a guitar. The body however, represents best of a harp because of how the strings are arranged – vertically.

The strings are arranged on a tube made of bamboo which are then held using a buffer to form various notes. The tube are surrounded and covered by a half a circle shaped palm leaves which functions as a sound vi****or and resonator.

There are two main types of Sasando: gong sasando that has 12 strings and pentatonic tone, and violin sasando that has 49 strings and diatonic tone.

The word Sasando comes from the Rote word “sandu”, which means a shaking or sounding object.

According to local traditional folktales, Sasando was made by Sangguana, a boy who lived in Rote Island. One day while he was tending the savannas, he got tired and fell asleep under a palm tree. He dreamt that he played a beautiful music using a beautiful instrument with a very enchanting melody. When he woke up from the dream, it felt so vivid as if the melody is still there in his ears. Wanting to hear the music again, he tried to fall asleep again and successfully went back to the dream. After a while, Sangguana had to wake up to carry on with his life, but the melody was still stuck in his ears. Not wanting to loose them, he tried to recreate the sounds and created a musical instrument called Sasando using palm leaves, sticks, and bamboos.

Overtime Sasando’s designs and materials developed to be similar like that of a guitar, to ensure quality and durability (using bamboos and actual musical strings). There are even new variations of Sasando with 14 and 56 strings.

However, Sasando has been known to strictly be made by hands until this day to maintain the cultural aspect of it. This musical instrument are commonly given as gifts for special occasions and are perfect for souvenirs for people who likes to commemorate their travels.

07/04/2020

Turkish Handmade Carpets

The combination of Turkey and carpets might be very familiar to your ears – even if you don’t have any or have never seen one. That is because they are considered the best carpet quality in the world.

Along with Persian carpets – they are dated since the Neolithic Age (7000 B.C.) and used as trade goods and by the royals. They acquire value as they are used, unlike most items that lost value. Carpets and rugs nowadays are mostly used at home as floor coverings, blankets, table cloths, and decorations – all still maintaining the value.

The oldest known example of Turkish handmade rugs is in St. Petersburg Hermitage Museum in Russia. Russian archaeologist, Sergei Rudenko discovered the Altai rug (also known as “Pazirik Rug”, woven in the 3rd century B.C.) in the year 1949.

The history of Turkey and the Ottoman Empire are very connected to their rugs and carpets; there are history in every knot and pattern.

Even though some carpets are made using machines these days, the highest selling and most popular ones are the ones made by hands and are older in age (considered vintage). Handmade carpets and rugs are what people look for when searching for souvenirs and gifts.

The materials used are usually hand spun wool and silk, very different than the common wool and cotton.

Turkish rugs and carpets are double – knotted; each piece of yarn is looped twice through the weft, making the rug sturdier and more durable.

These rugs are normally pricey, but the quality is undeniable.

Each rugs and carpets can maintain their quality and colour for over 100 years if taken proper care of (deep cleansing every 5 years, etc).

Central Asia is the perfect place for rug weaving centre because of the availability of land for herding sheep and because of the climate region – thus making Turkey and Iran the biggest carpet industry in the world.

Handmade carpets and rugs is one of the main heart of culture in Turkey. Even though these days finding a brand new Turkish handmade rug and carpet are difficult because of the lack of interest for new generations to learn the technique, older ones are still very much in the market and costing more because of the age. Hopefully Turkish handmade rugs and carpets can still be the hearth of their culture in the upcoming era, led by future generations to maintain the aesthetic, tradition, and value.

02/04/2020

Batik (Indonesia, Malaysia, Africa)

Till this day, it is still very debatable where batik is originated. But what we know for sure, is that batik originated from Asia (many believe it is from Java, some believe it is from Melayu, some even believe it is originated from China), and spread all over the world during the World Trade.

Batik is said to be derived from the Javanese word “ambatik”; where “amba” means writing, and “tik” means dot.

There are many ways to make this wax painted cloth. Some uses modern printing technology, some uses hand stamp method, however, the traditional way of making batik is handcrafted using canting.

Canting is a pen-like tool, very similar to the traditional ink-pen where there is a container for the ink (in this case, wax), and a small pointed tip to draw with.

The pattern of batik varies, but flowers, leaves, and trees are the most common. Sometimes people even make wayang (a traditional Indonesian puppet) pattern.

However, in many African countries, batik patterns are mostly animals; lions, deer, etc. It could be said that batik in each country represent what is most common in their country. For example, in Indonesia and Malaysia it might be crops and flowers, whereas Africa it is animals.

Even though batik has been found in the 17th century AD, till this day it is still quite commonly worn, especially in formal events.

Batik can be worn as shirts, dresses, pants, and even as it is and wrapped as a skirt.

High quality batik producers usually suggest to washing it only by hand to maintain the colour and prevent dullness.

30/03/2020

Indonesian - Anyam Bambu

Roughly translated, anyaman is braiding, and bambu is just bamboo. Anyaman bambu is a very common practice in Indonesia which are all done by hands.

People use this to make bakul (rice bowl), tapi (rice strainer), bags, toru (hats), and even
tikar (mat/ could also be used for bed), etc.

Traditionally, anyaman bambu is done by women as a hobby during their free time and not for a source of income. Women were considered not “feminine” enough if they don’t master the art of anyam bambu.

Anyaman bambu were used as gifts and personal use back in the day. Nowadays, it’s very common and because the process can take a long time (one day to two weeks), people prefer buying it than making it, thus making it a business and source of income for the producers.

According to history, the followers of Sunan Gunung Jati taught handcraft (such as anyam bambu) to attract people to Islam, which was quite a success around Mid Java and West Java.

Ki Tegalmantra (student of Sunan Gunung Jati) was the one who taught the art and technique of anyam bambu to the people of Cirebon. The village of Tegalmantra and Tegalwangi, two of where Ki Tegalmantra spread Islam, is known as the biggest center of handcraft, especially anyam bambu in Java.

10/03/2020

Keep in mind when you're buying a handmade product, you are not only buying a beautiful item, but also their history, their journey, and their meaning.

Why did someone start making handmade products when they could just buy them in retail?

Why did the producer made it a certain way?
Why did they choose this material?
Why this colour?
How long did it take to make this product?

These are the questions you should ask yourself when purchasing a handmade product.

It's easy to haggle in local handmade markets if we have the mentality of "well it's handmade, there are probably some errors", but do keep in mind that handmade products are not just a mere product, it’s an experience.

People tend to forget that big companies that have an “all-technological-process” does not necessarily require artisans that have their own personality poured into the product.

When making a handmade product, the artist dedicate their time and energy for each and every single products. They might never actually be the same, but that’s the beauty of it. Each product we hold have a different meaning to the artist.

Maybe in one product the artist gained inspiration from their late relatives. Or maybe even just something beautiful they saw from the streets. This experience would be different for each products, but all holds beautiful memory and meaning.

People often choose to underestimate handmade products if the artists are not well known, regarding the fact that they pour their heart and soul to their creations. It is sad, but that’s the reality that we live in.

Handmade products hold a certain beauty in their work, but not everyone appreciates it. However the market of handmade products are increasing nowadays because people are learning about the beauty of handmade things.

Yes, quality control is important, and maybe some handmade products might lack certain qualities. But there are many artists that sets their standards high to maintain the best quality to their imagination for everyone to enjoy.

I could easily list more than 10 reasons - probably more like 500 because that the number of wonderful partners our handmade website has. Each and one of them is the reason why buying handmade is much better than commercially produced gifts. 1. Hand...

05/03/2020

Hello everyone, this is a community for Local Handmade Enthusiasts.

If any of you would like to share products or ask information or even send how to videos or articles, you are very much welcome to do so!

We love art and appreciate any given thought to it :)

We also have an e commerce store if you guys would like to check it out:
https://www.barangku.store/

We are requiting handmade products from all over the world to our store so any suggestion will be dearly noted! :)