DESIGN INSPIRATION: BATIK AS ELEMENTS OF DECORATION

courtesy of Vibizlife

courtesy of Danar Hadi

courtesy of Vibizlife

courtesy of Stylebeat

courtesy of Quadrille

As I said earlier in my previous post, I was ashamed as an Indonesian I had lack in writing about batik on my blog. Whereas in reality there are a lot of products with batik touch whether in technique or pattern that could be use as element of decoration. So as a start I hope this article can satisfy.

Firstly batik was known as a long piece of fabric that used to cover body. It’s like clothe or sarong, for Javanesse. But then batik progress as element of decoration. In the seventies interior designers started using batik fabric for wall hanging, cushion cover, curtain, upholstery sofa and so on. Karl Springer, a Germany born furniture designer, applied batik fabric to wrap his table collection and lacquered them.

In the seventies in Java, batik employers tried to applied batik technique on solid wood like pule, pinus and albasia. And therefore emerged various kind of craft made with batik technique like batik mask or storage box. Because of the difficulty of the batik technique on solid wood, the product came in relatively small dimension.

While Iwan Tirta together with Kedaung, a well known Indonesia ceramic tableware company, on the early millennium released his creation, applying batik motif with China influence on ceramic. His collection named as ‘The Phoenix and Peony Flowers”. Iwan Tirta’s effort had not stopped yet. He explored batik patterns on ceramic combined with gold platted for high end users. His high end collection named as Pusaka Maha Karya. He applied Modang, batik pattern that used and known only for Javanesse aristocrate only. And the collection was expanded into silverware too. His last creation is for Vivere under the series named Vivere Cultural Delight Collection that have launched recently. I bet his collections will be sky rocketing after his death.

Otherwhile, Obin, an Indonesian fabric designer, through label Deya under her Bin House created a series of tableware with batik inspiration made of glass. She used etsa technique to apply batik pattern on glass.

It’s not only Indonesian people who develop batik onto various things. Katherine Rally together with her hubby, who live in Bali, has developed her batik designs on fabric. Her collection are so colorful and vibrant.

Quadrille, a fabric, wallpaper and carpet label, also has numerous products with batik pattern under the series named China Seas. They successfully transform batik into modern style, universal taste and easy to combine product as shown on several editorials of well known decoration magazines.