Last weekend Gamelan Kusuma Laras, Directed by I.M. Harjito, played two concerts at the Indonesian Consulate in NYC.  Founded in 1983, the concerts marked the group’s 30th anniversary. 

If you haven't yet heard traditional Javanese gamelan, it is a wonderful experience.  Most of the instruments are made from cast bronze - beautiful to hear as well as to see. They look like variations of xylophone or gongs. The music is is played in cycles with interwoven rhythms, with instruments (in addition to the metal ones, there is one bowed and one flute-like, plus chanting and clapping.

The consulate has a full orchestra of instruments which the players used for this concert.  The event was held in rooms decorated with art and artifacts from Indonesia.  And there were delicious Indonesian snacks laid out for the intermission!  For those of us who are interested in batik, it was a great opportunity to see the traditional fabric being worn by many of the musicians and the consular staff.  And the tables were adorned with cloths as well.  The event was truly a feast for all the senses.

The Director General and his wife were extremely gracious in hosting the event.  In addition the consulate is arranging several upcoming events for 2014 -- one  to promote batik! As soon as we learn more, we will post the information here on the blog.  To learn more about Gamelan Kusuma Laras, click here.

All the excitement surrounding the Interwoven Global exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum in NYC reminded me of another great (permanent) exhibit -  where the textiles are an expression of the cultural influences in just one country over time.

I'm thinking about the terrific Danar Hadi Antique Batik Museum in Solo, Indonesia. The museum is part of a complex that includes a showroom and a workshop.  In 11 rooms the museum showcases roughly 600 pieces of batik selected from the family's 10,000+ piece collection.  In their own words: 

This combines various types of batiks collected by Mr. H. Santosa since 1967, and also his ancestral collections, including that of his great grandfather H. Bakri (first generation); collection R.H.S. Wongsodinomo (second generation), his grandfather; and the collection of H. Hadiprijana, the parent of Ibu Hj. D. Santosa.

For a short description of the Dutch, Chinese, Indonesian, Palace and Danar Hadi batiks, click on each of the images on this page:

http://www.houseofdanarhadi.com/en/batikdanarhadi.php

For those interested in the batik making process:

http://www.houseofdanarhadi.com/workshop.php

For armchair travelers, enjoy this excellent description of the experience:

http://www.travelsinparadise.com/travelarticle/batik-museum.html

Museum admission includes a guide (in my case in English).  He was great:  An excellent communicator and very knowledgeable about the history, the collection and the process.  So if you can swing it -- it's really worth a trip to the Danar Hadi complex.

October was a busy month working on the final designs for our collection of Indonesian batik-inspired ceramic holiday ornaments.  And making plans for our pop up shop for the holidays. Now the ornaments are here, and we hope you love them.  All design elements come from textiles on hand.  The stars, leaves, hearts and flowers have been updated with bright modern, and in some cases surprisingly dramatic colors to fit the season.  All are about 3" rounds with a high gloss. Made in the USA.   Coming soon, mugs!  Looking forward to a bright holiday season. 

Always fun to see how Indonesian fashion designers apply batik in a modern context.  Designer Embran Nawawi launched his Precise Batik Shoes collection to coincide with National Batik Day on October 2.