Sunday, February 7, 2010 12:22 AM
Yuliantoro , Contributor , Yogyakarta | Fri, 02/05/2010 1:04 PM | Java Brew
Spiritual work: Sungkowo shows one of his kris and its scabbard from a collection at his house in Yogyakarta.
There is the clinking sound of repeated hammering of a blend of iron, steel and pamor (decorative metal) on a blazing hearth, with burning red metal sprinkles scattered over both sides.
Gripping the blend with tongs, an mpu or master craftsman is forging a kris (Javanese dagger) while wiping his sweaty body now and again in his stuffy besalen (workshop).
That’s how a traditional dagger maker works on the highly valued Javanese weapon. Today, classical kris making is a unique and rare profession, with only one master in Yogyakarta willing to be engaged in this time-honored art of refined craftsmanship.
He is Mpu Sungkowo Haroembrojo, who lives in Gatak hamlet, Sumberagung village, Moyudan district, Sleman regency.
The professional scarcity is due to the high degree of difficulty of this job. By tradition, a kris is requires an mpu’s creativity, intuitive feeling, willpower and innovation. Creativity concerns knowledge, experience and ingenuity. Intuitive feeling has to do with modesty and sensitivity to ethical and esthetic values. Willpower refers to strong determination to develop a noble task. Innovation more involves the principles of usefulness, grandeur, symbolism and spiritual weight.
“Making a kris is a serious job if a high quality dagger is supposed to be produced,” said Mpu Sungkowo, the sole heir of Mpu Djeno Haroembrojo, a renowned kris master of the Court of Yogyakarta, some time ago.
Before forging a kris, an mpu used to fast by only eating plain rice and drinking water for 40 successive days. At present, the fasting period is reduced to three days according to Javanese calculation.
“It’s meant as a spiritual preparation before getting down to actual work,” explained the 17th descendant of Kyai Mpu Supodriyo, a great kris master in the era of Majapahit kingdom.
The fast aims to purge the soul of all impurities, as the process of kris making requires a clean, pure and clear heart so that the blade created will generate a good aura.
“During this entire process one must avoid harsh, abusive and emotional remarks,” Mpu Sungkowo said.
In addition, a set of offerings is also made available in the workshop, generally for the purpose of invoking divine assistance so as to ensure a smooth and safe progression of kris making from start to finish with a truly excellent end product.
Standing alone: Kris maker Mpu Sungkowo Haroembrojo (left) shows his work standing unsupported. It shows the perfect balance of the traditional dagger.
The mpu needs the personal data of a customer, such as the day and date of birth, occupation and so forth. The best way is to meet the master before he starts working on the weapon so as to be suited to the customer’s personality.
A quality kris with high artistic value demands first-rate iron, nickel (as pamor) and steel. Kris makers quite often use meteorites containing titanium to turn out beautiful decorative patterns. The best iron is usually the black type called karang kijang.
“Karang kijang is the kind of iron with straight and fine veins so that it can hardly get rusty. It produces an unbroken tinkle when struck and has a natural, glowing color,” Mpu Sungkowo said.
In the beginning, a kris takes the form of pieces of iron, nickel and steel. The three components are combined by burning and hammering. The iron piece with nickel, burning and lengthening to a certain size, is folded into two. Then it is again beaten up repeatedly to reach the number of folds desired, depending on the model or tangguh as it is commonly called.
For instance, Tangguh Blambangan needs about 16 folds, Tangguh Mataram 256, and Tangguh Majapahit 2,000. Even in the period of Majapahit, the model of Sendang Sedayu required 4,096 folds.
After the relevant number is met, the wrought iron is strengthened by inserting a piece of steel.
“At the end of this process, the kris has to be given sepuh treatment [immersion in coconut oil after being heated without getting red] so as to make it superb, magical, strong and durable,” Mpu Sungkowo said.
A classical kris takes at least 40 days to finish, even more than 60 days for the types of kris that involve more complex techniques. When physical and mental conditions are unfit, kris forging has to be suspended in order to guarantee optimal product quality and avoid customer disappointment.
Kris making consumes around 100 kilograms (50 sacks) of teak charcoal, 12 kilograms of iron, 0.5 kilograms of steel and 100 grams of nickel. For higher-level kris like Sendang Sedayu, 18 kilograms of iron, 0.5 kilograms of steel and 200 grams of nickel or 300 grams of meteorite are required. Upon completion, only about 1 kilogram is left due to shrinkage by heating and beating.
Combining metals in layers and hammering indeed constitute the technique applied to make a thin and small blade tougher. The blade is formed according to the shapes desired. Some kris are straight, as in the Majapahit era, while others have curves known as luk, recalling the Islamic Mataram era.
Hammer and tongs: Sungkowo uses tongs to hold the molten kris being created by his assistant.
Mpu Sungkowo is assisted by Tugeno (61) and Supardi (50). But when it comes to blade filing to expose nickel stripes as decorative pamor, Mpu Sungkowo does the work himself as it involves greater care. Any carelessness will erode the pamor altogether.
“I also do the finishing work,” he said.
The beauty of a kris, however, will be apparent after being cleansed with a solution of arsenic in lime juice, which makes the ornamental patterns even more manifest. With this touch, a kris is thus born.
It has a higher value and greater supernatural force if processed with the mpu’s ascetic practice and high spiritual awareness.
With the considerable time spent, Mpu Sungkowo can only produce a maximum of six kris a year, and is booked up through 2011.
Mpu Sungkowo’s works are highly sought after. His guest book shows that his customers come not only from domestic circles but Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, France, the Netherlands and the US.
He has turned out dozens of kris now scattered in various parts of the world, winning the admiration of many. Worth up to tens of millions of rupiah a blade, its possession has some requirements. A farmer, for example, is compatible with Dapur Kebo Lajer (buffalo design) and pamor beras wutah (spilt rice pattern), and a youth with Dapur Jangkung (slender design) and an unspecified decoration, having three curves.
“Only a king can own all types of kris,” he indicated.
Mpu Sungkowo, 56, dedicates his life to kris making with the determination to preserve the great value of the nation’s cultural heritage acknowledged by the UNESCO in 2005. He even has the obsession of passing down his expertise not only to his descendants but also to interested members of the public.
Bequeathing his capability is not easy amid today’s culture of instant products. The necessity to have spiritual knowledge and the notion that classic kris making is economically less promising have become major constraints. Mpu Sungkowo earns reasonable profits and is able to support his family.
The lowest price of one kris is Rp 10 million, with certain types reaching as high as Rp 50 million.
Among Mpu Sungkowo’s works are straight and curved blades. Kris with luk or curves usually have odd numbers, such as three, five, seven and nine curves and so forth, but the Javanese kris standard of Mataram origin only have a maximum of 13 curves.
— Photos by Yuliantoro www.thejakartapost.com
Sabtu, 13 Februari 2010
Making Jewellery in Kotagede,
.jpg)
Rare skill: Marni, 25, from Kotagede, Yogyakarta, applies herself to making jewellery, in Salim Silver’s workshop, in Oct. 2009. JP/Yuliantoro www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/12/11/the-tarnished-future-kotagede-silver.html
Making Jewellery in Kotagede
The tarnished future of Kotagede silver
Yuliantoro , The Jakarta Post , Yogyakarta | Fri, 12/11/2009 10:22 AM | Java Brew
Rare skill: Marni, 25, from Kotagede, Yogyakarta, applies herself to making jewellery, in Salim Silver’s workshop, in Oct. 2009. JP/Yuliantoro
Kotagede’s fame as a silver town is not limited to Indonesia, but is evenly spread throughout the world. In the 18th century, the Mataram Palace appointed Kotagede as a silver handicraft center to meet the palace’s needs.
Consequently the fine art work and engraving produced in the town have been complex and of high quality.
The silver handicrafts of Kotagede experienced their peak when they went international in the 1930s. This was largely thanks to Mrs Mary Agnes Van Gesseler Versvir, the wife of the Dutch East Indies governor who exercised power in Yogyakarta from 1929 to 1932.
The Dutchwoman was so impressed with Kotagede silver handicrafts that she ordered many to be sent to the Netherlands.
Drs Pim Westerkamp MA, the curator of Southeast Asian Culture and History at the Tropenmuseum in the Netherlands, said that the Dutch Tropenmuseum currently stored at least 62,000 examples of Kotagede silver handicrafts from Yogyakarta, covering production between 1929 and 1932.
The collection of silver handicrafts includes silver bowls, cake plates, cup sets and teapots, wine cups and more. A large part of the collection carries relief motifs of the Prambanan Temple, the Boko Queen, the Jepara Mantingan Mosque, motifs from West Sumatra and elsewhere.
In the 1930s, all the silver craft industries experienced growth.
Soon after Indonesia became independent, the international prestige of Kotagede silver began to fade, especially after the confrontation with Malaysia, followed by Indonesia leaving the UN and the events of Sept. 30, 1965.
In the 1970s, after the political situation started to stabilise, Kotagede silver was back in fashion and triumphant again.
Because Indonesia opened its doors to the outside world, especially with the tourism sector, silver goods became popular among consumers and jewellery businesses, and were marketed by art shops in the Kotagede area.
The results were very profitable and the living standards of the community improved, so that almost the entire community of Kotagede was eking a living out of making silver handicrafts.
A dying art: Wasik, 60, makes a pendant out of silver in Salim Silver’s. JP/Yuliantoro
Unfortunately, over time, and particularly since the early 1990s, silver craft industries in Kotagede are no longer prevalent. The shocks to the economy from the monetary crisis in 1998, the 2006 earthquake, the increasing price of fuel and the global crisis from 2007 to 2008, have made Kotagede silver craft industries seem ready to give up or simply survive.
A Kotagede silver entrepreneur, Priyo Jatmiko Salim, who owns Salim Silver, said that since the late 20th century, silver craft had shifted from an art form to an industry of mass-produced goods, purely based on economic value.
The fine engraved silver artwork with its characteristic hallmark identifying it as part of Kotagede’s cultural heritage is now rarely found in showrooms.
“Look at the silver shops. Is there an engraved silver product there that has any semblance of art?” Priyo asked.
The shift from art to mass production began during the 1998 economic crisis. Priyo added that the weakened rupiah had sharply increased the price of silver raw materials, while at the same time reduced buyers’ purchasing power.
There were no more major orders for household goods such as tea, dinner sets, bowls and large handicrafts.
“When silver was Rp 400,000 [US$42] per kilogram [before 1998], we needed five kilos of silver worth Rp 4 million to produce a set of cutlery. We could then sell it for Rp 5 million. But when the price of silver jumped to Rp 3 million per kilogram, the sale price of silverware in the marketplace could not cover the production costs.”
Because of the higher costs of the raw material, all the craft industries had to think pragmatically. They switched to mass products because that made manufacturing simple and the price was relatively affordable to consumers in the domestic tourism market.
“Making craft silverware is complicated and expensive, so the selling price is high. Domestic consumers can’t afford this. This is why we stopped making creative art products.”
However, said Priyo, maintaining the artistic products of our cultural heritage can be profitable because the price of the items depend on the beauty of the product, unlike mass produced goods, where the price is determined by volume.
“The artistic value of one item of silverware made from 10 grams of silver can reach Rp 10 million if it’s aesthetically pleasing to the eye. If it’s a mass-produced good made from only one gram [of silver], the price will depend on the weight.”
However, the consumer market is still limited to art lovers. There are still relatively few buyers of art in Indonesia, though there are many such customers overseas.
A Kotagede arts and cultural observer, Chirzin Natsir, said the prospects for a thriving silver handicraft industry in Kotagede had not only faded because of national disasters and global events.
The fall, he went on, has been caused by silver crafts people’s lack of foresight. Appreciation of the arts, culture and history of silver is still low among craft workers.
“If we’re clever, every time we make a good design, we should put aside one or two pieces. After 10 or 20 years, the collection will have expanded and the items will be expensive. If they cannot be sold, they can be shown in a museum so that every time people see them, they will have to pay,” he said.
Nasir said Kotagede’s silver collection from the Dutch period, which has been carefully stored, has a very high monetary value.
Before the earthquake, around 650 craftspeople worked in Kotagede making silverware. After the earthquake, the number decreased dramatically to 125 people.
Now around 100 still survive in some outlets of silver craftwork, and only 25 people in Kotagede and its surroundings.
“This is a very drastic decline, and has created a challenge for all crafts people; how to deal with the market without compromising the industry and the historical value that exists here?” Priyo asked.
The market for well-designed silver handicrafts with fine workmanship is still open, especially for exports to European countries, America, Australia and East Asia.
Customers in those countries are very interested in the silver Kotagede art products, especially those that are well made and with individual characteristics.
Priyo said that when he went to an exhibition in Hong Kong last September, many visitors from all over the world were interested in his products.
“They said we were the only Indonesian silver craftsmen that were creating art for the future.
As a result we received many well-priced orders in the international market.” www.thejakartapost.com
Rare skill: Marni, 25, from Kotagede, Yogyakarta, applies herself to making jewellery, in Salim Silver’s workshop, in Oct. 2009. JP/Yuliantoro
Kotagede’s fame as a silver town is not limited to Indonesia, but is evenly spread throughout the world. In the 18th century, the Mataram Palace appointed Kotagede as a silver handicraft center to meet the palace’s needs.
Consequently the fine art work and engraving produced in the town have been complex and of high quality.
The silver handicrafts of Kotagede experienced their peak when they went international in the 1930s. This was largely thanks to Mrs Mary Agnes Van Gesseler Versvir, the wife of the Dutch East Indies governor who exercised power in Yogyakarta from 1929 to 1932.
The Dutchwoman was so impressed with Kotagede silver handicrafts that she ordered many to be sent to the Netherlands.
Drs Pim Westerkamp MA, the curator of Southeast Asian Culture and History at the Tropenmuseum in the Netherlands, said that the Dutch Tropenmuseum currently stored at least 62,000 examples of Kotagede silver handicrafts from Yogyakarta, covering production between 1929 and 1932.
The collection of silver handicrafts includes silver bowls, cake plates, cup sets and teapots, wine cups and more. A large part of the collection carries relief motifs of the Prambanan Temple, the Boko Queen, the Jepara Mantingan Mosque, motifs from West Sumatra and elsewhere.
In the 1930s, all the silver craft industries experienced growth.
Soon after Indonesia became independent, the international prestige of Kotagede silver began to fade, especially after the confrontation with Malaysia, followed by Indonesia leaving the UN and the events of Sept. 30, 1965.
In the 1970s, after the political situation started to stabilise, Kotagede silver was back in fashion and triumphant again.
Because Indonesia opened its doors to the outside world, especially with the tourism sector, silver goods became popular among consumers and jewellery businesses, and were marketed by art shops in the Kotagede area.
The results were very profitable and the living standards of the community improved, so that almost the entire community of Kotagede was eking a living out of making silver handicrafts.
A dying art: Wasik, 60, makes a pendant out of silver in Salim Silver’s. JP/Yuliantoro
Unfortunately, over time, and particularly since the early 1990s, silver craft industries in Kotagede are no longer prevalent. The shocks to the economy from the monetary crisis in 1998, the 2006 earthquake, the increasing price of fuel and the global crisis from 2007 to 2008, have made Kotagede silver craft industries seem ready to give up or simply survive.
A Kotagede silver entrepreneur, Priyo Jatmiko Salim, who owns Salim Silver, said that since the late 20th century, silver craft had shifted from an art form to an industry of mass-produced goods, purely based on economic value.
The fine engraved silver artwork with its characteristic hallmark identifying it as part of Kotagede’s cultural heritage is now rarely found in showrooms.
“Look at the silver shops. Is there an engraved silver product there that has any semblance of art?” Priyo asked.
The shift from art to mass production began during the 1998 economic crisis. Priyo added that the weakened rupiah had sharply increased the price of silver raw materials, while at the same time reduced buyers’ purchasing power.
There were no more major orders for household goods such as tea, dinner sets, bowls and large handicrafts.
“When silver was Rp 400,000 [US$42] per kilogram [before 1998], we needed five kilos of silver worth Rp 4 million to produce a set of cutlery. We could then sell it for Rp 5 million. But when the price of silver jumped to Rp 3 million per kilogram, the sale price of silverware in the marketplace could not cover the production costs.”
Because of the higher costs of the raw material, all the craft industries had to think pragmatically. They switched to mass products because that made manufacturing simple and the price was relatively affordable to consumers in the domestic tourism market.
“Making craft silverware is complicated and expensive, so the selling price is high. Domestic consumers can’t afford this. This is why we stopped making creative art products.”
However, said Priyo, maintaining the artistic products of our cultural heritage can be profitable because the price of the items depend on the beauty of the product, unlike mass produced goods, where the price is determined by volume.
“The artistic value of one item of silverware made from 10 grams of silver can reach Rp 10 million if it’s aesthetically pleasing to the eye. If it’s a mass-produced good made from only one gram [of silver], the price will depend on the weight.”
However, the consumer market is still limited to art lovers. There are still relatively few buyers of art in Indonesia, though there are many such customers overseas.
A Kotagede arts and cultural observer, Chirzin Natsir, said the prospects for a thriving silver handicraft industry in Kotagede had not only faded because of national disasters and global events.
The fall, he went on, has been caused by silver crafts people’s lack of foresight. Appreciation of the arts, culture and history of silver is still low among craft workers.
“If we’re clever, every time we make a good design, we should put aside one or two pieces. After 10 or 20 years, the collection will have expanded and the items will be expensive. If they cannot be sold, they can be shown in a museum so that every time people see them, they will have to pay,” he said.
Nasir said Kotagede’s silver collection from the Dutch period, which has been carefully stored, has a very high monetary value.
Before the earthquake, around 650 craftspeople worked in Kotagede making silverware. After the earthquake, the number decreased dramatically to 125 people.
Now around 100 still survive in some outlets of silver craftwork, and only 25 people in Kotagede and its surroundings.
“This is a very drastic decline, and has created a challenge for all crafts people; how to deal with the market without compromising the industry and the historical value that exists here?” Priyo asked.
The market for well-designed silver handicrafts with fine workmanship is still open, especially for exports to European countries, America, Australia and East Asia.
Customers in those countries are very interested in the silver Kotagede art products, especially those that are well made and with individual characteristics.
Priyo said that when he went to an exhibition in Hong Kong last September, many visitors from all over the world were interested in his products.
“They said we were the only Indonesian silver craftsmen that were creating art for the future.
As a result we received many well-priced orders in the international market.” www.thejakartapost.com
Skilled craftman’s business has silver lining
Yuliantoro , Contributor , Yogyakarta | Fri, 12/11/2009 10:37 AM | People
JP/Yuliantoro
Priyo Jatmiko Salim has made quite a name for himself among the few silversmiths left in Kotagede.
The owner of Silver Salim is the only artisan committed to the art of repoussé, ornamental silverwork hammered into the metal from the reverse side, a specialty of Kotagede.
Salim, 48, has devoted the best part of his life to producing silverware made in the distinctive Kotagede style. He employs five craftsmen – the highest number of artisans working for any silversmith business in Kotagede – who are experts in the art of silver engraving, and is currently training new staff in his workshop.
In addition to preserving the town’s cultural heritage, his silver art products fetch high prices in domestic and international markets. According to Salim, prices of engraved art pieces are much higher than those of plain silver products.
“Prices of silver or arrangements are based on the weight of the goods. The value of the art is never a consideration. But artistic products attract their own prices. These are usually calculated per item, so the value of a product can reach into the millions of rupiah, or 10 times the wholesale price,” said the artisan and graduate of Gadjah Mada University’s School of Geography.
To improve his bargaining position and competitiveness, Salim’s silver products are not merely hammered and engraved. Inheriting his skills from his father Salim Widardjo, a noted Kotagede silverwork artist, his creations blend designs using special engraving techniques unique to Kotagede with those from Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi. He also uses other jewelry production techniques when making silver craftwork.
“I design silver jewellery in the form of earrings, bracelets, pendant and necklaces. These look very beautiful and elegant when worn on formal or semi-formal occasions,” he said in his workshop in Kotagede, Yogyakarta.
Salim is one of the few silversmith still using engraving techniques in his work, as artisans specializing in embossing are an increasingly dying breed. An unfortunate turn of events, given the technique initially transformed Kotagede into a renowned silverware center.
What is so special about the Kotagede technique? Well, the three-dimensional details make the jewelry come alive, because both sides of the silver plate are hammered. The process is called wudulan, embossing from the back and refining from the front.
Salim is constantly exploring new designs, always seeking to produce unique silver jewelry.
“We do not hesitate to experiment by combining our techniques with those used in the production of jewelry such as layering, cutting and grading. Our goods are elegant and Salim Silver’s reputation lives on, as we have gained the trust of customers here and abroad,” he said.
To acknowledge his contribution to preserving Indonesian cultural heritage on the verge of extinction, Salim received countless nominations and awards, from noted magazines such as Femina in its jewelry design competitions and from the World of Archeological Wonder, to name a few.
Salim never dreamed he would become a silversmith and businessman. As a geography graduate from Gadjah Mada University, his parents wanted him to be a civil servant in one of the ministries. But because his first placement would have been outside of Java, Salim’s parents objected to their son leaving Kotagede. Salim was advised to become a silversmith, like most people living in Kotagede people at that time.
“From then on, I tried to design my own silverwork and marketed it to large businesses. Because the demand was high, the business grew fast to the point where I could open my own shop by renting a house in Kemasan Kotagede Street. Many foreigners came to the shop wanting to purchase silver products I had designed, and big orders started coming in,” Salim said.
Salim’s fortune continued. Although he initially started with very little capital, he would always ask for advance payments of more than 75 percent of the selling price.
“I have never had a customer not prepared to pay an order in cash. The capital constraints that normally restrict business growth simply vanished. And that’s how I have developed until now,” he said.
Salim is now a successful businessman dealing mostly with foreign customers from the United States, Canada, Australia, Korea and several European countries.
The internet initially helped Salim promote and market his silver artwork products in foreign countries, with most of his customers tending to be art lovers.
“Our products are expensive because what I sell are works of art, not mass-produced goods. So as a result out targets are actually markets overseas, made up of consumers who can appreciate art work,” he said.
With a turnover of hundreds of millions of rupiah, a range of products and a steady level of development, his business is relatively stable. In 2008, he had as many as 90 craftsmen and employees.
“Since the old days we have always remained stable. Whether there is a crisis or not, the orders keep coming because we have a niche market. The problem is the price of the raw material, which continues to go up.” www.thejakartapost.com
JP/Yuliantoro
Priyo Jatmiko Salim has made quite a name for himself among the few silversmiths left in Kotagede.
The owner of Silver Salim is the only artisan committed to the art of repoussé, ornamental silverwork hammered into the metal from the reverse side, a specialty of Kotagede.
Salim, 48, has devoted the best part of his life to producing silverware made in the distinctive Kotagede style. He employs five craftsmen – the highest number of artisans working for any silversmith business in Kotagede – who are experts in the art of silver engraving, and is currently training new staff in his workshop.
In addition to preserving the town’s cultural heritage, his silver art products fetch high prices in domestic and international markets. According to Salim, prices of engraved art pieces are much higher than those of plain silver products.
“Prices of silver or arrangements are based on the weight of the goods. The value of the art is never a consideration. But artistic products attract their own prices. These are usually calculated per item, so the value of a product can reach into the millions of rupiah, or 10 times the wholesale price,” said the artisan and graduate of Gadjah Mada University’s School of Geography.
To improve his bargaining position and competitiveness, Salim’s silver products are not merely hammered and engraved. Inheriting his skills from his father Salim Widardjo, a noted Kotagede silverwork artist, his creations blend designs using special engraving techniques unique to Kotagede with those from Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi. He also uses other jewelry production techniques when making silver craftwork.
“I design silver jewellery in the form of earrings, bracelets, pendant and necklaces. These look very beautiful and elegant when worn on formal or semi-formal occasions,” he said in his workshop in Kotagede, Yogyakarta.
Salim is one of the few silversmith still using engraving techniques in his work, as artisans specializing in embossing are an increasingly dying breed. An unfortunate turn of events, given the technique initially transformed Kotagede into a renowned silverware center.
What is so special about the Kotagede technique? Well, the three-dimensional details make the jewelry come alive, because both sides of the silver plate are hammered. The process is called wudulan, embossing from the back and refining from the front.
Salim is constantly exploring new designs, always seeking to produce unique silver jewelry.
“We do not hesitate to experiment by combining our techniques with those used in the production of jewelry such as layering, cutting and grading. Our goods are elegant and Salim Silver’s reputation lives on, as we have gained the trust of customers here and abroad,” he said.
To acknowledge his contribution to preserving Indonesian cultural heritage on the verge of extinction, Salim received countless nominations and awards, from noted magazines such as Femina in its jewelry design competitions and from the World of Archeological Wonder, to name a few.
Salim never dreamed he would become a silversmith and businessman. As a geography graduate from Gadjah Mada University, his parents wanted him to be a civil servant in one of the ministries. But because his first placement would have been outside of Java, Salim’s parents objected to their son leaving Kotagede. Salim was advised to become a silversmith, like most people living in Kotagede people at that time.
“From then on, I tried to design my own silverwork and marketed it to large businesses. Because the demand was high, the business grew fast to the point where I could open my own shop by renting a house in Kemasan Kotagede Street. Many foreigners came to the shop wanting to purchase silver products I had designed, and big orders started coming in,” Salim said.
Salim’s fortune continued. Although he initially started with very little capital, he would always ask for advance payments of more than 75 percent of the selling price.
“I have never had a customer not prepared to pay an order in cash. The capital constraints that normally restrict business growth simply vanished. And that’s how I have developed until now,” he said.
Salim is now a successful businessman dealing mostly with foreign customers from the United States, Canada, Australia, Korea and several European countries.
The internet initially helped Salim promote and market his silver artwork products in foreign countries, with most of his customers tending to be art lovers.
“Our products are expensive because what I sell are works of art, not mass-produced goods. So as a result out targets are actually markets overseas, made up of consumers who can appreciate art work,” he said.
With a turnover of hundreds of millions of rupiah, a range of products and a steady level of development, his business is relatively stable. In 2008, he had as many as 90 craftsmen and employees.
“Since the old days we have always remained stable. Whether there is a crisis or not, the orders keep coming because we have a niche market. The problem is the price of the raw material, which continues to go up.” www.thejakartapost.com
Langganan:
Postingan (Atom)