BRUNEI handicrafts were on display at the Asean Textile Exhibition here in Bali in the country's bid to showcase its traditions and prowess in folk handicraft.
Showcased at the Bali International Convention Centre, three Bruneianentrepreneurs who were flown to the tourist island courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) have been minding the Brunei exhibition stall since Wednesday.
A senior official from the MoFAT's Department of International Trade who agreed to speak to The Brunei Times on the condition of anonymity said that the ministry collaborated with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports to promote Brunei's local handmade products during the exhibition.
"We're giving opportunities to local SMEs to market their products here as they would be able to promote their products through the exhibition. At the same time, they would be able to establish business network with producers from Malaysia and Singapore for example," said the official.
"The local SMEs could also use the exhibition as a platform to share and listen to experiences from fellow producers in region."
Asmad Hj Umar of Asnika Enterprise, one of the exhibitors, has made a name for himself in producing quality traditional fabric which is highly sought after in Brunei.
Asmad said the exhibition was an opportunity to educate the community of Asean on Brunei's identity through the art of weaving.
"Although the artworks (have some semblance) of Malaysian and Indonesian influences, Brunei's design has an identity and motif of its own, which makes it unique to the eyes of those who appreciate the art of handicraft making," said Asmad.
He said a number of delegates from various countries have visited his booth, as well as VVIPs which included Indonesia's first lady.
Sharing the booth with Asnika was another local firm Batik Desamas, owned by batik designer ZainalAbidin Ibrahim.
Eyeing overseas markets, Zainal was hoping to seize the opportunity to promote his Batik products through new channels knowing that delegates from the US and Brazil would be visiting.
Zainal Abidin recently developed an innovative system that will allow his batik to be mass produced in order to capitalise on the regional and possibly global market.
The innovation, he said, is "Digital Batik", in which he applies advanced software and engineering todigitalise his hand-drawn work, which can then be replicated to produce a whole range of Batik products from apparels to bedsheets. A prototype of a few of his products were displayed on the Brunei booth.
Meanwhile, Hjh Robiah Hj Ampal, designer and proprietorof woven Brunei handicrafts (under her company Hikmah Enterprise) showcased her signature sinjang, a cloth Malay males normally wear around their waists to complement the national costume, baju melayu.
Hj Robiah, who has participated in a number of expos in various countries over the years, said that the textile fair was an opportunity to not just promote her products, but also to get inspiration from foreign exhibitors on new design ideas for her future designs.
Unlike the trade expos whichshe has participated in Malaysia in recent years however, Hj Robiah said that the current exhibitionhas not gained much consumer traffic.
"The Summit is held near here, hence the security has been very tight around this compound, and the venue is not open to the public except for Asean delegates and officials with passes," she said.
The exhibition was aimed to broaden the visitors' insight on the cultural similarities between the Aseannations through the art of hand woven textiles. It was also a one-stop-shopping avenue for the delegates of the Asean Summit looking to bring home quality souveniers from the Southeast Asian countries.
Through handwoven products, the exhibition showcases the diversity of the Asean's cultural heritage and also the similarities of national history, culture and the community of the region.
Around 150 textile exhibitors from Asean countries participated in the exhibition, with more than 1,200 handcrafted products being showcased on the exhibition floor.
The Brunei Times
http://www.bt.com.bn/business-national/2011/11/20/brunei-handicrafts-show-bali
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Batik Desamas Goes Digital Designs
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| Some of the batik products are displayed at Batik Desamas' Brunei exhibition booth during a recent exhibition in South Korea. The company is using technology to mass produce its designs. |
Under his firm Batik Desamas, Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim. hopes to design his way out of Brunei into the world, through a system he created which applies both the traditional method of hand-drawing as well as computer-generated graphics.
A pioneer in Brunei's batik scene, Zainal Abidin had started hand-printing batik since 2000. However, it was only during the last five years that he became more active in the business, during which he had participated in a number of international textile exhibitions such as Shanghai and South Korea, where he was able to attract the attention of the international audience of his batik artwork.
His goal is to mass produce his designs for the international market. However, he said that the traditional method of producing Batik is not enough to meet the global demand.
He revealed that hiring more workers remain a challenge for the batik business, as there are only a handful of batik designers who are up to the tasks. Traditional methods of preparation also requires more time and effort in order to produce a certain amount of batik.
"The times have changed. We need to innovate if we want to grab the worldwide market. We cannot just sit and rely solely on the traditional process," he said.
However, Zainal Abidin was unable to meet the criteria to sustain a profitable trade with global partners due to the lack of facilities for mass production, and hence turned to the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) for aid.
The firm received funding from the BEDB under its Local Enterprise Applications Products (LEAP) programme, a grant worth $150,000 to aid the firm in the development of a prototype of its intended innovation. The firm was one of the eight recipients who were successfully shortlisted for the grant earlier this year.
"The funding allows me to easily explore to other places and discover new ideas and technologies which can be applicable for this system," he said.
Using advanced software and engineering which he was able to outsource to another country, Zainal Abidin was able to transform his hand-drawn work into digital form, which allows his artwork to be replicated for mass production.
"Every batik designers and enthusiasts agree that the best batik are the ones that are traditionally hand-drawn by its artists, and so that essence is still preserved in this system," he said.
He also said that the Batik needs to have its own identity, not just to preserve the authenticity, but also to promote the origins of the product and giving it a distinct Made-in-Brunei brand.
"Our designs must be distinct to that of the Javanese and Malaysian batiks, and must possess the motifs of our Bruneian culture," he added.
He said that one advantage of going digital is that it allows for low-cost production of batik textile, and thus bringing costs down for consumers.
"When hand-drawn, it takes a lot of effort, and so the batik has to be sold at a premium. Furthermore, going digital enables us to reach all market sectors, and majority of them are price-sensitive. That's the market we are after," he said.
He said the technology will also allow his digital batik to be applied for the creation of a variety of other products imbedded with his design.
He said that most foreigners were mainly impressed with his batik designs and there was demand for the designs to be imbedded into a wide variety of products such as shirts, scarfs, neckties and bedsheets, among others.
"There is a high demand for that in the outside market, particularly in South Korea," he said.
He said that the prototypes of his products are already in production, and he is now looking at potential markets for distribution, with South Korea already expressing strong interest.
Brunei Times
http://www.bt.com.bn/business-national/2011/11/16/batik-desamas-goes-digital-designs
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