Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim Brunei's Batik Designer

"My main interest in doing this kind of business, is not just to survive, but to give contribution to the people and society on what I'm doing" -Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim

Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim is the sole proprietor of the batik desamas and one of the leap grant receiver who has given the opportunity to expand his business from BEDB (Brunei Economic Development Board).

Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim Brunei's Batik Designer

He was a teacher, an artist, a graphic designer before when he started doing the batik business. Fueled by the love and motivation of his family and friends, he started doing batik in the year 2000.

How do you describe your background?

I worked in an advertising company before. I am an artist, I do teachings in school. I worked also in Kuala Lumpur before as a Graphic Designer.
What made you decide to do batik as a business?

The basic thing about batik is I learned it from my own, well it's also because of my background as an artist and designer I guess, that is why when my friends saw some batik designs in Malaysia and Indonesia, they asked me to do batik here in Brunei, but it's not that easy, because you need to consider a lot of things, until I met one guy who are looking for a designer who can do batik, and I am then looking for a team, and then we merged, that was how we started

Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim Brunei's Batik Designer

Who motivated you to do the business? Or do you have any mentors?
My friends, they helped me to remain still on what I am doing, and of course through the motivation and love of my family.
What were the major challenges that you face in the process of starting up your business?

During the time I started, the biggest challenge then was my financial resources; I almost give up doing the business, but my friends helped me to come back, they gave me money to start again the business. And that is what keeps me moving until now.
One of the challenges I am currently facing right now is on the marketing side, how we promote and market our products.

Brunei Batik

How do you describe the support from your family?

My family doesn't rely on my income; they are the one who's supporting me.
How do you promote your business?

Currently we are using word of mouth to promote our products, also conducting demonstration to various institutional organization and by attending exhibitions. Promoting product on big scale need some solid planning and teamwork, and I am working to build a team to come together on common vision.
Where do you see your business in the next 5 years?

Batik is my expertise, so definitely my vision is to bring Brunei's Batik to international market. I am planning foreign collaboration to set up production units. International batik textile is my vision for next 5 years time.

Brunei Batik

Brunei Batik

Whom you will crown the success of your vision?
It will always be the teamwork, because I cannot work alone, I cannot stand alone, there will always be people right behind you who will support you whatever you do.
Do you have any competitor here in Brunei doing the same thing?

Yes. There are also other people here in Brunei doing and designing batik. But still, I don't see anything wrong about that. For me, there is no competition here, because I would like to see more creative people who can do and design batik as well.

Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim Painting

Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim Painting

Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim Painting

What kind of advice would you like to give to the society and to the new entrepreneurs who wants to start their own business?
First, I would like to encourage more of the Bruneian to support the batik productions here in Brunei. I would like them to support and market our own local product. And also, I would like to see more batik designers and batik industry here in Brunei. That is actually my vision, that is my I am really trying my very best to teach others so that at least they can understand what is batik. And to the new entrepreneurs, I want them to create something that will give us our own identity, something that is really for Bruneian.
Every entrepreneur has a story to tell, there are stories of both success and failures, stories of how you deal with and overcome all the challenges in life just to be able to reach your goal and vision for the business.

Indeed, Mr. Zainal Abidin has really come very far in his passion for batik business.. In spite of all his hardships in keeping his business grow, he managed and remained still in designing batik

He always make it a point that all his work come from his heart, from his desire to inspire and motivate others.

It's not basically how successful you are right now, it's about how you inspire and motivate other people towards reaching their dreams.

Brunei Batik

Brunei Batik

Brunei Batik

Brunei Batik

source :

http://www.brudirect.com/world/sme-s-corner/10238-brunei-s-batik-designer-mr-zainal-abidin

Batik Maker, Export is Capital Intensive

A salesperson arranging the batik on display at Batik Desamas' booth at the Made in Brunei Expo at the Airport Mall recently. Picture: BT/Al-Haadi Abu Bakar

A LOCAL batik textile company is seeking extra funds to expand into the export market after establishing itself here for many years.

Batik Desamas, the firm that has fused tradition with modern technology in its production of batik, is hoping to expand into the export market with additional funding from government sources.

The proprietor of Batik Desamas, Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim, said that he would not be able to meet global demand without additional financial assistance, even though the business has been export-ready for some time.

"The demand is there. The people out there now recognise Brunei's batik as one of the best in the industry, in terms of design," he said in an interview with The Brunei Times.

Batik Desamas is one of the several companies that is taking part in the "Made in Brunei" Expo at the Airport Mall.

Recently, Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim has been experimenting with new fabric, particularly a new type of cotton that has textural qualities akin to silk, and since then has drawn interest from his customers.

In addition, the textile has grabbed a lot of attention from tourists, particularly at its kiosk at Muara Port where international cruises dock.

But, with increased interest comes the challenge of supplying beyond his current capacity, which produces about 300 to 1,000 metres of Batik daily.

A pioneer in Brunei's batik scene, Brunei's Batik Designer, Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim had started hand-printing batik since 2000.

The Batik Designer said his business has been doing well in the local scene following its introduction of his Digital Batik system.

His Batik is well sought-after among participants in events and national occasions, such as the National Day celebration.

The system, developed by Zainal through financial assistance from the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) two years ago, applies advanced software and engineering to digitalise his hand-drawn work, which can then be replicated to produce a whole range of Batik products. 

The new system is aimed to allow mass production of his Batik designs, as traditional method of producing Batik is not enough to meet the global demand.

Production has been outsourced to Indonesia and recently, to South Korea, which according to Zainal, has drawn criticisms from some locals.

"Often, the mindset of Bruneians is that when we say that we outsource our production overseas, they made the assumption that we import our products," he said.

Zainal said he has been actively clarifying the misconception, adding that his approach is more cost-efficient, rather than having the whole business operations entirely in Brunei. In his current capacity, the cost of bringing the production facility to the Sultanate would be very expensive.

"A lot of successful companies out there, such as in America and South Korea, actually outsource their production to countries like China and the Philippines, and then export to the rest of the world," he explained.

He said his business model has a better value proposition than his competitors', which mainly focuses on selling imported Batik, as he has full control of design and production.

Brunei Times
http://www.bt.com.bn/2013/04/15/export-capital-intensive-batik-maker

BEDB announces The Launching of the LEAP Grant Program

Bandar Seri Begawan, 8 September 2012. The Brunei Economic Development Board (“BEDB”) is pleased to announce the launching of the LEAP (Local Enterprise Applications & Products) Grant Scheme for 2012. It is a program aimed at providing financial assistance to local SMEs, students and researchers to develop prototypes or pilot projects that have innovative technological content, commercial practicality and export potential in both ICT and non-ICT industries.To assist those eligible to prepare their grant applications, the BEDB in collaboration with Coaching Specialist ‘Money Tree’ will be conducting a LEAP Business Plan Workshop at the iCentre on Tuesday, 11th September 2012. More information about LEAP Grant Scheme will also be available during the workshop. Following this workshop, grant applicants approved by the LEAP Program Committee will be required to attend Financial and Intellectual Property (IP) Workshops to attain the necessary financial management skills as well as to develop an appreciation of IP and to manage it effectively for innovation and creativity to flourish. Registrations for those participating in the Workshop will commence at 8:00am on Tuesday, 11th September 2012 and the program will commence at 8.30 am. The Workshop is a full day event with lunch provided. For details on how to participate in the Workshop, please call Diana at 2230111 ext 146 or email to leap.program@bedb.com.bn stating your name, contact details and the name of your company/ organization. There is no registration fee for Brunei SMEs. Application form for the LEAP Grant Scheme is downloadable online at www.bedb.com.bn . The application is open from 15th August 2012 and all completed applications should be submitted no later than 3pm Monday, 8th October 2012 to: LEAP Secretariat The Brunei Economic Development Board Block 2K, Bangunan Kerajaan, Jalan Ong Sum Ping Bandar Seri Begawan, BA 1311 Negara Brunei Darussalam The LEAP Grant Scheme was introduced in August 2010 and to date almost B$2 million have been disbursed to 14 companies. One of the recipients under LEAP Grant Scheme, Syarikat Batik Desamas had its unique digital Batik Brunei designs have been featured on Korean stamps. Discover Brunei for the iPad by MeSixty Sdn Bhd is an official tourist guide for Tourism Brunei featuring social media integration is now available in the App Store. IKAN System by M& G Sustainable Aquaculture, a project to develop an urban fish farm to fit the budget of micro and small enterprise based on Re-cirulating Aquaculture System (RAS), has already received interests from Malaysia and Singapore. The BEDB is also pleased to note that most of the LEAP Grant recipients have already secured their first customer and some have also received international recognition for their products delivered under the LEAP Grant Scheme. <End of Press Release> Hj Ideris Hj Ali   Senior Business Development Manager   Local Enterprise Development The Brunei Economic Development Board Tel: +673 2230111 ext 182 / 8713170 Email: ideris.ali@bedb.com.bn Diana Ramli Assistant Manager Innovation and New Initiatives Division The Brunei Economic Development Board +673 2230111 ext 146 diana@bedb.com.bn

Art students visit Batik Desamas Sinaut

A total of 30 Art students from Pehin Datu Seri Maharaja Mentiri Secondary School yesterday made a visit to the Batik Desamas Factory in Kampong Sinaut, Tutong.

Among the objectives of the visit was to learn more about the art of batik design and to do some batik painting with Zainal Ibrahim, one of the successful entrepreneurs under the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) LEAP Grant.

The students were led by their teacher, Ms Rose.

During the visit, the students were briefed on the history of batik and its development.

It was then followed with a group tour to take a closer look on the batik arts in Brunei.

source :

http://www.brusearch.com/news/113394

Shanghai Expo, Brunei Arts and Tradition on Display

THE Brunei Pavilion at the Expo 2010 Shanghai was busy yesterday making preparations to showcase the Sultanate's arts and tradition to visitors today.

Encountering a quiet day at the Brunei Pavilion with just over 6,500 visitors yesterday, probably due to the rainy weather, the staff of the Pavilion welcomed two craftsmen from Brunei, specially flown in by the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) to let the world in on the arts and tradition of Brunei.

Hj Sabli Hj Omar and Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim, a wood carver and a batik producer respectively, are the men Brunei will rely on to show the world what the Sultanate has to offer in linking tradition to trade. 

Both are business owners who shine brightly in their own industries, but both are also better known as designers or artists in Brunei, where their works are seen as valuable artistic creations, and of course, much sought after.

For batik producer and designer, Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim who has a glorious record of holding several fashion shows, he certainly hopes to design his way out of Brunei into the world.

He will use both the traditional way of hand-drawing and also computer generated graphics to show interested viewers how the traditional batik of Brunei is produced. Various finished batik products will also be on display at his counter.

As for Hj Sabli, his art works are already on display at the Brunei Pavilion, and he will demonstrate his skills to the expo crowd on how he produces the exquisite carvings.

Both men will begin displaying their skills today, on Day 6 of Shanghai Expo, and hopefully make a name for Brunei and themselves on the international stage. 

The Brunei Times
http://www.bt.com.bn/news-national/2010/05/06/brunei-arts-and-tradition-display-shanghai-expo