Colorful Floral Indonesian Batik Fabric Cotton

I perhaps write very little or even I haven't written much about batik for ages. And maybe I haven't mentioned that I had opened a new Etsy shop when I sell Indonesian batiks and Japanese vintage kimonos. I love traditional textiles.

Well, as per December 2015 (if my memory is correct) I opened a new shop on Etsy. I decided to sell batiks and vintage kimonos, two of my favorite textiles and garments.

I obtain the batiks from various batik centers in Java. These two batiks are from a batik center in the north coast of Java called Lasem. Batiks from Lasem have been known for their intricate designs. It may look crowded and yet the crowdedness make the batiks of Lasem look even more beautiful. These batiks, for example, have beautiful color combinations.

These batiks are all hand drawn, which means the batik artists draw the designs directly onto the cloth, and hand dyed.

First one is floral blue green batik fabric cotton. The background color is dark green with white floral design while the highlight flower design is in blue and yellow.

Floral Blue Green Indonesian Batik Fabric Cotton

Floral Blue Green Indonesian Batik Fabric Cotton

Floral Blue Green Indonesian Batik Fabric Cotton

The second one is just as beautiful as the first one. This one has brown white floral design and the main design are in green and purple.

Floral Green Purple Indonesian Batik Fabric Cotton

Floral Green Purple Indonesian Batik Fabric Cotton

Floral Green Purple Indonesian Batik Fabric Cotton

These beautiful pieces can be found and purchased here, Etsy Shop.

From Jagatara Art To HandcrafKu

I should have announced this earlier on my blog - I decided to change my shop name.

I had been thinking of changing my etsy shop name, I mean the shop that sells my handmade items. The thing is that Jagatara Art is too long and not easy to pronounce. I'd met some friends who had difficulties pronouncing it. Therefore, it's not easy to remember.

I used some busines name generator to help me with ideas. One actually helped me get one. The name that came up was HandcraftMe. I loved that name! So I proposed the name to etsy but it said the name was not available. I was a bit disappointed. But I kept thinking and thinking and I came up with HandcraftKu. Basically I just changed the syllable Me with Ku. Ku here means my in Indonesian language. So HandcraftKu means My Handcraft.

Not only a new name, I decided to have an icon or sort of a brand for my product. I'm not good at drawing to be honest (you should see my sketches when I'm designing my tsumami zaiku). Luckily, there are tons of online photo editors that dummies like me can use. I use picmonkey to design an icon for my shop.
I chose a cute flower to say that all my works have flowers on them or have flower theme.

This is my new shop name and icon.

But my other shop that sells vintage and supplies keeps its old name, because I think the name suits the content of the shop.

Kanzashi Inspired FLOWER Dangle Earrings

One thing I like about tsumami zaiku or kanzashi inspired flowers is that how adaptable it is. You can apply it on hair accessories as it's originally for or jewelry. Tsumami zaiku or kanzashi inspired flowers make a lovely piece of mix-media jewelry.

Take a look at this pair of earring dangles by Magpie Creations. Aren't they a beauty?

I have made several pairs of dangle earrings, too, and listed them on etsy. Some of them are of batik cotton and one pair is made from batik silk. I combined the flowers with lamp work beads, fire-polished beads, charms, and faux pearls.

  Blue jasmine with bird cage charm and faux pearl.

Dainty pink jasmine with lamp work beads.

 Tangerine toned jasmine with flower charm and orange acrylic beads.

Dark olive flower with fire-polished bead dangles.

I'm pretty happy with my first batch of earrings and will make more soon!

Daffodil or narcissus: a flower with deep meanings

Reminiscing my younger days when I was in high school and university, I can't help but wonder how many things have changed. One of them is music. I used to listen to loud music, believe it or not. My favorite bands were heavy metal, rock 'n roll, alternative, to name a few. I was one of the MTV generations of the 80's and 90's. One of the bands that I listened to a lot when I was in university was The Cranberries. My favorite songs of this band was: Ode to My Family, Dreams, Linger, and this: Daffodil Lament.

Daffodil goes by another name. narcissus. This is a six-petal flower which grows in the spring. The yellow color reminds us of the sun, the life giving source in our solar system. Apart from its cute look, in ancient herbalism the scent of daffodil was used to relax and calm the overactive minds. Symbolically, daffodils have deep meanings: faith, honesty, truth, forgiveness, and forthrightness. Giving a person daffodils to show your appreciation of their honesty, or as a token of forgiveness would be a wonderful thing.

I've made some works based on daffodil: a cute blue daffodil/narcissus brooch/hair clip and a pair of yellow daffodils hair comb.

This blue daffodil can be worn as a brooch or hair clip if you want. 

BLUE DAFFODIL BROOCH / HAIR CLIP / HAIR FASCINATOR

BLUE DAFFODIL as a BROOCH

This one is a pair of YELLOW DAFFODILS. This is a hair comb and will make a lovely hair fascinator.

YELLOW DAFFODILS HAIR COMB

YELLOW DAFFODILS on a hair bun

For more details about these, you can go to my ETSY shop.

Ume Hana or Plum Blossom Hair Accessories

I feel awful for not making the time to update my blog. My writing skill is getting bad.. :(... But once I've grabbed my tweezers, rice glue, and stacks and stacks of fabric scraps, I can't stop making what recently has become one of my passions: kanzashi..

I've been making loads of kanzashis.. Some of them were complete failure and some came out as I had expected or even more.

First, I begin with ume hana or plum blossoms. Plum blossoms precedes cherry blossoms. It blooms in very early spring. I managed to take some photos of these flowers before they fell.. Well, plum blossoms don't seem to get as much highlight as cherry blossom where TV or weather forecast faithfully report where the much-loved flower in Japan start to bloom. Whereas plum blossoms don't get that scale of attention. So when my father in-law told us that the plum trees in his field had begun flowering, I went there with my husband and took some photos.

Sorry for the bad quality, I had to fight the cold weather of early spring and the smell of organic fertilizer. I took these photos last February.

To celebrate these flowers, I made some ume hana or plum blossom themed hair accessories. I love to experiment with different styles so I tried also the rustic style and Mediterranean style of hair accessories aside from common Japanese style of kanzashi. For more details of my works, simply click the title under each photo.

Retro Orange Grey Ume Hana or Plum Blossom

Rustic White Satin Cream Maroon Ume Hana Plum Blossom

My Something Blue Ume Flower Plum Blossom

Mediterranean Yellow Blue Ume Flower Plum Blossom

Blue Yellow Large Ume Hana Plum Blossom 

Turquoise White Art Deco Bridal Hair Comb Batik Kanzashi

I REALLY love the art deco color palette! I can't get enough of it :) This time for BRIDAL HAIR COMB I chose turquoise (which has more green, I think) hand-dyed batik which I combined with white satin to create layered petals of ume flowers. The flowers are. decorated with white pearled stamens, filigree and crystals.

To purchase, please follow this link to my Etsy shop. Feel free to drop me a comment ^_^

Yellow Ume Flower Batik Kanzashi Hair Clip

Actually I am still confused between sakura and ume flowers..hahaha.. I tried to make an ume flower kanzashi and I hope I did it justice. I chose to combine hand-dyed yellow batik and dark green satin (polyester) and studded the flower and leaves with yellow swarovski crystals.

This item is avaliable on my Etsy shop. To find out more, please click HERE.

Blue White Art Deco Bridal Peony Batik Kanzashi Hair Clip

I hope you don't get bored with peonies :-).. I love making peony kanzashi and I love art deco color shades :-). A new item on my Etsy shop is a peony :-)

I used hand-dyed blue-grey batik and combined it with white satin. I decorated the flower with black pear stamens. I was going to use white but they wouldn't stand out. It is mounted on an alligator clip about 5 cm long.

I hope the flower doesn't look too gloomy :D..

To find out more, click HERE.. Thank you

Lavender Cerise Peony Batik Kanzashi French Barette

My second peony is on my Etsy shop :-)

I combined hand-dyed lavender batik and cerise satin (polyester). Both make each other stand out. For the leaves, I used hand-dyed green batik. This peony is quite big so I mounted it on an 8-cm french barette.

Please click here for more information and purchase.

I'd love to get some comments and feedback, so feel free to do so ^o^.

Hair Accessory Alligator Hair Clip with Pink Peony ピンクのボタンのヘアアクセサリー

Peony or  ボタン in Europe is called "the rose without thorns". In Japan and China it is considered the "King of flowers".

ボタンはヨーロッパでは"トゲのないバラ"と呼ばれます。日本や中国では"花の王様"と考えられているそうです。

The name itself derived from Paeon or Paean. He was the student of Asclepius, the god of medicine in Greek mithology.


Peonyの名前はペオニアから来ています。彼はギリシャ神話の中の薬の神であるアスクレーピオスの弟子でした。

Legend has it that Asclepius was jealous of his student. To save him, Zeus turned Paeon into the peony flower. Although there's another version that says Paeon received the peony from the mother of Apollo.

伝説では、こうなっています。アスクレーピオスは弟子の才能を妬みました。彼を守るため、ゼウスはペオニアをボタンに変えました。別の伝説では、ペオニアはアポロの母からボタンをもらったことになっています。

In China where the flower is originated, peony represents the royal families. Legend has it that queen Mu threw a party in the capital city of Jang-Ahn. Showing off her authority, she ordered all the flowers to bloom at the same time in order to make her happy. Although all the flowers obeyed, the peony didn't. The Queen was so angry that she had it sent away to the country side called NakYang. As soon as the peony arrived in NakYang, it bloomed even more beautifully. When the Queen heard this she was enraged and ordered that the peony had to be burned. Peculiarly even after burning, the peony still bloomed.

ボタンの原産地と考えられる中国では、ボタンは王族を表現します。こういう伝説があります。唐の則天武后が長安の都で宴会を催しました。彼女の威光を示すため、彼女は全ての花に同時に咲いて、彼女を喜ばすように命じました。全ての花はその命令に従ったのですが、ボタンだけはそうしませんでした。則天武后は激怒してその花を洛陽へと追放しました。ボタンは洛陽へ着くと、都にいた時よりももっと美しい花を咲かせました。則天武后はこの話を聞いてさらに怒り狂い、全てのボタンを焼き払うように命じました。しかし焼かれているにもかかわらず、ボタンは美しく咲き続けたそうです。

Having such a long history, it is no wonder that the peony bears so many symbolic meanings. In China and Japan, it has pretty much the same, it symbolizes a symbol of wealth, good fortune and prosperity and a happy marriage too.

このような長い歴史を持つボタンには、様々な象徴的な意味が込められています。中国や日本では割と似通っていて、ボタンは、富、幸運、成功、幸せな結婚を象徴しています。

Despite these myths and symbolic meanings, no one would doubt that the beauty of peony makes this flower one of the most exquisite flowers.

これらの伝説や象徴的な意味を知らなくても、ボタンの美しさがこの花を最も優雅な花の一つにしていることを疑う人はいません。

This is the first peony kanzashi I've made. It is made from hand-stamped batik. Pink for the petals and green for the leaves. I used the Japanese method of tsumami kanzashi to assemble the petals. It is mounted on this beautifully-carved metal alligator hair clip. I added tiny swarovski crystals as if the petals were studded with dew.

これは私の最初のボタンのかんざしです。ハンドスタンプのバティックから作りました。花びらを組み合わせるのに、日本の伝統的なつまみかんざしの技法を使いました。それを美しい装飾の入ったヘアクリップの上に載せました。スワロフスキーを使ってまるで水滴が付いているかのように装飾してみました。

To know more and to purchase, click the link to my Etsy shop here.

詳細はこちらのEtsyショップまで。

I'd be happy to hear about your comments on my work. Thank you ^^

ぜひ感想を聞かせてくださいね！

Orange Green Chrysanthemum Batik Bridal Kanzashi Hair Comb オレンジとグリーンの菊風のブライダル用バティックかんざし

A new label in my blog and also a new section in my shop.

新シリーズのスタートです！

This is my first successful attempt in making kanzashi using batik and Japanese traditional method. I wish I could go on and on telling about how I ended up making kanzash. But I will do it later on.

これは私なりにバティックと日本の伝統技法を組み合わせた最初の作品です。どうやって作ったかは後ほど解説したいと思います。

This kanzashi is made from hand-stamped batik from Java. I used Japanese traditional method when making it. It took me about 2 days to complete as nori or rice glue takes a long time to set.

このかんざしはジャワのハンド・スタンプのバティックを使って作りました。それに日本のかんざし作りの技法を応用しました。のりが乾くのに時間がかかったのでだいたい二日で仕上がりました。

This kanzashi is available on my Etsy shop.

このかんざしは、Etsyでお求めになれます。

Brides don't need to always wear white all the way, right? ;-) Bring vivacity in the joyous occasion with vibrant colors of hair ornaments such as this.

花嫁さんはいつも白づくめというわけではありませんよね？楽しい時には、明るい感じのヘアアクセサリーもぴったりだと思います。

You can check out my work HERE

詳細はこちらです。

In the meantime, I'd love to receive comments/feedback. Please feel free to do so. Thanks a lot!! xxx

コメントやフィードバックは大歓迎です！

First post in 3 months 三ヶ月振りの更新です！

I'm so sorry for not posting anything on my blog for over 3 months... I didn't write anything at all since 13th of July. I've just checked that my last post was on 12th of July..

三ヶ月以上、記事をアップしていませんでした。ごめんなさい。7月13日以来ですね。最後の記事は7月12日となっています。

I've immersed myself in sewing intensively - I've been spending  almost all day everyday cooped up in a room now changed into my atelier. Aside from sewing, I recently discovered a new passion: making kanzashi. And for these two reasons I decided to reform the content of my Etsy shop. The shop is called Jagatara Art handmade batik clothes and ornaments.

この間私はずっと、洋裁に集中していました。毎日のほとんどの時間を洋裁に費やしていたものですから、うちの家の一室は完全にアトリエと化してしまいました。さらに私は最近、新しい興味の対象を見つけました。それは、かんざし作りです。そんなわけで私はEtsyのショップの中身を作り変えることにしました。名前も、"Jagatara Art handmade batik clothes "に変更しました。

The reason for the change was that I wanted to sell the items that I make by myself. I wanted to have some sort of control over what I sell. And the only thing I could achieve that is by making the items by myself. I could decide the colors, shape, quality, etc. Although not all the stuff I sell is made by me. The shawls and scarfs are still made by my partner workshop in Java. They also provide me with batik cotton that I use to make handmade clothes and kanzashi.

そのわけは、私は自分の手作りのものを販売したかったからです。自分で工夫できるものです。そして何よりも、それが私が作ったものであること。私は、色や、形や、品質を、自分で決めることが出来ます。ショールやスカーフは確かにジャワの私の友達が作ったものですけれども、彼らは品質の高い綿のバティックもくれたので、それを使って手作りの服やかんざしを作ってみることにしました。

This is the cover of my Etsy shop and my Facebook fanpage now. I made the chrysanthemum on the photo. It was probably the first successful kanzashi I'd made :) It was made from hand-stamped batik and decorated with chirimen cover button. I was very proud that the chrysanthemum attracted a customer's attention who immediately wanted it so much.

これはEtsyとFacebookのファンページの扉です。菊のかんざしは私が作りました。多分うまくいった最初の作品なのですが、すぐにお客様の興味を引いて売切れてしまったので、とてもうれしかったです。

Anyway, I'd like to write more but my eyes are very tired although this is the first in 3 months that I've had some time to write and post in my blog. I wanted to post more about the process of learning I went through - sewing and making kanzashi. But I will do it when I have more time because I'm still busy perfecting my techniques in both. In the meantime, please check my shop and my facebook fanpage. Thank you!! ^^

もっといろいろご紹介したいのですが何しろ三ヶ月振りの更新なので目が疲れちゃいました。これから洋裁やかんざし作りについていろいろ書こうかなと思ったのですが、まだ勉強中ですのでもう少し後にします。それではEtsyとFacebookのファンページを今後ともよろしく！

MOTHER'S DAY SPECIAL FREE SHIPPING: Turquoise Silk Stole/Shawl 母の日に合わせて送料無料セール！ターコイズのシルク・ショール

Free Shipping to everywhere in this month is available at my shop　今月はどこでも送料無料！

http://www.etsy.com/shop/JagataraArt　

Versatile Light Turquoise Silk Stole/Shawl. Completely handmade and truly original. These are some of the styles. You can create much more.

何にでも使える軽いシルク・ストール。完全ハンドメイドのオリジナル作品です。写真は使い方のほんの一例です。もっといろいろ工夫もできますよ！

http://www.etsy.com/listing/98746731/versatile-lustrous-light-turquoise

Tie-knot style

Classic wrap around the neck

Elegant wrap

Gorgeous halter top

Price: $68 (5500円) 

Facebook fanpage

Gorgeous Pink Silk Stole for PINK LOVERS!

Though I am not a pink lover myself, I have to admit that the absence of this color would be a disastrous! Pink is certainly a must in my collection of batik silk stole. And why not combining a traditional batik pattern with pink? The result is a luxurious youngish looking silk stole for young ladies who favor PINK!

I happen to love origami so when I look at the size, I come up with soooo many ideas on how to wear it. Check it out and see you can come up with a new style.

 http://www.etsy.com/shop/JagataraArt

http://www.etsy.com/listing/98458432/versatile-lustrous-pink-hand-dyed-hand

Glamorous Halter Top

A Pretty Triangular Wrap using a buckle

Or just draping like this when you're just too lazy to think of any :D

Price: $68 (5500円)

Check here for more information.
My Facebook fanpage is here

Handmade Batik Silk Shawl: the Perfect Mother's Day Gift

Mother's Day is the day where people show respect to mothers. Families and friends shower them with presents and lavish them with special attention. Generally this celebration honors motherhood and the role of mother in the society.

The history of mother's day dates back over 2000 years in ancient festivals like Egyptian and Greek. Though back then ancient societies inclined to celebrate Goddesses as the symbol of motherhood instead of mothers. The Greek celebrated Rhea, the mother of Gods and some societies in Asia Minor might have worshiped Gaia, the Earth Goddess. Ancient Roman worshiped Cybele in a celebration called Magna Mater. Ancient Egyptian held an annual festival to honor Goddess Isis who was considered the Mother of all pharaohs.

Mother's Day presently is celebrated throughout the world on different dates from February until December. The different dates are due to different historical and traditional backgrounds. Some are attached with traditions or religions. Others are with modern day women's movement. In my home country, Indonesia, for example, Mother's Day is celebrated on 22nd of December because on this date 83 years ago in 1928 the first Indonesian Women Congress commenced. In America, Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May . The woman who initiated this was Julia Ward Howe in 1870 calling on women to join forces  to protest the Civil War which killed sons of mothers. In Japan, 1949 the Japanese society also adopted the second Sunday of May to celebrate mother's day. More on these can be found here.

Despite the criticism that Mother's Day nowadays has been tainted with commercialism, let's not forget that this is probably the only day we are reminded about the presence of Mothers in their lives. Amidst the mostly chaotic everyday life, trying to make ends meet, we tend to take our mothers for granted. Mothers will sustain themselves, we think. Little do we know that they are also humans, just like us. We want other people to pay attention to us, to treat us specially, and to shower us with presents to make us feel loved and appreciated. If it is natural to buy a birthday present for someone we care, isn't it be natural to buy presents for our mothers on Mother's Day?... Of course it IS. Not everybody can afford the time to make a specially handmade present for their mothers. So buying one shouldn't be seen as criticism.

How to choose a present for our mother among the abundant choices in the market? Picking out something that other people might have or wear does not convey our love and respect that we want to express to our mother. She is SPECIAL. Therefore, we should pick out something that only she can have or wear it. A mass-production item does not sound like a good choice since other people too might have it. So, the perfect choice is a HANDMADE item. Because handmade items are usually one of a kind.

Handmade silk shawl is one of the perfect gifts on Mother's Day. Not only that each has its own design and color which can not be found everywhere, silk shawls are the most versatile accessories. It imparts elegance and class to any outfit for any occasion, whether it is formal or casual. Handmade silk shawls are hand-dyed and hand-painted. Another way is by batiking. Batik silk shawl undergoes a handmade process using wax-resist day. Thanks to the nature of its fiber, silk does not need to be prepared (through a process called mordant) in order to receive wax and dye easily. There are three types of batik silk shawls : hand-draw, hand-stamped, and a combination of hand-drawn and hand-stamped. Any kind is unique in itself. Our mother would certainly be really glad to receive such luxury that she can make use of.

For this special occasion, my Jagatara Art offers a special promo called Mother's Day Special, in which you can get free shipping for the purchase of Batik Silk Shawl at my shop: Jagatara Art.

Announcement: Moving Back to Etsy お知らせ：Etsyに引越し中・・・

After having tried Shopify for almost 2 months, I have come to a conclusion that Etsy is still better for me. I'm not saying that the former is not good but maybe we are not meant for each other :D
So now I'm moving back to Etsy. At the moment I am in the process of moving the items in Jagatara batik with Shopify to my old shop with Etsy. Therefore, you might find some of my items are with Etsy and some are still with shopify. I am hoping to finish updating the inventory on Etsy as soon as possible. I am terribly sorry for the inconvenience...


2ヶ月ほどShopfyを試してみましたけれども、Etsyの方が自分に合っているかな、という結論に達しました。Shopfyが良くないとは言いませんけれども、どうも自分にとってはイマイチな感じで・・・。

というわけでただ今、ShopfyのJagatara Batikの商品を、古巣のEtsyへ再度引越し中です。そのため一時的に、あの商品はEtsy、この商品はShopfyという状況になっていますけれども、ご了承下さい。早急に引越しを完了させますので、今しばらくお待ち下さい・・・。

ME AND MY SHAWL PHOTO CONTEST 私とショール・フォト・コンテスト開催中！

I'm running a PHOTO CONTEST called ME & MY SHAWL.

ただいま、「私とショール」写真コンテストを開催中です！

Everyone from around the globe is welcome to enter the contest. The more the merrier!! (^o^)

地球上のどんな方でも参加できます。多ければ多いほど、楽しめます！

This is the poster I created:

お手持ちのショールを使って、ユニークなポーズを取り、それを写真に収めて下さい。それを、フェイスブックのファンページまでお送り下さい(エントリーするには、「いいね！」をクリックして下さい)。

締切は、4月25日まで。当選者の発表は、30日に行います(賞品は、写真のグリーンのストールです)。

To simply go to the link, please click HERE

エントリーは、こちらから。

I'm looking forward to seeing you there! (^o^) SEE YOU! (^_^)

たくさんのご応募、お待ちしています！

Blue Flowered Shawl 青の花柄ショール

This lovely shawl has a perfect combination of colors and design. Its dark blue background highlights the light blue floral pattern, making this shawl elegant with a delicate feminine touch. This is an ideal complement to your office attire.

この可愛いショールでは色とデザインがバッチリ合っています。深い青のバックグラウンドが花のパターンを引き立てていて、女性にぴったりのエレガントさを演出しています。オフィスの制服にも合いますね。

Other ways of wearing it:

Classic style

Halter top

Cowboy style

Price: US$ 68 (5500円)
Available here

http://www.etsy.com/listing/98456398/versatile-dark-blue-with-flower-pattern

Kindly visit Jagatara Art facebook fan page for posts, give-away contests, Q&A and more.

お求めは、こちらより。

フェイスブックのファンページでは、コンテストも開催中！是非覗いてみて下さい！

NOTE: This shawl was sold at last month's exhibition.