stroberiHITAM: Silver and Opals

Bebe's new reversible skirt

2012-03-01T17:21:00.000-08:00

It's my 2nd project on reversible skirts. I LOVE reversible skirts, because who don't love getting two results after one hard work? :)

this was the first, I got two fabrics of Madura Batik. Madura Batik has soo many colors, and I'm in love with this Magenta tone, sorry I didn't have the pic of the reversible side of this skirt. Hmm this picture was taken when I was in a tattoo gathering in Semarang in 2010.

with Chuck Taylor's teddy bear keds! :)

With reversible skirts, you can always flip on to the 'other-side' if you're easily bored. The making is easy, this is my favorite tutorial. Or if you wanna try to make a simple, easy full skirt, check this one. With a lil twist and imagination you can make any kind of reversible skirt.

Last weekend, I made this skirt for Bebe

Found this Alexander Henry fabric! sooo lovely! :)

also found this Hello Kitty patch on the supply store - eh, 'warung', exactly...
and added some black roses under the Hell-o Kitty! :) this is the reverse side

isn't she lovely? :)

I also made a similar skirt with the Alexander Henry fabric with Jolly Roger skull fabric on the reverse side, but I havn't take a picture of myself - or the skirt. Well, now me and Bebe have TWO new skirts! :)

Indonesian Crafter's February challenge: Sue Sunbonnet

2012-02-27T01:24:00.000-08:00

I joined the group just almost two weeks ago! I don't even know that the group is exist since I only know IC from its blog.

And I always wanted to take part in crafty monthly challenge, while now I have more time to do this-and-that (oh really?). Anyway, my friend, Lucia Berta, just launched her newest items on embroidered pendants for her shop, Good Old Days; and she made me pick up my embroidery threads again.

The theme is Sue Sun Bonnet. don't know who she is? oh please found out :)
I saw my mother putting Sue's embroidery here and there, and up until now I've never seen Sue's actual face.

no, I didn't finish at midnight, it's 9 PM-ish :)

The next day, I attached a flowery fabric on the back side of the hoop, so it will make a double-sided hoop art.
You just can flip the hoop if you don't want to see Sue at the time.

it's Sue Sin Bonnet. I love word-playing :)

a sneak peek of something I do today.
a pair of calaveras! ;)

I have a lot of fun projects this week, yay! how's your start of the week?

series of deadline

2012-02-22T17:45:00.000-08:00

Lately, I've been thinking that my life is a series of deadline(s), both in short periods of time (on minutes count) and long period (days, months). Some friends think that I might be always under pressure for this, but I enjoy it anyway. Trust me, I can't sleep properly before I feel exhausted.

Anyway, I keep making some baby shoes n bibs lately!

for Dey Queen and Jimmy Toge's lil daughter, Fiona.
Toge is one of my fave Indonesian tattooist :)

for Rinjani Adlerina's lil Ryu.
see, I always finish at least two minutes to midnight.

and these are for Imeii's lil son.
Imeii is the lucky one who got my one-of-a-kind Memento Mori stab bind notebook.

and this pair is available :)
shoe size is for 3-6 months old baby.

this pair is also available :)
shoe size is for 3-6 months old baby.
contact me at 0857 25728310 if you're interested

baby bibs. the far left is sold out, while I still can remake the other three.

I swear, I intend to stop for awhile but in fact, I CAN'T :))
done yesterday at CarpeDiem TattooStudio
and I'm still accepting some guests next month o_0 hopefully I can make it

When I made the first batch of the baby shoes, Dimas looked at them, asked "what's that?" n then he's off to his motorcycle workshop. Then last night he still saw me making more batch n start complain when will I finish his cap applique and one-eyed monster. Oh dear, don't worry, I'm gonna stop the order flows next week then I can make/finish things I like to sew for myself, you and Bebe!

Baby showers!

2012-02-15T04:59:00.000-08:00

arr I'm 8 months prego now!

the baby's moving all the time, it's kinda awkward but it's good to know that he's doing fine inside, lol ;)

so I think it's time for a break, especially in tattooing. February will be the last month for me to tattoo anyone. It's difficult to sit more than an hour without back pain! This owl is one of the lasts I did this month, took like 3 hours n I felt so exhausted after the session.

enjoyed the small lines tho!

I also made some baby shoes n bibs lately ;) I'm so happy making papas/mamas/aunties happy seeing their cute babies/nieces/nephews on these shoes n bibs :D

these are the firsts I made, no lining so it looks a bit too thin n has raw edges.
The pink one went to Deo's new-born sister. Deo is Bebe's bestfriend at school. His mom is super! She gave me a box of prego crackers (which are still on stock til today!), and she knits!

and the black ones - shoes n bib - went to Ramon, Ive's son. Ive was a punk rock vocalist in an all-girl street punk band.
I was surprised when she said hello on facebook. We've been lost contact for almost 2-3 years!

These are for Ayu's niece. She's a lovely customer from Bandung who once bought my skull jewelries.
Umm...sorry for the mess x) Hello again, Ayu! :)

and I made these for Sheba, just on the Festive Valentine event last weekend!
You can notice that I use linings already. Some are Bebe's shirts from her baby time. of course I laundried them, n they made good, warm lining for baby shoes!

PS. I LOVE the tote bag in the background. Hand-drawn by Nurify of Ledidak Stuff, it's an official tote bag as Magic Fingers Syndicate's merchandise.

These ones are for Erika Dyah's friend who also approaching her due date next month. Erika is my college friend at Gadjah Mada University n now lives in Bali. I am guessing that she also bought one for her upcoming lil one ;) ahh gossips! :D

I made this large tote bag for Max, an Australian friend of mine. Juno is her daughter, she wanted me to make tote bags for her and Juno last year (yeah, last year!). We planned to go for a trip to the beach but in fact we didn't make it. I also rushed to make this for her, as she left Jogjakarta / Indonesia way sooner than she planned. Oh I have to send this ASAP!

Another thing is that Magic Fingers Syndicate is finally finished the zine! YES! an Indonesian craft / handmade / vintage stuff zine! Most contributors are Indonesian, and now is only available in Bahasa Indonesia only. It should've published on Valentine Festive, but my PC got crashed (again!) last week. Don't worry! I've sent the materials to the printing store today! So excited! Check here for more info, please :)

And please, feel free to contact me at 0857 25728310 for inquiries about baby shoes/bibs, and for Magic Fingers zine! lotsa love!

colors colors

2012-01-26T17:21:00.000-08:00

Didn't I write in the other day that I have some problems with colors? lol.
Well I'm not color blind but I always find out that black or red is my final choice for colors: in dresses, shirts, drawings, fabrics, etc.

But I've seen so many fabulous works in colors, such as this. And I'm still strugglin to mix n match colors. I started with primary colors.

still a bit trapped with black n red for this one ;)

the Lady Rose, with the ultimate primary colors.

Rainbow skulls! Only made two of 'em and they're sold out by now.
Think I'm gonna remake this bracelet.

another rainbow skull bracelets. Still available.
I love playing with stone, wood, metal, and colors lately! :)

The first two are my tattoo flashes, and they are available in art prints and blank card/post cards, too! I've set up an etsy shop for me and Dimas' tattoo arts in various items, please check it out :) If you're in Indonesia, you know who to contact :)

the post cards :)

And this good ol' song helps sooo much! <3
have a good start for the weekend!
Rolling Stones - She's a Rainbow

Bebe's bday bash

2012-01-08T18:17:00.000-08:00

Yeaa it's her 5th birthday last week, on January 5.
Me n Dimas only planned to give goody bags to her classmates, no bday cakes, no candle-blowing, etc. We want to make it simpler this year, a more family-like, and another thing is not to make Bebe feel too spoiled n learn that she's got to get used to this, since she's gonna have a lil brother/sister to share.

But I insist to make something for her anyway, something she really likes. I started from Hello Kitty.

a day before her birthday. It was raining all week!

Stumbled on a pirate-hello kitty picture on web,
then I printed some n turn em into tags for the goody bags.

Dimas' mother don't want to miss the fun I have! She knows that I'll make some things to celebrate Bebe's bday by myself, so she cooked 'Nasi kuning' for Bebe's teachers. Nasi kuning is a traditional Javanese food, usually made to celebrate something, turned into a huge cone called 'tumpeng' or whatever form, completed with fried eggs, shredded beef n sweet tempe n completed with chickens. It gets the yellow color from turmeric. yums!

I also put the tags on the 'Nasi Kuning' boxes

The goody bags for Bebe's classmates. I am terribly sorry for mother earth for using plastic bags. But I swear I reuse this from previous giveaways. Anyway, what's on the goody bags are coloring pencils, a coloring book, a drawing book, n a couple of stationery. Me and Dimas decided to give the kids these stuff because, hey - what's safe on today's cheap snacks? Stationery goody bags turn out a lil bit costly but it will bring more good to the kids.

I made these pinned-chocolate buns in the afternoon. There are lots more of it, and at first I thought they won't be finished that night, but in fact I can't find anything left of these buns in the next morning ;) They're easy to make, maybe I'll write up a recipe for this next time.

We took a short trip around the suburbs after Bebe's school time. Dimas had a tattoo appointment at 1 PM so we can't spend much time on the trip, yet still enjoyed it. Kiky and Iid from Hello Bleu and Mr. Paulus from Mica Work also visited the studio to say hi in the afternoon.

Here's some pics from Dimas on 5th January.
Well, there's always an interesting day :) Happy bday Bebe, we love you :*

sudah 2012 :D

2012-01-03T17:59:00.000-08:00

hehe gak kerasa ya, puji Tuhan :)
begini nih taun baruannya saya dan orang2 di sekitar x) ada pakdhe Bendol yang tiba2 ngajak Dimas 'ngancani' kerja di Jogja Plaza Hotel di event taun barunya, dan pakdhe Jo memutuskan untuk jalan2 keliling kota naik sepeda. Bebe udah tidur duluan dan saya blom ngantuk, jadi ngegame deh semaleman, sekaligus ngejagain Patricia, just in case ada yang menyakitinya lagi.

eniwei, tiap hari selalu ada aja yang spesial! hihi padahal kayaknya ya biasa2 aja sih rutinitasnya: buka studio, beberes studio, nyuci-nyetrika, nyatet ini-itu, tapi pasti rasanya beda-beda tiap kali ngelakuinnya. Misalnya hari dimana saya beberes baju yang ada di gantungan di balik pintu dan tas2 lama yang jarang dipake, saya nemu duit lumayan loh. Biasanya uang-uang kembalian atau 'sangu' yang sengaja saya bawa di kantong, bukan di dompet (supaya lebih irit, misalnya di kantong bawa 20ribu, ya belanjanya cuma segitu, ngga perlu buka dompet x)). Dan saya suka lupa aja kalo nyimpen duit di kantong. Kegiatan beberes saya hari itu jadi tambah menyenangkan :p

...atau ketika saya beberes baju dan kaos kaki yang udah dicuci malem2, dan ternyata saya salah masangin kaos kakinya Dimas, warnanya jadi belang: biru donker dan hitam; baru ketauan pas udah dipake besoknya, hihihi...

Ya pokoknya se-boring apapun keliatannya yang namanya kerjaan rumah kalo suasananya dibawa menyenangkan ya, jadi menyenangkan :D saya jadi inget blog saya yang lama, postingan ini nih yang isinya adalah saya yang boring di rumah dan kepengen jalan2 :p

Oh well :)

Masih banyak kerjaan yang ketunda, dan belum ada seminggu, to-do-listnya udah panjang aja. semoga semua bisa terselesaikan satu persatu. Dan saya udah lamaaaa banget pengen menelorkan ini *hiyaa bertelor :p

Red cherry bangle bracelet
IDR 15.000

the Dark Queen bangle bracelet
IDR 15.000

Purple Passion bangle bracelet
IDR 15.000

Over the Rainbow bangle bracelet
IDR 15.000

Tropicana bangle bracelet
IDR 15.000

Bobby pins mawar - final stock
@IDR 10.000

broken white skulls earrings
IDR 30.000

Red cherry rockabilly dangling earrings
IDR 25.000

red skulls earrings
IDR 25.000

turquoise skulls earrings
IDR 30.000

:D aku sendiri suka banget antingnya :p tapi ngga bisa pake, karna earlobe-nya udah 8mm :( eniwei, buat yang tertarik bisa langsung hubungi ke 0857 257 28310, sms only yah, soalnya speakernya rusak ga bisa dipake telp :p seperti biasa, untuk pembelian di atas 100ribu, ongkos kirimnya gratis - kecuali kalo kamu kepengen paket yang sehari nyampe :) buat trinklets yang lain, edisi lama yang masih ada stoknya, bisa diliat di mari.

Enjoy 2012! :)

Senandung Tinta - Perempuan dan Tato

2011-12-28T19:17:00.000-08:00

Bukannya mentang-mentang masih dalam rangka Hari Ibu di bulan Desember yah, hehe tapi kurang lebih cukup berhubungan :) Hari Ibu-ibu sebenernya adalah perayaan kongres Perempuan Indonesia ke-83, yang menjadi awal tersuarakannya kepentingan perempuan di lingkup publik Indonesia.

Lantas apa hubungannya dengan tato?

Di Indonesia sendiri, misalnya, pada subsuku Dayak tertentu, pembuatan tato terkait dengan harga diri perempuan, dan ada istilah ‘tedak kayaan’, yang berarti perempuan yang tidak bertato dianggap lebih rendah derajatnya dibanding dengan yang bertato. Tapi pandangan ini hanya berlaku di sebagian kecil sub suku Dayak.

Seiring dengan masuknya beragam agama dan campur tangan pemerintah, pengetahuan tentang tradisi ini semakin tenggelam, “bahkan di sejarah nasional pun perempuan tidak berada dalam posisi pembuat keputusan ataupun memegang posisi yang menentukan. Kalaupun ada perkumpulan perempuan dalam perjuangan nasional, perkumpulan perempuan terlihat mengalah ‘untuk tidak menonjolkan diri di lingkup perkumpulan laki-laki’” (wartafeminis.wordpress.com). Keberadaan tradisi tato Indonesia hampir sama kalah eksistensinya ketika kasus Petrus – penembakan misterius – merebak di tahun 80an.

Jadi, perempuan dan tato di Indonesia – sama-sama berat perjuangannya. Menjadi perempuan yang...walaupun di era gombalisasi, eh globalisasi ini tidak aneh lagi kalau mengejar karir, memutuskan jadi single parent, hidup selibat, atau bertato – sama terbenturnya oleh stigma sosial terhadap tato di Indonesia, walaupun perkembangan industri tato di Indonesia harusnya sudah bisa jadi salah satu daya tarik pariwisata.

Ternyata gak hanya di Indonesia. Lewat film dokumenter Covered, Beverly Yuen Thompson yang mewawancara para perempuan – para ibu (yang bertato dan yang tidak), kolektor dan juga tattooist – menceritakan bagaimana perempuan juga memiliki pengaruh yang besar untuk perkembangan industri tato (untuk film ini, khususnya di US). Dari para ibu yang akhirnya merelakan anak-anaknya bertato (atau bahkan jadi tattooist), para tattooist perempuan senior yang lebih merasakan terjangan stigma sosial yang menganggap bahwa perempuan ‘jadul’ (usia mereka rata2 udah 50an) itu harusnya nggak nato, tapi jadi ibu rumah tangga, atau kalo kerja ya jadi suster (bukan dokter!), dan mereka juga cerita gimana orang2 jaman dulu gak mau ditato ama perempuan.

Apakah lantas Indonesia ketinggalan?

Nggak juga, banyak perempuan Indonesia yang bertato, dan juga berprestasi. Saya ngga bakal nyebut nama sederet selebriti ibukota yah. Tapi seperti yang dibilang tadi, banyak yang ‘nggak kelihatan’, dan beberapa pun mungkin sungkan menyatakan bahwa ia bertato – sederhananya, seperti teman-teman yang sungkan memperlihatkan tatonya di lingkungan kerja.

Dan nggak ada kata ‘ketinggalan’ kalo masih mau berusaha.

Sekarang juga semakin banyak kolektor tato perempuan yang bangga akan tatonya. Profesinya pun beragam: model, fotografer, jurnalis, entrepreneur, guru, dokter, selebriti (eh kesebut lagi, maap, btw selebriti itu profesi bukan ya?). Sesuai dengan profesi dan biasanya sudah lebih matang jalan pemikirannya, mereka bisa bersikap bijak mengenai tato yang mereka miliki, dan bisa menghadapi dan juga membuktikan sesuatu untuk melawan stigma masyarakat (yang jadi semakin parah ketika “perempuan + tato = biaat**h!”)

Memang bagi perempuan modern, memiliki tato juga menambah estetika tubuhnya. Dan sayangnya, jadi rada lebay bangganya. Misalnya punya tato di dada trus jadi pake baju yang hampir semua dadanya keliatan (padahal tatonya di bagian atas belahan dada), dan ya yang gitu-gitu deh. Nanti kalo ada kasus narkoba, pemerkosaan atau penyakit, lagi-lagi tato yang disalahkan.

Karna nila setitik rusak susu sak pancine.

Para ibu, istri, dan pacar tattooist Indonesia juga ngga kalah lho ikut andilnya. Coba deh sekarang bayangin, punya suami/pacar tattooist, gambarnya bagus, sering masuk majalah abal-abal ini, sering menang kompetisi, eksis di scene, cewek mana cobaa yang ngga mau ngejar2? Jaman sekarang istilahnya bukan ‘janur kuning’ lagi, tapi asalkan ‘bendera kuning’ blom melengkung :p ah ya, sekedar contoh kasar aja. Tapi nungguin suami/pacar kerja, nato ampe larut malam, ikut ngitung2 pengeluaran untuk suplai, bantuin beresin ruang tato dan juga bantuin promosi, belum lagi bantu ngangkut-ngangkut kalo ada acara di luar kota...well, that must be the ladies’ work ;)

Cindy Ray (left), one of early women-tattooists from Australia

Modern Tattoo Culture event, Semarang, Feb 2011.
I was the only female tattooist participated at the time

Begitu juga dengan para tattooist cewek. Di seluruh dunia, industri tato masih male-dominated. Untuk totalitas dalam bidang tato, kendala terbesar tentu aja masih tentang pembagian waktu dengan urusan rumah tangga dan segala kerempongannya. Jadi, beruntunglah bagi yang masih single, don’t waste your time :) Di tahun 2012 saya bener-bener berharap seenggaknya ada satu atau dua lagi tattooist cewek yang ikut foto2 bareng tattooist cowok yang ganteng2 itu :p

Brace yourself, ladies :) Be brave!

Edisi kali ini ditujukan spesial untuk:

Tante yang baik Mrs. Mock Tato; mbak Ajeng Toxic Tattoo Park; mbak Laine Berman; meme Ikha Widari; mbak Heny Indun; bunda Ina Chatab; Ajeng Kantong; Nathalia Shelly; Monique van der Harst; Anneke Fitrianti; Anastasia Shanty; mbak Indah ‘Fullmoon’; Helga Hutabarat; Amelia Rizky Ali; Widiana Widie; dan semua perempuan yang bertato maupun tidak, yang sudah mencurahkan waktu dan pikirannya untuk perkembangan industri tato di Indonesia :)

- also published in Senandung Tinta, Magic Ink Tattoo Magazine vol. 25

It's Getting Better (Man)!! - years contemplation

2011-12-16T08:20:00.000-08:00

1. Tentang kesehatan

"Something in your life teaches you to build a castle in the sun."

Ini salah satu lagu favorit dari band favorit saya juga, Oasis.

Entah kenapa, tiba-tiba lagu ini muncul. Ngg... nggak 'entah' juga sih kayaknya, hehe...Ada beberapa cerita yang kepikiran akhir2 ini, seperti bulan lalu itu, saya tepar. Berawal dari migren ringan, lama2 kok pusingnya ngga keruan, n pas awalnya pake demam segala. Mau minum obat jadinya serbasalah, karna saya alergi parasetamol dan antibiotik, udah gitu lagi hamil 5 bulan, jadi ga bisa sembarangan minum obat, bahkan obat herbal sekalipun. Setelah 3 hari itu pusing ga ilang2, akhirnya Dimas n Bebe anterin saya ke dokter. dan benarlah, tensi saya ngedrop, mungkin sekitar 90/45 ato lebih rendah lagi saya ga inget (saking pusingnya jadi susah baca tulisan). Jadilah hipotensi + anemia.

Pertama kali minum obat demam yg khusus bumil aja, rasanya ga keruan, keringetan udah kayak mandi, dan hal aneh yg sering muncul ketika saya demam adalah berpikir tentang geometri dan matematis dalam mimpi - yg saya inget, di mimpi itu saya bikin bentuk semacam rubik pake rumus apa gitu, tp rasanya ga selesai2, gimana ga tambah keringetan dan pusing coba. Ketika itu rasanya bener2 kekurangan darah merah - kantung bawah mata saya pucet banget, telapak tangan saya putih, dan luka kecuil sedikit pun yg keluar darahnya nggak merah T_T Untungnya sih, demamnya hanya berlangsung sekitar 4-5 hari - iya, ini untung, soalnya pusingnya lebih parah, saya cuma bisa terkapar di tempat tidur selama 2 minggu.

Kayak apa sih pusingnya? Seinget saya, yg paling parah adalah ketika saya ngerasa ada ratusan orang yang lagi adu pedang di kepala saya. Tiap kali saya berdoa - mau tidur, mau makan, atau sekedar 'mengeluh' - itu pusing makin menjadi2, sampe saya pikir ini emang ada setan yang bercokol di kepala.

Terimakasih sekali untuk Dimas dan Bebe yang sabaaarrr dan mau ngerawat Meme. Saya dibeliin dan disuruh makan/minum macem2 yang bisa naikin tensi atau nambah darah. Dari nyariin/beliin sate kambing, ati ayam, ampe beliin kacang ijo di warung entah dimana (pas warung sebelah ngga stok kacang ijo). Saya jadi terharu banget - suer - momen sakit kemarin, rasanya seperti dibuktikan dan diperlihatkan bahwa saya memang berharga di hati mereka, dan makin bikin saya yakin untuk 'take a front seat in their life'. I love my lil family :)

2. Tentang hubungan

"Build something, build a better place and call it home.
Even if it means nothing, you'll never ever feel that you're alone."

Hubungan sama siapa dulu nih?
Saya nggak mau bagian ini jadi bagian yang terlalu personal atau menjelaskan terlalu detil (halo, tukang gosip! :D). Masa lalu bagi saya adalah stepping stones, nggak hanya yang baik2, tapi juga yang buruk-buruk. Di bulan Mei taun 2010, saya nulis ini di blog saya yang lama, tentang perspektif kita menghadapi banyak hal. Di suatu titik dalam hidup saya, saya memutuskan untuk bersikap lebih positif tentang banyak hal negatif - baik yang mengelilingi maupun yang terjadi dalam hidup saya. Kalau saya perhatikan, beberapa orang cenderung agak berlebihan sikap positifnya dan malah terjebak mengambil keputusan yang negatif - misalnya menganggap mengabaikan omongan orang lain tapi faktanya malah menjauhi orangnya sekalian (padahal yg dijauhin atau dicuekin harusnya omongannya, kalo ama orangnya ya tetep silaturahmi dong).

Eh jadi ngelantur. Intinya, life must go on, and it is FULL OF CHANCES. Tinggal kita yang pilih mau menghadapinya atau nggak. 'Jalan aman' alias soft option sih ada, tapi kenapa harus takut pilih yang 'rough' sekalian kalo itu bisa membentuk kita jadi pribadi yang lebih oke dan hasilnya juga lebih asik? Ini berlaku untuk semua hal sih, ngga cuma dalam hubungan - baik hubungan dengan kekasih maupun pertemanan.

Saya percaya, bahwa 'rasa percaya' itu penting, dan nggak mudah didapatkan. Butuh 6 tahun yang solid untuk bisa mencapai apa yang saya dan Dimas rasakan sekarang, dan memang nggak mudah, bagi saya dan baginya. Hehehe, percakapan lucu yang sering ia hadapi ketika lagi bareng temen2nya:

Temen (T): Kowe nongkrong nganti yah mene ki ra digoleki po ro bojomu? (terj: kamu nongkrong ampe jam segini ngga dicariin istrimukah?)
Dimas (D): Ora, lha wis ngomong kok nek arep nongkrong, opo yo kudu ditekoni tiap jam (terj: Nggak tuh, lah kan udah ngomong kalo mau nongkrong, apa ya harus ditanyain tiap jam)

(FYI, kalo ga salah obrolan ini di Malioboro ama temen2 motornya di malam minggu. Gak lama sekitar jam 12 sampe jam 1an, temen2 pada ditelponin istrinya masing2, ada yang disuruh pulang, ada yang ditanya2in lagi dimana)

T: Kowe kok ra ditelponi to? (terj. kamu kok gak ditelponin sih?)
D: Lha mau kan wis ngomong, ngopo ndadak ditelponi meneh. (terj: lah kan tadi udah ngomong, kenapa harus ditelponin lagi)
T: Penak tenan toh.. (terj. enak banget ya...)

(Kalo ga salah lagi, udah jam 3an ni orang blom balik2, saya sms pending, ya udah saya telpon tentang balik ke rumah atau tidur di salah satu bengkel temennya, rada kuatir soalnya waktu itu lagi sering ada kasus tusuk2an di jalan)

T: Nah kan ditelpon, kon bali kowe...*sambil ketawa (terj: Nah kan ditelpon, disuruh pulang tuh...)
D: Ora e, mung ditekoni arep bali opo arep turu neng nggone sopo? (terj: Nggak tuh, cuma ditanyain mau pulang atau mau tidur di tempatnya siapa?)
T: Edyan

Banyak deh cerita2 yang beginian, seperti misalnya waktu Dimas jadi guest tattooist di Bali, banyak yang ngewanti-wanti saya untuk begini dan begitu, hehe... Ya rasa ketar ketir ada juga sih, tapi saya bukan tipe perempuan yang suka nelponin tiap jam juga sih. Saya percaya kalo dia berangkat ke luar kota untuk kerja, dan saya juga tau banyak hal yang akan lebih menarik perhatian dia (ketika keluar kota) selain ngurusin cewek2 ato apa gitu. Komentar temennya 'edyan' bukan komentar baru juga yang pernah kami dengar tentang cara kami berkomunikasi. Kami membiasakan untuk tidak mendengarkan apa yang dibilang orang lain tentang salah satu dari kami, dan lebih percaya pada omongan satu sama lain - dengan catatan untuk selalu jujur, tentunya.

Lagian, apa enaknya sih, ditelponin tiap menit, atau tiap jam? Bukannya tiap orang perlu break (bukan break yang kayak Raffi Ahmad dan teh Yuni yah :p). Terlepas dari penelitian apapun tentang perilaku pasangan yang bersifat gender - contoh sederhananya aja, Dimas perlu waktu untuk ketemu atau hang out ama temen2nya yang hobinya sama atau seenggaknya bakal lebih nyambung kalo mau ngomongin tentang desain atau mesin motor/mobil dan seputarnya itulah daripada kalo ngomongin itu sama saya. Dan saya ga selalu bisa dong, ngomongin desain atau produk crafting yang unyu-unyu ama dia (dia aja ngaku 'aku we ra dong ro dolanane dekne' - aku aja ngga ngerti ama mainannya dia - hehe).

Ya begitu deh. Menghargai perbedaan, menjaga komunikasi yang sehat dan menjaga kepercayaan. Kedengerannya klise dan gampang ya? Kami baru menjalaninya 6 tahun, dengan segala konsekuensi dan tantangan yang sudah dan masih akan kami hadapi berikutnya. Semoga bisa lebih lama lagi :)

3. Tentang pertemanan

"And what was that you said to me?"

Beberapa tahun terakhir ini juga saya mendapatkan banyak makna tentang pertemanan. Ternyata ada sub-subnya, saya jadi kaget :p teman hura-hura, teman ngobrol, teman nggosip, teman brainstorming, dan masih banyak lagi. Tadinya saya agak 'mengagungkan' pertemanan, tapi yah, ternyata sedikit banyak ada juga yang mengecewakan. Dari 'temen' yang ternyata hanya ber say-hello kalo mau pinjem duit, sampe 'temen' yang suka keceplosan, atau menganggap sudah mengenal saya begitu jauh sampai bisa menerka (sekaligus mengumbar) hal-hal tentang saya yang paling pribadi sifatnya, yang berujung jadi gosip atau jutaan pertanyaan konfirmasi yang awal kalimatnya 'katanya si itu kamu blablabla....?' yikes!

Tapi taun ini saya banyak ketemu orang-orang baru, dan puji Tuhan, lebih banyak yang menyenangkan daripada yang menyebalkan ;) Well, menyebalkan atau tidak, saya percaya kalau orang itu berubah (dan semoga jadi lebih baik!) - tanpa saya perlu tau apa yang menyebabkan perubahan itu. Kadang pertemanan yang sehat itu nggak perlu tau banyak hal yang terjadi ama teman kita kok, itu pilihan mereka untuk mau bercerita atau tidak (sesuatu yang nantinya bisa nentuin kualitas pertemanan juga). Syukur2 kalau mereka mau cerita dan bisa mengurangi beban mereka, dan kita ga perlu rempong nanya2 kan kalo kepengen tau banget? Dan ngga perlu cerita ama orang lain juga, siapa tau temen kita ini hanya cerita ama kita. Sekali lagi, rasa percaya. Sulit didapat, mudah hilangnya.

4. Tentang gosip

"Say something, shout it from the rooftop of your head.
Even if it means nothing, make us realize that we are here."

Hehehe...hal yang paling saya gak suka di dunia! g-o-s-i-p. males ah pake kapital. pernah juga kok ngepost tentang ini. Nggak hanya tentang rumah tangga saya, tapi juga tentang kerjaan. Wow, ini lebih kerasa deh, bener. Sama ngga keruannya sih, tapi lucu aja gitu. Di satu sisi, dari digosipin (tentang kerjaan), otomatis jadi promosi gratis :p dan di sisi lain rasanya gemes gimana gitu, karna tau cerita mana yang bener dan mana yang boong. Awalnya sedikit semacam panik atau sebel/marah, sempet berusaha untuk ngejelasin mana yang bener ke beberapa orang, tapi lama2 saya dan Dimas memutuskan untuk nggak nanggepin apa-apa - yang penting tetep fokus ama kerjaan. Satu pelajaran lagi yang saya dapatkan dari Dimas tentang nanggepin gosip: "Ngapain sih dipusingin, emang orang itu (yg ngegosipin) ngasih makan kamu?"

Iya juga sih. Tapi pasti rasanya gemes gimana gitu, pengen nonjok orang tapi gak bisa. Yang saya heran, orang2 yang nggosip (sengaja atau nggak) itu pernah digosipin nggak sih? Tentang gosip ini juga ngga lepas dari pertemanan - bisa jadi filter loh. Ketika kamu lagi diterjang gosip yang ngga enak, bakal keliatan kok teman2 yang tabiatnya baik - yang ngga peduli ama gosipnya dan tetep mau ngomong dan hang out sama kamu, atau yang care/turut prihatin ama gosipnya dan memotivasi kamu untuk tetep maju.

Kalo boleh pinjem kalimatnya Jose Lopez dari Low Rider Tattoo Studios:
"A special thanks to everyone who has offered their support along the way positively or negatively, without all of your putdowns and negative comments, we would not be here, you brought the best out of us."

5. Tentang CarpeDiem TattooStudio, stroberiHITAM dan keluarga :)

Tahun ini, CarpeDiem TattooStudio udah 4 tahun. Nggak kerasa banget. Di hari H kemarin, saya bikin setumpuk donat coklat, bagiin bir untuk para laki-laki dan jus jeruk untuk saya dan Bebe. Ulang taun yang sederhana, hanya kami berlima tapi dengan doa yang penuh syukur dan berjanji dalam hati untuk bekerja lebih giat lagi, berkarya dengan lebih baik lagi.

Saya baru mulai jadi shop manager sekitar 2 taun lalu, tapi dari awal CarpeDiem TattooStudio buka, ya udah suka bantu jagain studio juga - kalo Dimas lagi keluar cari suplai (waktu itu masih kesulitan cari suplai), atau lagi buat jarum sendiri. Yoi, bahkan 4 taun lalu nyari jarum tato masih agak sulit dan mahal (secara modal kami bener2 ngepas untuk beli mesin dan tinta). Dengan buat jarum sendiri dan sterilin jarum yang baru dibikin dengan cara tradisional dan ngepak jarum pake Medipack sendiri, kami bisa cukup menghemat di awal2 tahun (menghemat biaya tp gak hemat waktu), sampe akhirnya beberapa temen supplier mau meng'endorse' kami dengan stok jarum tato mereka sekaligus nitip jualan suplai mereka di studio. Dari harga tato 'murah' hingga kami bisa mencapai standar yang sekarang. Dari pake pintu koboi - dan harus nyapu minimal 4 kali sehari - sampe bisa pake AC seperti sekarang. Dari pake PC abal-abal ampe bisa beli PC beneran kayak sekarang. Dari pake mesin bikinan sendiri ampe sekarang bisa beli yang pabrikan. Puji Tuhan.

Ini juga taun kedua saya belajar nato - awal pembelajaran yang geblek, di paha sendiri. Walaupun Dimas (sepertinya) tidak mengakui saya sebagai apprentice, tapi saya belajar paling banyak darinya dan setelah 'menghukum' saya gak boleh pegang mesin tato selama beberapa bulan, ia jugalah yang akhirnya meloloskan saya untuk mulai menato customer secara serius taun ini. Saya bener-bener jatuh cinta ama profesi dan industri ini, dan bisa jadi terlalu serius kalo ngomongin tentang tato.

Ngomong-ngomong, taun ini keluarga CarpeDiem TattooStudio juga nambah loh :) Sekarang ada mas BejoUntungLucky alias mas Bejo (nama aslinya sih Putra Untung :)), salah satu temen baiknya Dimas, yang mulai jadi asisten di studio sejak November. Dia rajiiin sekali menggambar, ini salah satu gambarnya yang lama. Berhubung bumil ini makin membesar, hadirnya mas Bejo kerasa sangat membantu deh, apalagi kalo soal isi-ulang dan bantu beres-beres. Dimas jadi punya temen diskusi juga soal mbengkel dan ada yang nemenin kalo ngopi dan ngerokok di luar (kan saya udah ga bisa, hehe), studio jadi lebih hidup karna isinya ngga cuma saya, Dimas dan Bebe x)

Untuk stroberiHITAM, saya juga ngga nyangka bisa sejauh ini. Bisa ketemu temen2 baru dan bikin acara Craft Carnival, bisa bantu temen2 lain juga yang suka nanya2 tentang marketing ato sekedar display untuk booth. Dan kenekatan saya untuk buka shop di etsy ternyata berguna banget, hehe :) Sejauh ini emang nggak semua item yang ada di listing etsy-nya stroberiHITAM laris manis tanjung kimpul, tapi saya belajar banyak tentang mendeskripsikan lebih detil tentang produk yang saya bikin, ngambil foto produk yang menarik dan eye-catching, nentuin harga produk, dan macem2 lagi deh.

Selain itu, pertengahan taun ini juga nemu Olmade.com, semacem portal online shop khusus crafting di Indonesia. Seru loh :D ayo pada daftar, biar makin rame :) stroberiHITAM juga sempet di interview di blognya beberapa waktu lalu :) Last but not least, makasih ya Christina Sunario dan Widya Laksmi Larasati, untuk support awalnya bagi stroberiHITAM dan yang menyaksikan produk awal stroberiHITAM, hehehe...masih disimpen nggak itu gantungan kunci stroberi itemnya? ;)

And our little family is getting bigger.
Waktu Dimas keluar kota (sekitar bulan April - Mei) saya tiba2 ngerasa kangen pengen hamil, hehehe. Gimana ya rasanya, harus hati-hati, menjaga diri, jaga sesuatu yang ada di badan sendiri dan ngerasain perubahan bulan demi bulan. Eh ternyata bener deh kejadian. Bebe seneng banget pas dikasitau, antara percaya ngga percaya gitu. Dan sampe saya USG bulan lalu (pas sekalian periksa pas anemia), Bebe baru tau kalo dia bakal punya adek satu dan bukan sepuluh seperti yang biasa dia bilang ke orang-orang.

Yang pasti, target kami jadi semakin banyak, harus kerja semakin keras dan main lebih sering lagi (soalnya sekarang anaknya bakal ada 2, hehe). Bagi kami, keluarga adalah segalanya, family comes first, because they remind us of who we really are and what we suppose to do.

dan untuk keluarga,
"I'll light a fire in the sky, (so) it's getting better man!"

Selamat berakhir tahun :)

Oasis - It's Getting Better (Man)!

Xmas SALE

2011-11-10T18:12:00.000-08:00

Haha I know, it's still a long way to go, but HEY, it's a year-end holiday, so I won't take further risk to work on holiday ;p These last two years, we've been spending Xmas holiday without GC/Aji Dimas (he was working outta town), so hopefully we can spend time together this year :)

Well, I made a few (if not a galore, because I LOVE making these) X-rayed Santa Claus, besides working on a few more Freaky Friends :)

The X-rayed Santa Claus is my favorite so far :) although on small plushie-key chain like this I have to scrutinize the felt-cutting, I'm still loving it :D I am now making a larger size of it, a.k.a a pillow, gonna update soon :*

There's also an Xmas SALE on stroberiHITAM shop. Please note :)

for Indonesian buyers:

- 20% off for ALL jewelry items you can find on my facebook page

- 10% off for ALL Freaky Friends and quirky pillows, also on stroberiHITAM's facebook page.

- free shipping if the purchase is more than IDR 100K, and if it reaches 200K, you'll get an extra Freaky Friends key chain (you can choose any color)

for Etsians n international buyers:

- I have a coupon code active for all items (although I only mentioned jewelry on my etsy shop, the coupon is available for any item ;)) It's 10% off discount for any item. the coupon code name is stroberihitam

- I listed few Freaky Friends key chains there, if you need a special listing for triple key chains (or more), please let me know so I can make it and arrange a special shipping cost.

All order submission will be closed on Dec 16, 2011.

Shipment will still be arranged up to Dec 20, 2011.

It's gonna be a rush year-end, so better make it faster, I guess ;)

CarpeDiem TattooStudio will open til Dec 30, so I'll still working on tattoos,

n if you want to talk about any jewelry/plushie/pillow design,

you still can contact me via e-mail (stroberihitam@yahoo.com) or text to 0857 25728310

I'm still thinking about Xmas decoration n preparation.

what about you? plan anything for holiday? have a good one :)

Happy Halloween!!

2011-10-31T04:52:00.000-07:00

It's finally Halloween!!
I've been counting down from 30 days before n post some random macabre links on my facebook account. Then the Craft Carnival n more stuff were coming, so I stop posting those, but HEY I don't stop making things! :D

First of all, there was the Craft Carnival.
Last week, it was a party/carnival for handmade-lovers, especially for those in Jogjakarta. Thank you for the great team, we did it! A local bazaar full of handmade stuff, fresh ideas and love! up to 25 crafters opened their booths and some of them where coming from Jakarta (Needle n Bitch and Medialegal), Bandung (Vitarlenology) and Solo (Mica Work and Cha Craft).

I admit that this is a very unprofessional event, lol. Mistakes n mishaps here n there, but thankfully it went well. And it's NOT RAINING, yaay! I didn't bring my own camera and busy running here n there, but you can browse n read the event report n photos on Magic Fingers Syndicate's blog (there are some links to other blogs, too ;))

Anyway, about Halloween...
I've never been this Halloween-Freak since two years ago, when my Nanna's passed away. She's my only grandma's left (from my own family, now I'm in two big fams). She passed away right on the All-Hallows-Even, around 7-8pm from complication. My mom n me were on her side.

For most Christians (and non-Christians), Halloween is a celebration and on its negative side, most ppl spend some amount of money to 'celebrate' Halloween. On its positive side, it's another way for parents to teach their children about death and mortality in a less-macabre fashion. That night, it was one of the most memorable lesson for me about death, which could look easy, dreadful or even beautiful.

And what I've been looking for actually is the All Souls Day or Day of the Dead (Dia de Los Muertos), where the living gives special prayings for the dead, it's on November 2.

These are what I made for the celebrations :)

the Cyclops triplets

the Sugar Skulls necklaces
Sugar skulls or calavera is a common decoration to adorn the altars on All Souls Day / Day of the Dead festival.
The real ones are edible!! :D

the Black Cat pillow

the Monster Family.
I made the big yellow monster together with GC and Bebe few months ago :)

These stuff are available, if you're in Indonesia, please contact me at 085725728310. If you're not, they're available on my etsy shop :)

Once again, Happy Halloween, everyone! :)

Embroideries !!

2011-10-13T03:58:00.000-07:00

A week ago, my friend Inong (@evadewa) tweeted, searching her books whereabouts. She is usually forgetful, so I told her (again) that long ago she trusted me to keep her two of her favorite books. One of them is my fave, too, it's Marjane Sartrapi's Embroideries.

It's a great comic book - one of Marjane Sartrapi's best! If you're a girl/woman in any age and still sighing about how boring your daily life is, or how awkward your family situation is, try read this one ;) When I thought Indonesia is still one conservative country, Marjane told us stories about Iran - and 'Embroidery' is less political than 'Persepolis'. 'Embroidery' tells us a lot about Iranian women's life.

one of my favorite pages on 'Embroideries'

Some nights after, I browsed through my files on the laptop, the external hard disks, flash disks, only to found out that my embroidery pattern files are GONE! So I got to re-draw some and browse the internet again. There I started, it's all an excitement all over again! :)

yeah, always start em by night ;)

I got the patterns at www.urbanthreads.com
Some tutorials are free, and if you're interested with my stuff, you'll gonna be interested in theirs!!

There it goes, some will be displayed on stroberiHITAM's booth at Craft Carnival (Oct 22-23) at Bentara Budaya Yogyakarta :) I'm also still working on few custom tote bags, and one big project for my best friend (will post about that later!)... Viva La Craft!! :D

journey to Craft Carnival 2011: pinwheels!

2011-10-08T02:56:00.000-07:00

busy daaayss yaaayyy! I love being busy, because it means I mustn't count my pregnancy weeks (counting sucks, n women surely have something with counting - n numbers). Time flies, n here I go, three months prego n happy ;)

Anyway, have I told you that me n some friends are planning a Craft Carnival on October 22-23? it's only a week away from Halloween, but that's how it smells for stroberiHITAM (even though I haven't prepare a lot of stuff for this). We also got crafting workshops, too: embroideries, knitting, paper crafts, n sewing. Here's some preview:

check this poster out for more info!

We are obviously lucky to get some sponsors, and sooo many friends are interested to open their booth, or just to come to see what these crafters really do n make, n hopefully to buy lotsa stuff! haha! until today, there are 22 crafters confirmed to join the handmade bazaar.

It's only few days more to our big day, so we have to work hard preparing things for decoration and games - YES we have games! I'll post about that later ;) Lately, I made A LOT of pinwheels from used pamphlets - they're not really used, actually...the event (in the pamphlet) is in Semarang, not many people interested to take it home anyway and they add to used-paper pile in the studio. DUH! why do these peeps make a lot of ads stuff, if they also announce it via radio, television and even internet?

Anyway, I started to cut the papers into rectangle. Sorry for the darkish pics, I made em at night, as usual :p I made simple pinwheels, here are the steps if you wanna try, it's a fun thing to do anyway :) All you need is rectangle papers, paper glue, wire (or threads, if you're not familiar working with wire), and stick, or anything you can find for the grip.

I also use a used-wire. GC found a horn on the junkyard few weeks ago from an unidentified four-wheeled object (ok, it's a car, but we don't know what car it was :p). The horn was broken already, so the coiled wire is useless since GC only want to use the horn 'shell' (more pics here).

draw such lines to the center point. Yaay I also get some spare small papers for doodling or random notes ;)

You can also fold the paper diagonally before drawing the line, to get a more precision line.

It's getting exciting! After cutting the lined parts carefully, fold em gently into the center point of the paper. Glue 'em if you like to make the wheel stronger.

Wait til the glue dry, because we have to punch a small hole in the center and we don't want to rip the paper. I use a cross-stitch needle (which is thicker, blunt n less dangerous, if you're working with children).

Prepare the pinwheel grip. I use bamboo sticks which are usually use to make satay (remember to cut the sharp edge!). You can also use straws, or chopsticks. I am working with wire, so I coiled the wire about 4-5 times and left 2 cm to be attached to the wheel. You can also use threads for this.

This was my first try...So I inserted the wire n make a lil twist with a plier to let the wheel hang on there (don't twist the wire too tight, we want the pinwheel to spin, right? ;)) Adding a small bead or button will look cuter n less-industrial :p the bead / button is also a good stopper if you're working with threads.

Tadaa!!!

Pinwheels, pinwheels! I have two large bouquets of pinwheels in my house! ;)
(and you can see I've add beads as the wheel-stoppers)

And I still have more to finish! Hopefully I can buy more time to make em more colorful! ;)

These pinwheels will decorate the Craft Carnival, and everyone can take it for free!! :) Although I plan to prepare a box around the pick point if anyone want to 'trade' this pinwheel with something they have. Hey, there are so many unlucky kids out there, right? So, besides having fun for ourselves n make some money with things we do, why can't we give something from this? xo :)

Hot Gossips

2011-09-23T18:41:00.000-07:00

digosok makin sip, coy!
sebenernya gosip itu apa sih? iseng2 googling ternyata ada pengertiannya lho, dan ada penelitiannya juga dari sudut pandang psikologi.

ngambil dari wikipedia, sambil diterjemahin lepas (lagi pengen bahasa Indonesiaan nih ya :p)

Gosip adalah pembicaraan satu arah atau rumor, khususnya tentang urusan pribadi orang lain. Ini merupakan salah satu cara yang tertua dan paling umum untuk berbagi fakta dan sudut pandang, tapi juga memiliki reputasi tentang adanya kesalahan dan variasi mengenai informasi yang disampaikan. Istilah ini juga dapat menyampaikan bahwa berita (yg disampaikan) pada dasarnya bersifat pribadi atau penuh terkaan, berkebalikan dengan percakapan biasa.

Kalo ngeliat artikel singkat dari wikipedia sih, dampak atau efek positif dari gosip dikit banget. Banyakan ngga enaknya, misalnya (dari pengalaman sendiri deh kalo ini):
1. buang-buang waktu dan energi;
ngapain sih ngomongin urusan pribadi orang, apalagi kalo kudu tau ampe yang detail2.
2. bisa ngikis rasa percaya (trust),
baik rasa percaya antara kita dan orang yang digosipin, bahkan bisa ngerusak hubungan orang lain.
3. nggak ngebantu orang untuk lebih merasa diterima di masyarakat,
atau setidaknya merasa diterima di lingkungannya sendiri.

Sering nggak, denger 'tangkisan' begini: "Sori ya, gw ngga gosip, gw kan ngomongin fakta!"
Iyeee fakta sih fakta juy, tapi masa ga tau bedanya urusan dapur yang notabene adalah privasi, dan apa yang bisa dipublikasikan.

Atau: "aduh sori, gw keceplosan."
Dari pengalaman saya sih, keceplosan ga bakal hanya sekali-dua kali; yang bocor ya bocor aja :p

Dan ternyata gosip juga bisa... "empower one person while disempowering another"(Hafen, Susan. "Organizational Gossip: A Revolving Door of Regulation & Resistance." The Southern Communication Journal Vol. 69, No. 3 (Spring 2004) pg 223)

Tambah nggak adil kan, dimana 'percakapan' ini sebenernya hanya terjadi satu arah, tanpa subjek yang dibicarakan. Orang yang dibicarakan ngga punya kuasa untuk menyangkal atau membenarkan hal apapun yang dibicarakan. Kalo dijelasin, rasanya mungkin seperti Hannibal Lecter yang hanya bisa ngancam lewat kaca penjaranya ya, karna dia ga punya akses untuk menyangkal atau membenarkan apapun yang dikatakan pers di luar lingkungan penjaranya tentang dia.

Penelitian tentang gosip ini ternyata banyak dibahas dalam penelitian tentang organisasi atau tempat kerja, dimana lingkungan-lingkungan inilah efek negatif dari gosip paling sering dijumpai: orang (yang digosipin) jadi stress dan kurang percaya diri, berkurangnya kinerja di tempat kerja (karna waktunya abis buat nggosip) sampai meningkatkan ketidakpastian di lingkungan kerja (karna jadi ngga yakin siapa yang harus/bisa dipercaya dan siapa yang enggak).

Mungkin saya nulis ini aja bisa jadi buang-buang waktu, hahaha... Anyway, ini emang penting juga dibahas, karna saya ngga sekali-dua kali ngeliat pertemanan atau hubungan bisnis yang ancur gara-gara gosip, atau tukang gosip. Dan menurut saya penggosip atau gossiper bisa siapa aja, ngga pandang gender. Perempuan selama ini dipercaya sebagai penggosip yang handal, tapi menurut saya laki-laki ngga kalah handalnya, malah kadang lebih rempong.

Nggak gampang emang, menghadapi penggosip. Karna salah langkah dikit aja kita juga bisa ikutan nggosipin orang. Ini penyakit menular yang harus diberantas! Tiap manusia punya kehidupan pribadinya, dan orang lain ngga punya hak penuh untuk ngurusin pilihan atau hidup orang lain. Salah satu temen saya pernah bilang, "whoever gossips to you will someday gossiping about you."

Resep lain ngadepin tukang gosip: diemin aja (kalo kamu yang digosipin), dan kalo gossiper ini ngomongin orang di depan kamu, manggut2 aja sok iya gitu, tapi ngga usah bertindak atau ngomong lebih jauh. abu ngga bakalan ada kalo ngga ada apinya.

Menurut saya ada beberapa tipe gossiper, dari kelasnya sih ada dua:
1. Kelas teri: sukanya ngomongin urusan pribadi orang lain; suka memulai percakapan dengan kata-kata "eh tau nggak..."; membelalakkan matanya kalo denger berita baru sambil bilang "ah masa sih, gw baru denger..."; sering keceplosan ngomong.
2. Kelas kakap: jarang ngomongin urusan orang, tapi kalo masalah ngomongin keburukan kerjaan orang lain, cepet banget deh; biasanya orang yang udah kerja; jarang keceplosan karna udah tau target gosipnya, dan emang biasanya gossiper kelas kakap tujuannya ngerusak reputasi orang dengan sengaja. Kelas inilah yang memicu adanya penelitian2 tentang gosip di lingkungan kerja.

Saya ngaku juga sih, bisa juga dibilang gossiper kelas kakap. Tapi saya ngeri sendiri ngeliat hasilnya. Saya ngerasa lidah ini dikasih kekuatan untuk ngejatuhin reputasi orang dalam sekejap. Gila! nggak lagi2 deh, sumpah. Ngga heran, 'envy' dan 'pride' - 'rasa iri' dan 'sombong' masuk ke dalam Seven Deadly Sins - tujuh dosa yang mematikan. Karna rasa iri sama orang lain dan sombong akan kemampuan diri, kita bisa matiin reputasi orang, semangat orang, dan bahkan hidup orang. Just look at Hitler.

Menjaga hati itu penting - sama dengan menjaga lidah. Kata pepatah lama, "mulutmu harimaumu". eh ini ngomongin mulut atau lidah? :p apa pun deh ya, yang dipakai untuk bicara atau bertutur. Kalo suka bergosip atau punya temen penggosip, ati-ati yee :) n kalo kamu yang digosipin, cuekin aja, gandeng tangan dan bicara dengan orang terdekatmu; orang yang mengenalmu dekat gak akan peduli dengan apapun yang diomongin orang di luar sana ;) dan untuk gossipers, apa perlu sih, dipasang poster kayak di Rusia dulu: Dilarang Menggosip :p

This Soviet war poster conveys the message: "Don't chatter! Gossiping borders on treason" (1941).

apprentice forever

2011-09-20T03:56:00.000-07:00

last week, a client called and ask if we can do portrait tattoos. It's obviously not my thing, but Dimas is able to do it so I told him to bring the references when he comes along. The client, Wawan, then came up on the next day, bringing an interior design magazine. There was a photograph of a beautiful, cozy living room, with two Legong dancer paintings on its wall. He wanted to tattoo the paintings, but its poor resolution from the magazine and lack of information about who the real painter is, made us browse the internet to find other photographs of Legong dancer as reference. Me and Dimas searched on a different time but we're in love with a similar photo, and we both download it into different folders ;)

Eyeing (Legong Dance II), taken on May 30, 2009 by Mr Pius Lee, www.dailytravelphotos.com

Mr Pius Lee began his quest to backpack around the world in 2003. Travel and photography is two of his greatest passions. His website, www.dailytravelphotos.com contains his photography works during traveling, hopefully to relate the beauty and uniqueness of far-away countries that most viewers won't experience first hand. Please visit his website to support his cause! :)

Apparently, it's the 2nd time for Wawan to get tattooed, but it's the first to get it in a professional way (let's say his got his first one as a friend's experiment). He wants the colorful portrait tattoo, so he has to wait for the stencil.

Here's the stencil. It's like wiring on a software program, the lines separates between different color areas to shade. This needs an accurate reading of colors and tones. Yes, 'reading' colors and tones!

I caught his expression before the tattooing process begin. I meant to capture the stencil and the photo reference. In the end of the session, he told me that he was wondering how the result would look like, since he has no idea at all about what needs to be done during the process. Well, his first tattoo was an unsolid tribal.

Dimas Praja during the process. I am very lucky, to have the very opportunity to take a peek over his shoulder during the process. Although I haven't thought about doing color-realism, I learned a lot this way.

two-third of the full swatches

the Legong dancer tattoo, done by Dimas Praja
Photoshopped? to add the black shades for the frame and the studio tag, yes, but NO for the colors!

The result is stunning! Wawan also think so, n he said that he thinks he can spend so much time just to stare at his new tattoo. Dimas has done this kind of work before, but this is the first time I watched over his shoulder. I watched until the last minutes, n my eyes got a bit sweaty looking at this beautiful dancer. My works are mostly illustrative ones, and usually I'm not really into realism tattoos; but I've seen some stellar works which seriously got me stunned and think that I have use every second in my life to learn new things. With a master like Dimas, I swear I'm gonna be his apprentice forever!

this tattoo is also blogged at http://www.carpediemtattoostudio.com

few changes

2011-09-14T19:09:00.000-07:00

ah...here it goes :)

2 stripes = positive

So, my works are all positively made in a smoke-free environment :) It's been 10 weeks now, n things r getting more wicked by now. I didn't feel morning sickness on my 1st pregnancy, but I do now. I really hope my first trimester will pass on soon.

Kartika WeDe's diamond

I still do tattoos, though. I think I can survive up to 4 hours work on one sitting :) Otherwise, I'll tell you if I can't do your tattoo n I'll recommend Dimas Praja to do it, or you can wait til I'll be able to tattoo again :)

reversible bag made for Fika, 30x40 cm

Of course I'll still tinkering n sewing for stroberiHITAM, think it's the only way for me to keep my Zen; despite the fact that I might stop some of my activities such as tattooing...or getting tattooed :p

my tattoo plan, a month ago.

Yes, I have to stop getting new tattoos for a while. I planned to get my favorite artist/writer/director, Mr Alfred Hitchcock tattoo on my shin, which will be done by Dimas Praja, and I got other tattoo plans too; finishing my chestpiece, doing the 7 deadly sins, etc. plan change!

another big plan is, our crafter friends from Jogjakarta is planning a craft carnival on October 2011. smells like a hidden Halloween for me n stroberiHITAM x) I'll slip some info then! ciao!

journals! ....and skulls

2011-08-11T03:42:00.000-07:00

I made these journals lately :)

It has 30 blank A5-sized papers (70 grams), with hard cover I upcycled from 2mm-thick cardboards. I like the outcome, bold covers which can protects brilliant ideas or sketches inside. just leave me a message if anyone interested to buy one (or all), teehee! :)

Anyway, as you can notice that I draw another calavera on the black cover. I don't know why but I can't stop drawing skulls. I even draw this for Kuba, a friend who bought my A4-sized sketchbook with this skull.

and even it has El Muerte on its cover.

By the way, for Indonesian friends, I am now registered in www.olmade.com , which hopefully can be 'Indonesian' etsy. You can find my stuff there :) The admin said that I had creepy stuff (I bet she/he thinks to say it in a good way :)). Creepy it might be, but I always find my inspiration from death and these creepy stuff. It has more meanings behind those creepy, dark look. The darker the source, the merrier I'll be x) And just like I've said some time ago, I try to avoid all-black stuff, and if I made some, I'll add some sweetness into it. Ah, lovelies! :)

Love, love, love!!

2011-07-09T02:33:00.000-07:00

As a start, today is my beloved mother's birthday. Any age won't age her. I love you Mom :)

I have a wonderful month! or summer, if there's any in Indonesia :)
It started few months ago, actually, when I met Mita from Needle n Bitch, Jakarta. She joined the garage sale and handmade bazaar at RumahMomo. Her creations are fantastic, partnered with Rangga, another seam master I met! (Rangga also had a sewing machine tattoo on his arm, most of his family is sewing!)

Anyway, I made a Gorga Jorgom tattoo for Mita, and the trade is this:

I swear that I use this everyday!

Jolly rogers!!

The fabrics were sent after she got back home in Jakarta, n I was so thrilled when the package came! they are sooo gorgeous! Then I turned them into these:

I also made an external hard disk case from the black Jolly Roger fabric, hopefully I'll had time to make the tutorial :)

Then two weeks ago, another package arrived. It's from Ara, my bestfriend from the college victory days. We met again at the music gang reunion last month n she said that she had something for Bebe. On the letter, she said that she hadn't find anything for my birthday, but this is what she found for Bebe:

Winnie the Witch!! :D :D

My favorite page!

It's Winnie the Witch!! I think it's a birthday present for me too! I love, love, this story book!

Then two night before the tattoo fest, me, GC and Bebe went to the annual art festival in our town to visit our friend's booth. We found this same booth which open every year, which sells old, vintage books....and I found this!

Look at the bloody title!!

It has steampunk font-picture for the short-story titles inside!

I was, n still too happy with these! added with new friends from all over places I met at the tattoo fest, surprises, and everything. Thank you all, to remind me how much there is love in this world :) Too many coincidences, too many surprises, too many chances, and its all in your hands if you keep your mind wide open! Have a great weekend!

Having a dream: a creative and learning process

2011-06-23T00:10:00.000-07:00

This is what Jung said about a dream:
"Beside personal dreams, there was an unconscious collective dream, the very backbone of imagination. The manifestation of a certain truth that went beyond the dreamer, as if planned by a higher consciousness, 'the Soul'."

in my other note, I wrote about my strangest dreams. And another strange thing about my dreams are they often solve my problems; mostly in tasks, designs and many improvement. The earliest thing I remember about this is when I learned to ride bicycle. I fell so many times and I promised my Dad I won't try riding a bicycle anymore, til I had this dream that I ride a bicycle, fast. In the other day I tried once more, I felt so relax because I 'know' that I 'ride' that bicycle easily. So, tadaa!! I rode my bike! I think I was 7 years old at the time. The same thing happened with swimming and diving.

It happens on and on, when I had a Biology test in high school, I try to read the whole book the day before exam; and no matter how hard I try to understand, every words I read just passed and left no trace on my mind. And yeah, I dreamed I read the very same book that night, and everything is clear in the morning, I was ready for the exam.

This also works on my college years, when I left my drawing pages blank til I got some very cool architectural dreams. Funny, eh? architectural dreams. As long as I remember the dream looks like someone's playing a filmstrip full of cool images. If such dream happens, it really feels like an exhausting sleep; but I always wake up with fresh ideas and ready to implement any of it.

I've been always wanting to make some sketchbooks, with Japanese stab-binding technique. I tried to make a journal for myself and I still got no idea how to bind the papers. The journal is now accompany me everywhere since it contains my daily agenda and some small sketches (and some shopping lists, too), I like it, but still it has bad, bad binding. I planned to work on more books, but by time the plan fell behind my other projects.

But last night I had a dream. And this morning, I gather all the papers and tools I need, I cut the fabrics and find the perfect thread to make the binding; then I made this in one and half hour:


I drew El Muerte in between tattoo consulting, she came from one of my original tattoo flash in CarpeDiem TattooStudio :)

I'm so happy, and now I'm working on few more sketch books and notebooks. I like the Japanese stab-binding, it's so traditional yet strong; but GC said it's bad for sketchbooks, because papers on sketchbooks are meant to be ripped off. I was like.. "what??" I am not familiar with this concept, because I'm not a person who like to rip something from a book! Well, that's a good input anyway, maybe I'll make some of that for the rippers.

Well, the thing is, I like having such dreams, creative dreams. Some might call it nightmares, because it seems like you keep on thinking and working even when you are supposed to take some rest, but I found it useful. And it is more useful when you dream of failures, cuz you'll be clever enough not to repeat that in the real world.

Have a nice dream!! :)

PS. This supposed to be posted yesterday, but oh holy-blogspot can't upload any pics yesterday. It's posted now anyway! :)

Freaky Friends!

2011-06-20T01:40:00.000-07:00

hell-o!
have I introduced you my Freaky Friends? :)

and more Freaky Friends are coming for Festival Tattoo Istimewa 2011 Yogyakarta, July 1-2, 2011. stroberiHITAM will join booth with CarpeDiem TattooStudio, on venue B, booth 2.

And I will participate in Keraton Yogyakarta logo tattoo performance in July 1, 2PM with 9 other tattooists. See you there! :)

Think before you ink!

2011-06-15T20:14:00.000-07:00

Pada suatu sore ketika seorang kawan sedang ditato, dan kawan-kawan yang lain berkumpul untuk 'menonton' - seperti biasa, muncul cerita-cerita tentang pengalaman seputar tato. Dari si A yang kecewa karena cover-up tato lamanya jadi semakin gak keruan, si B yang tatonya salah eja, sampai si C yang panik karena muncul bintik2 seperti cacar setelah selesai ditato. Dan parahnya lagi, dari cerita si C, ada yang bilang kalau ternyata jarumnya belum diganti. Oh no!

Cerita-cerita 'klasik' yang saya dapat dari teman2, tapi kalo dibilang 'klasik' kok ya gitu amat ya (hari gini kok nggak ganti jarum?). Kesimpulan yang saya dapat dari temen2 adalah bahwa mereka cukup menyesal - karena tatonya tidak seperti yang diharapkan, atau karena tatonya jadi beresiko tinggi bawa penyakit. Pertanyaan berikutnya...kok bisa? Emangnya sebelum tato gak dipikir dulu? Mikir tentang akan ditato atau nggak menurut saya bukan dari sudut pandang 'entar-saya-mau-kerja-apa' doang, tapi termasuk kompetensi orang yang bakal ngegambar di kulit saya itu. Apa karakter gambarnya sesuai dengan hasil yang saya pengenin? Prosedur bersih2nya dia gimana sih? Macem2 deh, sampe pada akhirnya berbuntut pada masalah harga yang sepadan atau nggak dengan hasil karyanya.

Sebagai kolektor, saya tau rasanya bangga punya tato yang bagus, dan ikut sedih juga liat tato yang (maap ya) jelek. Pas belajar nato aja saya sedih kalo hasil saya jelek. Soalnya itu bakal nempel selama2nya... Saran saya aja buat temen2, beberapa hal yang pentiiing banget dipikir sebelum mau buat tato:

1. Pilih gambar yang bener. Kalo perlu, riset dulu dan cari tau tentang makna/artinya. Bagi saya pribadi walaupun hasil tatonya gak terlalu bagus, tapi seenggaknya ada maknanya. Kalo tulisan, cari ejaan yang paling benar.

2. Pilih tattooist yang karakter gambarnya sesuai dengan hasil tato yang kamu pengenin. Misalnya, pilih tattooist yang emang ahli tato realis untuk bikin tato portrait.

3. Kamu berhak untuk tanya (dan liat) tentang prosedur sterilisasi alat-alat.

4. Harus sabar. Bikin desain tato gak sama dengan nempel stiker di kulkas, jadi tahap konsultasi itu emang perlu. Biasanya kan juga disediain konsultasi gratis, jadi ya dimanfaatin aja :)

Sebenernya masih buanyak yang perlu jadi pertimbangan. Misalnya aja harga, yang jadi alasan kenapa temen2 saya yang 'nyesel' itu jadi mulai giat menabung untuk dapat tato yang lebih bagus dan 'sehat'. Menjadi anggota 'masyarakat bertato' mungkin memang punya kebanggaan tersendiri, tapi kan alangkah akan lebih bangga kalau tatonya bagus2 dan punya makna :) So, think before you ink!

-----
On an afternoon when a friend get inked, and more friends came along to the studio to 'watch' the process - as usual, more stories were shared about their experiences on being tattooed. This A guy who got disappointed because his cover-up tattoo is getting worse (everytime it got covered up), B who got a misspelled lettering tattoo, and C who got panicked because she got pox-like spots around her fresh tattoo. And the worse thing was, someone said that the tattooer didn't use new needles when he tattooed C. Oh no!

These 'classic' stories I heard..but this is really bad 'classic' stories (how can one doesn't use disposable needles?). One thing I got from their stories is that they regret these experiences - because the tattoo result is far from what they really want, or because their tattoo is highly-risked in infections. And the next question is...how could it be? Do they think about this before they get tattooed? To think about getting tattooed or not, in my opinion, is not only to think about 'what-kind-of-job-am-i-gonna-do-later', but also think about the skill and competence of the person who will put his/her work on my skin. Is he/she got the design characteristic I want? How's his/her cleaning procedures? There are so many things to think of, to the price we should pay for, is it worthy for the tattoo work done.

As a collector, I know how proud I am to have a good tattoo, and I know how it feels when I see a bad tattoo. When I learn to tattoo, I am so pissed and sad with my bad result. Because it will last FOREVER on the skin. These are some suggestions of what should you think before you want to get tattoos:

1. Choose the right design. If appropriate, do some research and find out about the meanings. Personally, I think even a tattoo doesn't turn out really good, it can get really good if it has meaning. If you think about lettering, find out the right spelling.

2. Choose a tattooist which tattoo character is appropriate with the tattoo result you expected. For example, choose someone who is good in realism to make portrait tattoos.

3. You have the right to ask (and see) about the sterilization procedures.

4. Be patient. Making a tattoo design is not like sticking a fancy stickers on your fridge, so consulting process is recommended and highly needed. Many tattoo studios are giving their consulting time for free, so why don't you use it :)

Actually there are lots to be think of. Such as price, which is one reason why my 'regretful' friends are now start to save more to get a better and 'healthier' tattoos. To be the part of 'tattooed people' might have a certain pride, but ain't we'll gonna be prouder if we get good, meaningful tattoos? :) So, think before you ink!

published on Magic Ink Tattoo Magazine vol. 10, you can download it for free! :)

few closer steps!

2011-05-22T20:31:00.000-07:00

not only one step closer, oh well...I couldn't expect more, I'm so happy! :)

May 19, 2011 was my graduation day. The ceremonial thing, I mean. I already graduated on April 25, n I actually didn't want to attend the ceremony (it's boring! n cost more $$). But I think it's important to make everyone happy (Mom, Dad, in-laws, GC...) so there there, I am wearing that black outfit:

and that's my lil metalhead brother, Nugi.
He also just graduated from high school and
now he's gonna attend his first college year. good luck, bro!

Other thing is I got a new tattoo, too!

It's Bebe's portrait on my left arm, done by Dhomas Kampret Yudhistira . He's a genius artist! I also interviewed him for Magic Ink free tattoo magazine, for the artist profile section, check it out! :)

While Bebe's portrait was done a month ago, I got another tattoo again (!) on my left leg, a raven with skull, done by Yudha Inkslinger. I am so loving it! I'm gonna add the pic soon after it heals! <3


the Red Jasper pendant

Last thing for today, after registered for almost a year on Etsy, I finally opened my Etsy shop last night! I'm still a bit lost in the darkness (then I thought that's where I live in all these times, lol), but then I think I can handle it, with lotsa help from vantiani and other friends too! :)

And today, my Red Jasper pendant is on two treasuries already! what a wonderful surprise for my holiday! (Monday is my holiday ;))

oh and last night I went to LIRshop in Baciro, met the wonderful host Miy and her pair Mr. Dito, and Ojan n Putri too! LIRshop is still on its progress (its' soft opening til May 31, 2011), but I think it's gonna be a wonderful ~~hideaway~~ place to hang out and relaxing. Also a wonderful chat with Ojan and Putri about the handmade syndication we plan for local crafter friends, oh everything is just so inspiring!

Catch ya later!
nowplaying: Marilyn Manson - This is Halloween

.: sickdolls :. lookbook!

2011-05-15T07:04:00.000-07:00

Rainy days are so over!!!.....for approximately 8 hours....
fortunately me n my sister made our time to take photographs for
.: sickdolls :. lookbook this morning!
the outfit ranges from stroberiHITAM's accessories to ol' good dresses we match up! it's the unprofessional photographers who worked (me n my sister, hehe!) but I still love how they come out :)

just check stroberiHITAM's facebook page to find out the price ;)

Handmade bazaar, atau gathering kecil? :)

2011-05-14T03:18:00.000-07:00

berhubung hanya sedikit yang partisipasi, blom bisa dibilang bazaar kali ya, sebenernya :) masih banyak kekurangan di event kecil kemarin, dari kurang pawang ujan dan terutama publikasi, yang dateng gak terlalu banyak, tapi menurut saya sih cukup menyenangkan karna bisa ketemu sebagian temen2 crafter di Jogja; seperti Ojan dan Putri dari Nest of Ojanto, Iid dan Kiky dari Hellobleu, Ajeng dan mas Huda dari Sisyphus Storage, dan yang jauh2 dateng dari jekerda: Mita dan Rangga dari Needle n Bitch.

-ngomong2, kok cuma gw yang ga punya partner ya? hohoho :P

eniwei, saya switch ke mode bahasa Indonesia yaaa...kadang kalo pake bahasa inggris gokil khas indonesianya suka gak keluar :P

Ohya, di hari pertama, mas Paulus Phoek sempet dateng berkunjung dan belanja, hohoho...sepertinya beliau emang berniat mengkoleksi setidaknya satu produk dari masing2 booth ;) Dan maap sekaliii berhubung kameranya sedang dibawa laki saya ke Bali, jadi ga bisa otop2 deh. Beberapa foto ini nyolong dari fbnya Kiky Hellobleu dan blognya mas Paulus. Di hari kedua Bebe ikut merusuh serta workshop buat boneka jahe dari kain felt :D

Hellobleu's dolls n plushies. COLORS!

Hellobleu's dolls n Ojanto's pouches. COLORS again!

stroberiHITAM, sebelum gazebonya join bareng Sisyphus Storage dan Needle n Bitch

si Ndundut kecil yang ngerusuhin tante Kiky di hari kedua, dapet jepit bunga deh. makasih Kiky! :)

setelah lari2an sana sini, nyomot salah satu kartunya Needle n Bitch dan mulai corat coret ;) ini Bebe foto karyanya sendiri pake kameranya Kiky

ini juga jepretan Bebe. Rangga dan Mita yang bertandang dari Institut A, Depok, Jakarta.

stroberiHITAM + Sisyphus Storage. Needle n Bitch datengnya agak sore karna ngecer angkutan dari Jakarta ke Jogja. begitu Needle n Bitch dateng, standnya jadi makin warna warni dan penuuh :D

stroberiHITAM's stuff. Pohon-pohonan besi itu udah jadi mimpi sejak lama, n the credit goes to mas BejoUntungLucky, yang udah nyempetin untuk ngelas besi itu satu2...thanks! :D

nah itu dia, di belakang udah digantung2in tas2 lucunya Needle n Bitch! :D

Walaupun gak terlalu rame, sebenernya asik juga sih untuk latian buka lapak, hehe. dari jam buka yang kudu on time, ngitungin barang bawaan sampe loading dan unloading barang. Muncul juga obrolan asik tentang gangbang buka lapak untuk empat brand sekaligus (di stand2 event gede yg harga lapaknya masih mahal), bikin sindikasi handmade untuk di Jogja, sampe Kiky dan Iid yang katanya mau beli Tossa dan jualan di depan SD pas bubaran sekolah (hihihihih), ato buka lapak di parkiran JCC pas acara Inacraft taun depan :P

Sekarang ini, Nest of Ojanto lagi ikut Crafty Days #5nya Tobucil di Bandung, dan Hellobleu lagi buka lapak di garage salenya IVAA di Jl Patehan, Jogjakarta. stroberiHITAM lagi ngaso di rumah, jait2 tas, sambil mikir untuk terlepas dari status quo di tengah malam :P

Seenggaknya muncul beberapa wacana dari temen2 crafter yang udah ketemuan ini, dan ternyata semuanya punya mimpi atau keinginan yang sama, yaitu ~~membela kebenaran~~ bikin acara craft day dimana semua crafter Jogjakarta bisa ikutan dan ~~barang dagangan kudu laris~~ ada workshopnya juga. yuukk....

SEMANGKAAAA eh SEMANGAT! :D

Anak-anak Angin (part 1)

2011-05-12T08:12:00.000-07:00

prelude:
I've decided to put some of my old short stories/poem, some are in Indonesian, n some are in English :) enjoy!

Saya memutuskan untuk mempublish beberapa cerpen/puisi disini (udah dipublish sih, paling ke notes di fb :P) beberapa dalam bahasa Indonesia, dan beberapa lagi berbahasa Inggris. sumonggo! :D
----------------------------------------------------------

kamu tahu, aku tidak pernah takut hujan.
kukira kamu takut, dengan gelegar petir dan hembusan angin.

tapi melihatmu tersenyum di tengahnya,
telapak kecil yang berkecipak riang di genangannya.
aku tergoda.

berdansa, berpelukan denganmu ditengahnya.
tertawa dan mencium senyummu.
mencium matamu yang seperti mata tombak,
menembus kebekuan.

dan yang kuinginkan sekarang adalah hujan seperti ini yang tidak lekang dimakan waktu.
aku dan kamu tidak takut hujan.
karena kita adalah anak-anak Angin.

kamu tahu, hantu kecilku?
aku sayang kamu selamanya.

piling up!

2011-05-04T08:13:00.000-07:00

wow...this is a busy week.
Since I was busy with my final campus project, I stopped making things: jewelries, bags, plushies, dolls, anything. I started a few soon after the final presentation, tho, but still it's not enough for this weekend's garage sale and handmade bazaar.

These are few things I made in last two weeks

Black roses earrings, aluminum

cream rose ring, resin

red rose ring, resin

the friendship ring, 3mm iron plate. There's a big gunungan-like pendant, with small globe and dove for the small charms. It has sold as a friendship present :)

The seven deadly skulls bracelet, stainless steel casts. It has seven skulls and six crosses, and as you can see, the cross has small Jesus on it :)

The tweet and keys bracelet, stainless steel cast and plate.

These babies are available on this weekend bazaar (May 7-8, 2011). Or if you feel you wanna buy it before the bazaar, just e-mail me at stroberihitam@yahoo.com :)

I also got some new lines for tote bags, "Nevermore." which I took from one of my favorite poem, "The Raven" by Mr. Edgar Allan Poe. You can check here for more of his stories :) It hasn't finished yet, just wait n see :)

Handmade bazaar! - the silent propaganda ;)

2011-04-30T02:26:00.000-07:00

hello!
I'm so excited!
Last month, I heard RumahMomo arranged a garage sale. RumahMomo is Shanty and Adam's house, Shanty reads tarot (and she's good at it ;)). Anyway, yeah, they arranged that for some college girls. The place is homy n it's not even held in their garage. It's on their backgarden! So I think it's perfect to arrange another garage sale, and a handmade bazaar, since in Jogjakarta, there's rarely space left for the crafters (too many creative people! it's an arty city anyway!) to sell their handmades, and such events are rarely held (or even it was, it's scope is kinda small).

Then I soon contacted Ojan and Putri from Nest of Ojanto, n soon after, Kiky from hellobleu! contacted me said she wanna join the bazaar. Aah, all the excitement! stroberiHITAM will gonna share booth with Needle n Bitch from Depok, Jakarta. The last person I contacted was Ajeng who likes painting sunglasses (!) n cellphone cases. She got lotsa stuff too, check it out at her Sisyphus Storage. check the links out to get some sights about what will they sell at the bazaar! :)

The garage sale and handmade bazaar itself will be held at May 7-8, 2011, from 1PM til drop!
Here's the leaflet and the map!

be there!!
I hope the event will go well, n hopefully can arrange the handmade bazaar every month, with different tenants, of course! The space is limited, so even after the registration is closed, some ppl still texted n ask if they can join the bazaar/garage sale. Yup, the excitement! :)

I'm preparing lotsa stuff for stroberiHITAM. This whole weekend I'm gonna busy assembling my jewelry findings, sewing this n that, painting, printing n more! Yaay! see you there!

BALGA spoiler ;)

2011-04-15T01:39:00.000-07:00

I am sooo sorry for being always late updating anything. But hell yea, I graduate!!! :D
although I still have no idea with what I'm gonna do with my architecture bachelor degree, my agenda is quickly filled with tattooing schedule, tattoo workshops n talks, n crafting time!

I did this when I was too tired to draw the museum preliminary drawings. It's a tote bag with BALGA fairy. BALGA in Batak language means big, and this a hundred-tote-bags project is for BALGA, a clothing and accessories line run by Mrs. Riri Bogar which will be launched around July (so I think this is a spoiler for that ;). A spoiler and a sample, too. For the clothing line, BALGA derives to Besar, Asik, Lucu, GAya (Big, cool, funny and stylish, in English ;)). Oh I almost forget to tell, that this clothing and accessories line is proudly presented for extra-large girls!

I painted the fairy for the start. On the next different, various designs of the tote bags (means another 99 bags), I'm gonna mix the painting with ribbons, buttons n maybe some laces. I'm still wondering if I can finish it on time...well, I can do it! ;)

Hello 2011!! :) more stitchings, sewings, metalworks, and a Stylish Blogger Award :D

2011-02-19T05:14:00.000-08:00

whoa! I've been on winter and spring break, huh? or since I'm in Jogjakarta, Indonesia, I'll call it volcano-break.... yup, the enormous Mt. Merapi erupted during November-December, and it affects lots of people and areas. Me and couple of friends set up Teman Bermain for kids on several refugee camps. We got lots of donation (thanks Paypal, facebook, twitter and other internet social networks for making it fast!), and I made the blog as a report. check it out ;) The program is planned to continue, but the volunteers seem quite busy lately. Hopefully we can visit the kids again as soon as possible! some of them are back home safe, but some are still on shelters since their villages are devastated :(

So what's up?
I've been on the final project program at the campus, to finish my study on architecture. I missed the October period, thus I spent Nov-Dec 2010 to finish around 30pages of preliminary drawings for the in-studio period I'm in now. Check drawings out to take a peek of some of the drawings I did ;) FYI, I made a tattoo museum (and the studio, too) for the final project. Until March 28, I have to finish 20 construction drawings in A2 paper, and the building model too. wish me luck! :)

in Dec 18-19, 2010, stroberiHITAM traveled to Bandung, joined CarpeDiem TattooStudio in Bandung Body Art Fest. I brought stroberiHITAM jewelries and stitchings. I also made few Frankenstein pouch and an 8-ball pouch (which might I use it myself, it's fit for a tattoo machine ;))

that's the booth + the table, before I get a jet-black sheet to cover the orange thingy x) I sew the floral dress, too! That's my first dress, I'm so excited. It's a bit too long, I intended to make a halter top :)

And this is one of the Frankensteins, I made seven Frankies with different emotion/mood :) The skulls were there too, except Alex which had found his home in Norway. Thanks, Malene :)

I made this filigree cuff. I use small wires, my eyes almost get twisted every time I had to stop the work (to do something else) and started it again, but it's sooo fun to do! This black filigree is for sale :)

I was in-between jobs (campus, tattoo studio, translating, blogging, etc), yeah I am blogging, but not on this one. I'm also trying to keep updates for CarpeDiem TattooStudio's blog. Well, who say blogging is easy? one blog, yeah maybe...but two? or three? I only wish I have 3x24 hours for a day, I wish, I wish :)

And guess what???

My dear friend, Ojan, awarded me a blog award, he posted it at Dec 16, but I've just read it a few weeks ago! stupid me! I am sorry, and thank you so much! :) It's a 'Stylish Blogger Award' :)

So what should I do with this award?

1. Thank and link to the person who awarded me this award:

Yaaayyy thanks Ojan!! I linked the blog on your name before :)

2. Share 8 things about myself:

- I simply love making things: drawings/sketches, painting, sewing, writing, etc.

- I like window-shopping, but don't really like to shop. I always think that if I think I can make it (a dress, or a note book), I'll just make that at home. I think this is one reason why GC married me :p

- I love making friends with new people

- I am now working as a shopkeeper/manager/tattooist (rookie one) at CarpeDiem TattooStudio, contributing on Magic Ink (the first free tattoo magazine in Indonesia), and still dreaming to write a book about tattoo for Indonesia.

- stroberiHITAM is a collaboration name between me and my bestfriend, Christina Sunario. She likes my ideas for crafting; and when I searched for a brand name she mentioned 'stroberi' (or strawberry), her favorite fruit, and I added 'hitam' (or black), for its my favorite color.

- stroberiHITAM's very first product is black strawberries key holder, from flannel scraps. They are black, with red spots (the negative color from a normal strawberry). I gave them as giveaways to my bestfriends, Christina and Ara, who gave me inspirations n supports in the early time of stroberiHITAM.

- Seriously, one reason why I choose fabric as crafting medium (besides metals), is to stop smoking. Yep, you can't smoke while you're sewing/embroidering something.

- I am open to fresh/new ideas, even the old ones are still interesting for me :)

3. Pay it forward to 8 bloggers that I have recently discovered.

- mylife | Jakarta | http://wwwmythoughtandlife.blogspot.com/ <--- you believe it or not, this is my mother's blog! check her out ;)

- Nyala | Bandung | http://ih-nyala.blogspot.com/ <--- I love her creations!

- Vantiani | Jakarta | http://vanillavain.blogspot.com/ <--- an old friend :) her latest post mentioned that she'll have a new blog, but she havn't announce it yet

- El Kampretto Fatalogy Fataloque | Jogjakarta | http://fatalogyfataloque.blogspot.com/

- alwayslovecandy | Jogjakarta | http://mylittlelolipop.wordpress.com/

- CarpeDiem TattooStudio | Jogjakarta | http://carpediemtattoo.wordpress.com <--- am I being narcistic? no, it's the other me who write on the blog ;p

- cukupgadisgelap | Jogjakarta | http://www.cukupgadisgelap.blogspot.com/

- akusukasenja | Jogjakarta | http://akusukasenja.blogspot.com/

4. Contact those blogger and tell them about their awards:

Can I do it tomorrow? promise :D it's raining heavily out there and it's thundering. kinda freaked out xP

Sooo....

Next weekend, stroberiHITAM will join CarpeDiem TattooStudio again in Modern Tattoo Culture event in Semarang, Feb 26-27...I'm open too for tattoo appointments at the venue :) I hope I can keep updates about what I'm up to. Thank you for reading! :)

more handstitchings, and Happy Halloween!

2010-11-01T00:41:00.000-07:00

lalala....it was a silent Halloween for me (which I expected). so, no trick-o-treat or party. It's a year after my Grandma's passed away from her complications.

And still, as I stated somewhere in the internet :p If skulls are related with Halloween, thus everyday is Halloween for me. It's not being 'gothic' or 'morbid' or whatsoever ppl calls it, but I think it's like remembering the deads, remember that we are all mortal, that there is an end for this beautiful life, thus we have to live the day like there's no tomorrow. Carpe Diem :)

Anyway, I came over this skull projects two days ago, while I was searching references for Tibet skulls for one of GC's drawing. It started as a personal project to make a skull a day from anything he can reach, and the project is now growing and he accepts submissions from many ppl around the world who makes the art of skull imagery. The project is a very good idea, to trigger creativity by using various media and focusing to a particular subject. One art piece every day, to a year. That is fabulous.

One day back then I pledged myself to make one piece of art, whether it's a jewelry, sewing products or just a sketch, just to keep myself being creative. This lovely exercise book is also helpful! I get this copy from my GC's mother :)

Caffeine for the Creative Mind. Good for stretching ideas!! :)

This is another tote bag I made for Sarah Cootoo. It's size is similar with the one I made here. The difference is since this polkadot skull tote bag is using zipper, it becomes irreversible! But I added a black pocket on its lining :)

Stuffed skull detail.. It was a fun piece to do! :)

The interior and the black pocket. I love the zipper color!

I also made a matching pencil case. They look sweet!! I had much fun with this polkadots x)

I haven't publish this one... a hand-stitched black dragon tote bag. I made this in a week! At the time it's finished I promised not to do any dragon piece anymore, handstitching the scales is so time-consuming (and exhausting!). I made the bag in small size (A4+ paper), but surprisingly I can load 4 copies of my 75-pages thesis with this tote bag. Is it because of the Black Dragon? :)

and this is FOR SALE! Anyone interested please contact me at stroberihitam@yahoo.com :)

Mt. Merapi is still in its active power, and was exploded this morning. Me and GC heard a BOOM!! at 10ish AM. Don't worry, we're in the city which is about 30-40 kilometers from mountain top. The ashes gets here, though. That's why I have to stay home all day long...

October Rings and Mt. Merapi Alert

2010-10-26T00:45:00.000-07:00

Another quick post! teehee x) I am still amazed how I can magically wrapped with tons of sketches/drawings, wire and metal works, and tattoo works. I have finally managed my workstations (for stroberiHITAM's handsewing and metal works) and reducing the mess I usually made in the tattoo shop and the living room. Ooh I also finally finish my thesis (yaaayy!!! :D) and now I am registered in the final studio. Hopefully I can reach graduation on May 2011 :)

So here are some of my in-between works :)

a Black Rose ring for Mini.Me's Mita. This is one of my favorites so far. I think I should own one, too! :)

Rosey ring. Stainless steel and copper wire

Black simplicity ring. I love how it can be sooo adjustable. This one is sized 6.

Lil Daisy. I'm thinking to chrome the copper wire. Will it last long? any suggestion?

There are still some works I haven't photographed yet. The gorgeous Mount Merapi is gaining power of 3 TIMES that of the previous three eruptions. "Merapi" literally means Fire. It looks like somebody is keep switching 'on' and 'off' for sun light, so its really difficult to get the right lighting for photographs. The high-risk of small tornadoes are around, so I try to do all my works at home. At this point, even though the disasters are so close, life has been going on as usual here, so don't worry. It seems that no one is really afraid, as if its a part of everyday life here.

anyway, it's only a week away to Halloween!!! I need Bella Lugosi movies :D
have a great week, everyone! :)

Handstitchings

2010-10-06T03:32:00.000-07:00

wow what a busy week I had!! so I'll make this a quick post.

I start hand-stitching again n making embroideries. This is my first again ever since forever, and I make this into a large-sized tote bag...the Carpe Diem is an ambigram, an original artwork by John Langdon. My bestfriend Ara bought this a day after I upload the picture on my personal facebook page.

While this one is a reversible tote bag...I put a bean-filled skull on the black side. A friend of mine bought it just few hours after I finished this.

And this one below is a small reversible tote bag... The size fits Bebe. I love its round corner, and I have a purse with the same floral pattern! I'll post the purse tutorial later, after I finished this and that ;)

Sewing Craze!!

2010-09-28T19:08:00.000-07:00

Hi!!! ooh it's been quite awhile!!
I've been running my activities haphazardly....during Ied holiday, it's also Bebe's holiday, so me, GC and Bebe spent most of our times together...and people are keep coming to our tattoo studio too (even in Ied!), while I also have to keep my regular visit to the metal workshop (in rainy days), keeping up with my thesis revise progress, etc, etc...oh but that was fun after all :)

Anyway, stroberiHITAM got many request from metal works n I already add em to the project list at the workshop, so while I'm waiting the metal works finished, I was thinking for something else to craft - to sew, specifically. The problem is, I haven't got time to learn sewing with machine, so I was doing all my sewing projects manually, just like I did with Bebe's yukata.

I remembered my Mom's saying that it's lot easier and comprehensive to cook, than to sew. If you cook something and it's failed, at least you can eat it (in fact when nobody else would eat it, at least I'll eat em up unless it's really inedible :p)..but when you sew and you fail, all you get is rags n unfinished pieces of failed-cut pattern. So realizing I'm far from a novice seamstress, I started with something lots easier which I can stitch by hands.

For this pencil case, before I made the pencil case I was thinking to mix metal with fabrics and I was eager to make a spider web from stainless steel wires. I was using a 1 mm and 0.3 mm stainless steel wire for the spider web, and stitched a butterfly charm into the pencil case :)

Then I made another one with a different model! and I think I like the other one more... I haven't get a more clearer picture of the second case, I used a black lace fabric above a black cotton fabric (maybe I should use a more contrasting lining fabric). I love how it turns out, it looks sexy ;)

And these colorful key holders!! It has the same size as a wristband so you can hold the keys while looked like you're wearing a colorful wristband :)

These are some of my warming up project for stroberiHITAM's sewing department :) I've already made (and sold) some tote bags too :) Alas, I'm so happy to find more crafts to do when I have pending metal works! <3

PS. I didn't say that I don't like cooking. check here to see my apple pie tutorial ;)

Upcycling for Packagings!

2010-09-10T08:12:00.000-07:00

I remember my first sent package, it was all wrapped with plastic! cliplocks, stretched plastic wrap, etc...n it turns to look like a bulk of 'something' rather than what I'd like to say my 'babies'. Indeed, I want to protect them, but then I remember that I myself like to keep my precious things in a kind of fancy storage/boxes. So why don't I make them also to complete the package?

By the way, GC's Mom is fond to buy medicines. It's not that she's paranoid about being ill, but she often forget that she already buy something. An eye-drop, for example, she can buy it like three times a month. That means three boxes of eye-drops. Imagine more boxes from things she bought. And not only boxes, but also gift-wrap fancy papers. At the time, there are five large papers on the cupboard, three in the living room, two in the bedroom and umm...four in her car.

So I gathered em all and wrapped the boxes

And now is the paper stack!! No, not newspapers... One day I cleaned up our tattoo studio n filed used sketches for tattoos n motorcycles. And later I found out that we're using too many papers. Some are used only to write a customer's phone number (which can be written on a smaller piece of paper), and many failed printings. I got pretty much things from these. Other papers are from village meeting invitations, insurance reports and phone bills.

And in that beautiful afternoon, since I don't have any paper shredder yet, I cut em into small pieces

Then I get a bag full of cut papers, they're good for packaging fillings :)

I like how it looks as a packaging to send my babies... I try to keep it simple, to remind fellows to appreciate handmades and also to remind how actually there are so many small things around us which are still very useful! This way, I reduce my own use for plastic wrappings. I hope this also can encourage people to reduce plastic use :)

And now I'm gonna save some money to buy paper shredder!

Roses for everything

2010-08-21T07:39:00.000-07:00

It was started from a short call from my bestfriend, Christina, invited me and GC to attend her wedding on October (!!). I was so thrilled and happy, because she has a long-lasting (and good!) relationship with his husband-to-be, our senior at college whom we call 'Kak Dona'. And now I wonder if she still call him 'Kak' after the wedding, haha.

So, she saw this upcycled jet black velvet Chrysanthemum earrings on my online shop...

She bought them, and asked me if I can make a pair of roses. And in particular, white roses earrings, to be worn at her full-of-roses wedding :) So here they come...

White roses earrings, upcycled from white chiffon rags

Then I made more roses! I put a spell on cotton shirt rags n here they come!

I love them so much! I use them as hairpins at this time. The black roses are JET BLACK, it looks perfect on bright-colored hair. And the red ones are too cute on jet black hair ;) oh these hairpins are for sale, it costs IDR 10.000 for the big hairpin (three roses) and IDR 8.000 for the small ones (two roses). And I'll make em as giveaways if you shop more than IDR 50.000! :)

Send me e-mails and I'll send you stroberiHITAM catalogue, or you can simply add stroberiHITAM on facebook and check its album :)

Helloween is coming earlier!

2010-08-20T00:37:00.000-07:00

hmm the first time I put these pretty skulls on bracelets and earrings, I don't think it will sold. I wasn't being pessimistic though, but I don't want to be too segmented in designs - like a particular clothing line, which then is identical with a punkrock/gothic scene - cuz I myself like to experiment with so many things and I don't wanna fall into a particular genre. If there is a genre, I hope the designs reflects my personality, or at least, my very point of view.

oh ANYWAY, here they come..

These copper roses n skulls went in a set; earrings n bracelet

And these went in a set, too :)

Simple skulls earrings, small and large :)

A custom anklet, with skulls, shells n a butterfly :)

And some girls are still asking me whether I still have my pretty skull pendants in my stock. I am running out of them, but now I am producing more pretty skulls from silver n brass - and now it will be in medium size. All my babies above are sold, n it was a surprise for me. Since then, I learn not to underestimate my own thoughts :)

Needlebars Upcycling

2010-08-19T00:52:00.000-07:00

Anyone who familiar with tattooing must know what a tattoo needle bar is. It's usually made from stainless steel, with needles attached on its one point. After used, the needle are removed into a safe container, and the needle bars are cleaned and sterilized. Sterilized needle bars can be re-attached with new needles - if tattooist is making his/her own needles; or simply keep them in a safe place to be used in the future.

As most tattoo needles are mass-produced in a factory nowadays, I found used/sterilized needle bars are kept still in a safe place, laying idle or the tattooist simply store em into the local metalsmiths. I like it's shiny look, and it is stainless steel, which usually don't cause allergetic reaction to skins. So, why can't I turn it into something beautiful?

At the first time, it was a stressing attempt, trying to bend a 2mm stainless steel manually. Then I told my new friend, Karl (she is also making jewelries), about upcycling these needle bars n tell her how difficult it is to bend a stainless steel. But she did it! The picture above is our first try (the left piece is Karl's, and the right piece is mine). I wired the tiny skulls after the stressing bending session.

GC (Dimas Praja), my husband, likes the idea to use needle bars - n he is a tattooist too (you can see his works at CarpeDiem Tattoo Studio's page on facebook or here). He asked me to make something for him from needle bars, n last night I made this:

Oh I like how it turns out!! I asked him whether if he gonna make it as a necklace pendant (but I don't think it's gonna fit, it appears much like a flower with skull petals :)), but he uses it as a pair for the ashes locket I gave him at the other day. It's also a beautiful locket, with a leaf sheet to put cigar n filigree engraving on the locket top. I love em both!

Genius Loci

2010-08-17T02:24:00.000-07:00

It was once said a protective spirit of place.
I am an Indonesian. For most Indonesian people, it's still common to ask "Where do you come from?" the answer is various; it could be Jakarta, Jogja, Palembang, Surabaya, Bali, etc. Usually, the answer is depends on where the person was born, or where their parents come from. For me, this is very confusing.

I was born in Jakarta. I live in the borderline of Jakarta and West Java, thus I live in a mix of Sundanese-Batavian environment (it's a chaotic cultural mix, really). People surrounds me talk in Sundanese and Batavian. While my mother was born in Bogor, her parents r part Javanese (my grandpa is from Kulonprogo, Jogjakarta); and my father was born in Solo (a pure Javanese). SO, what gets me confused is I can't say I come from Jakarta, because I don't really live in that overcrowded city; I am also not a Sundanese, I can speak it but I feel I don't have any relation/connection with Sundanese culture; and as a Javanese, I cannot speak Javanese fluently (in ngoko Javanese, maybe, but not in krama inggil) and I only live the 'real' Javanese life for these late seven years, when I decided to stay in Jogja.

PLUS I am tattooed, and there's no tattooing tradition in Java Island. at all. or maybe there was, a rajah (but it's invisible). Tattooed tribes in Indonesia mostly come from Siberut Islands (West Sumatra), Borneo, some of Flores n Moluccas islands.

So I'll just plainly (and proudly) says that I am Indonesian.

Today is Indonesia's 65th independence day. I saw various posts/comments about the I-day. My conclusion about these comments is that most people is disappointed, tired, and confused. Disappointed with the government, tired to put hope, and confused about what to do actually.

I have no comment about the government (doesn't mean that I don't care, but more friends r already up for the govies now). Some people r tired (n bored) to do the same thing on daily basis, working for big corporations n blablabla...n these peeps r actually realize that something is wrong, but some r already in their comfort zone (good wages!) n acting blind n deaf, n some r too tired n so helpless even to get out from the system ("what should I do next?").

That stroberiHITAM is my very personal dream....
I wouldn't say that this is another Do-It-Yourself program. I don't affiliate with any institutions/community. I don't make everything by myself. I design, I mix-n-match n I assemble. I work with local silversmiths, I work with local tailor, n I do trade designs/ideas with other designers.

And that's why I put Rosie the Riveter as stroberiHITAM's first profile picture on facebook. I like her gesture n the tagline "WE CAN DO IT!"

I'd love to encourage fellows silversmiths/goldsmiths, tailors, designers, n especially Indonesian people, to start believe that the intelligent spirit or magical power of life is still resides somewhere in this large country. We are parts of the land, n I hope stroberiHITAM can help increasing people's morale n show that Indonesian crafters r HELLA GOOD!!!

Happy Independence Day, cheers!!

stroberiHITAM's first item

2010-08-16T05:37:00.000-07:00

ah, so I 've just starting a blog for stroberiHITAM ;)
I am interested in making too many things; clothes, jewelries, bags, etc... n at some point I realize at least I have to start in one thing. This is my very first try, I made a small, cute, one-piece yukata for my daughter, Bella. She was 2 years old when I made this (it's about a year ago). I sewn it by myself, it took quite awhile until I get the right pattern for the yukata :)

I found a nice strawberry-themed fabric, n with black background!! it's a perfect thing for stroberiHITAM's start. AND by the way, I did the manual sewing, so it took a frikkin three days to finish this yukata. hahaha. yeah, I didn't think of this as a commercial thingy, I was just about to make something beautiful for Bella to wear. I remembered when my Mom made me clothes n I waited beside her to finish my skirt. It might not the most fashionable skirt in the world (and in-between my friends' expensive ones), but I was so proud to wear that!

TADAAA!!!! I was so happy at last I finished that yukata piece on the 3rd day, although she could only wear this Strawberry Yukata for about 4 months since she grows larger n taller. I still keep this personal piece, n wonder when will I start sewing again, because I am very into metalworks very much now :) check for more updates about my metalworks :)