WW: Tenun Karawo from Gorontalo

How I love wearing the traditional fabrics from my beloved country, Indonesia.

And I have to say I am blessed and extremely lucky to have my dearest friend, Agus Lahinta, sending this beautiful piece of Karawo dress proudly made by Rumah Saronde, Gorontalo.

Karawo is the traditional embroidery from Gorontalo, Sulawesi. 

Meticulously handcrafted, it takes months to create one, particularly with its special patterns. Most of them are in the forms of flowers and geometric patterns of colors.
Let's take a closer look ..

I haven't seen the process of making it myself, but citing it from the website of the Provicial Government of Gorontalo, the making of  this piece of art requires slicing and pulling the threads from the yards before embroidering it back with desired patterns. Not that easly for sure but it turns out beautifully.

And I am proudly wearing it to the UN :)

Cheeers....

proudly holding my national flag :)

Get more information about Karawo from Rumah Saronde and feel free to see those colorful patterns on their Facebook page and Instagram @karawosaronde

Have you seen or worn Karawo?

Rumah Saronde
Jl. palma 71 LibuO
Kota Gorontalo, Indonesia
Phone: +62 813 55992999

WW: Indonesian Diplomatic Reception in NYC

Every year, we celebrate our national day or the Independence day on August 17.

Back home in Indonesia, we have so many events in commemorating this historical day.

Abroad, every Indonesian representatives all over the world celebrate this joyous day by convening a diplomatic reception, pesta rakyat or people's party, or Indonesian Night.

So is New York.

We usually have it in October where we have our Foreign Minister in town for the High Level Segment of the UN General Assembly week.

This year I helped the preparation of the Reception with my team.

It was fun indeed...as we always try to bring home to the reception. 

To show Indonesia to the world :)

The theme this year was Sumatera Night so I chose my purple-gold-red Tapis Lampung, traditional cloth from my beloved hometown, Lampung, in Sumatera Island, as the outfit that night.

proudly wearing purple-red-gold and orange Tapis Lampung and Kebaya :)

Getting ready for the reception :)

We have many Indonesian traditional food originated from Sumatera and many parts of Indonesia as well, like rendang and tekwan. 

some of the desserts as well as appetizers...Indonesian traditional finger food :)

I am glad the reception went smoothly and we have many Foreign Ministers, Ambassadors and diplomatic community joining our event :).

with my Foreign Minister, H.E. Retno L.P. Marsudi

Hope to see you all again next year :)

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WW: Street Art at the Long Island City, New York

Street art in New York City is indeed fascinating ;)..

And I am sooo thrilled to find out that we have so many incredible murals near our residence.

Long Islands City it is...

Save Yazidi Women

In Batik Garutan we trust...

Black, White, Blue and Red :)

I was comfortably wearing Batik garutan pants, black top, Pontianak beaded necklace and flowery green wedges...

One corner in LIC :)

One fine afternoon :)

One set of fabulous art work :)

One incredible husband patiently taking my pictures :)

Join us on (almost) Wordless Wednesday and have a lovely bloghopping day ;)

WW: Viva Wastra Indonesia

I guess many of you have known already how I love Indonesian traditional fabrics.
If you see Indonesiaku, then wastra Indonesia section in my blog, you'll get more exposure on that :)

Starting from UNESCO-intangible-heritage Batik, to handmade and woven-with-love Tenun and Songket from various parts of Indonesia, I love them all.

I am such a huge faaan :).

To me, they are more than just a piece of cloth with vibrant colors and vivid patterns. 
They represent the beauty of my ancestors' wisdom, the true reflection of cultural heritage and values, including ancient norms and traditions. Some things that I sincerely hope will forever live and linger among us and the next generation. 
They are the labour of love from women who, at the same time, weave their social structure and identity in a crafty way.

And I, for the love of it, try to wear them all the time.

As I see my photo folders here and there, I found many of those colorful photos are stacking and not yet published. Where have you been, Indah?

Tenun Insana from East Nusa Tenggara..I got them from Atambua..

Let's see some of them here..and I will get back with more stories about those beautiful pieces of art. I still have to learn mooooore about those intricate patterns and their histories. They are so abundant that I sometimes confuse myself :).

Here are some from East and West Nusa Tenggara..

Tenun Insana ..also from Atambua...

From Atambua and Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (the purple one)

From Bali...

Endek Bali....

Songket Bali....don't you just love them...

From Makassar...

Sarung Makassar...with its vibrant colors...

From Semarang, Central Java...

batik Semarang with Warag Ngendhog motive, from Semarang, Centra Java

Oh my... I still have sooo many more indeed. And as I said before, I just have to learn about them and I just realized how limited my knowledge about it. Let's dig up and I'll be back with more details :).

Join us on (almost) Wordless Wednesday and have a great linky time :)

WW: Tenun Ruteng

Tenun Ruteng, the newest addition to my Wastra Indonesia collection :).

Ruteng is the capital of Manggarai District, Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. One petit island filled with natural wonders and fascinating cultures, including their traditional handwoven fabrics.

I was privileged to get this new piece of beautiful cloth and some snaps of the wonderful and skillful lady who was the master of this artful masterpiece. It took around 3 months to finish one full cloth. Truly a labour of love...lots of love.

I can't wait to receive my newest Tenun Ruteng here in NYC.

Join us on (almost) Wordless Wednesday and have a great bloghopping experience :)

WW: My Purple Tapis Lampung

So happy to see that this lovely traditional fabrics from my beloved homeland, Lampung, is mine now :)

Tapis Lampung ...
A beautiful mix of gold threads, ancient patterns of siger, kapal and traditional umbrella, and vibrant colors
Lucky me :)

Join me on (almost)Wordless Wednesday and enjoy this beautiful bloghopping fun :)

Open Trunk Show #4IndonesianDesigners in NYC #CoutureFashionWeek

What a busy week we have here...
It was the long weekend for the President's Day and we had New York Fashion Week as well during that time!

One of the shows that took place during the same time was Couture Fashion Week. 
And we were so proud to have #4IndonesianDesigners coming and participating in that fabulous event! Those great designers were Dian Pelangi, Zaskia Sungkar, Barli Asmara and Asri Welas.

It was held in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, NYC, but I couldn't come because I was out of town with the kids....

Luckily, I managed to come to their Open Trunk Show. Wuhuuuu....

from the House of Asri Welas...

The Open Trunk Show was held in the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in NYC. And the Open Trunk means Open Trunk literally :)...as we saw some collections while they also at the same time opened the trunk and sold some of those collections. How cool is that :)...

the open trunk...literally :)

The show began at 2 pm but I was at the venue with Bo et Obi at 1 pm. Yup...1 hour earlier and it gave me enough time to take picture here and there and picked some of the merchandises I love :) 

the room, before the guests arrived...

The theme of this show was from Lombok to New York. Three designers, namely Zaskia Sungkar, Barli Asmara and Dian Pelangi, or in short ZBD, had created fascinating designs using the colorful traditional fabrics from Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.

From Lombok with loveee....

Lombok has been widely famous for its intricate tenun or hand-woven cloth, featuring one-of-a-kind patterns and brilliant colors. It's always be my favorite, too! Produced with traditional looms, especially gedogon, those woven clothes will surely steal your attention :). Now you imagine when young and talented people like Dian, Barli and Zaski turn them into fashion masterpiece!

So, the journey of these 4 Indonesian Designers to New York has been a colorful one!

And, let's check out their corners during the Trunk Show as well as some sneak-peak behind the scene :). 

Let's start with Asri Welas ...
Without further do, let me introduce you to some of the house of Asri Welas' collections..

Asri Welas' designs...elegant kebaya indeed...

The purple Tapis from the House of Asri Welas..originally from Lampung, my homeland, and it became mine :)

Siger Lampung...the traditional headpiece from Lampung...

Kebaya...the Indonesian traditional top attire elegantly worn since ages ago..

And from Dian Pelangi Collection

Don't you just love the jacket :)

it's reeeeed...

The other two designers didn't really have more from their trunks :). Most of their collections were worn by the models and were ready to be shown.

So, before the show started, I managed to sneak up and take the liberty to take pictures
some of the models who were either getting ready for the show or simply waiting for the final touch :)

cheers....left is Zaskia Sungkar's design and right is Dian Pelangi Lombok collection...

the stunning red kebaya and red-and-gold-tapis from Asri Welas..sans the Siger, the headpiece :)

Okay...final touch for Barli Asmara's models :)

cheers....2 models of Asri Welas' collection and the one in the middle is Zaskia's :)

happy faces indeed L)

Then the show began...
It was briefly opened by the Consul General of Indonesia in NYC, Mr. Ghaffur Dharmaputra, followed by Sekar Jagad Dance, a traditional dance from Bali.

I was trying to secure my corner but it was just impossible...
We have so many photographers as well and audience wanted to take pictures, too. 
So we saved our little corner with my sweet Obi sitting on the floor :).

We also have some more guests arriving when the show started...including some from the local fashion institute :). They look like models themselves ...

And here are some of the photos taken during the show...

from the house of Asri Welas...

The grandeur designs inspired by the bride of Lampungnese ...

the models and Asri Welas, the designer...

Featuring Zaskia Sungkar's designs...

Then Barli Asmara...with his glimmering designs using tenun Lombok as well...

And finally, Dian Pelangi... with her signature creations filled with brilliant colors and amazing patterns from Tenun Lombok..

the designers with Mr. and Mrs. Dharmaputra...

Then of course, I wouldn't miss the chance to take selfie with those talented designers :)

With Barli Asmara et Rima, my dear friend...

cheeers....

wearing my new jacket and selfie with the designer, Dian Pelangi :)

lovely and beautiful Zaskia Sungkar :)

And buying some collections as well :)..

happy to get one orange jacket and one purple Tapis...yaaaay :)

All in all...it was a great show and I was beyond proud to see those creative designers joining the Couture Fashion Week here in NYC. I bet NYC likes them, too. Don't you think?

Have you seen and enjoyed a fashion show before?