SNEAKERS

Sneakers (Courtesy of Anugerah Aditya/File)

Anugrah Aditya

Who: Singer, Online Reviewer, Jakarta Sneaker Day Organizer

Instagram: @adityalogy 

YouTube: @AdityalogyTV

I only have 35 pairs–not many, compared to other collectors. Slowly, I became obsessed, since I’m also a fashion enthusiast. I have a certain style: only monochrome colors, like black, white or gray. Some people buy multiple pairs, to keep and sell and rotate, but I want to use my shoes. I want to wear them, otherwise there’s no point. But since the sneaker game is getting big in Indonesia, there are a lot of fake products. I prefer to buy through a website, where things are 100 percent real. 

Tokyo is sneaker heaven. People are really into the sneaker game. You can find rare items easily–and even cheaply. The last great pair I got was a Nike Air Presto Collaboration with Off-White, the brand that [Louis Vuitton artistic director] Virgil Abloh runs. To produce it in mass quantities is hard, because it has to be done by hand. It’s a half-deconstructed sneaker. They put the tag on as if it just came out of the factory. The value is now around US$2,000. It’s very comfortable. It’s very breathable.

Read also: Collectors and dealers descend on Hong Kong for annual Art Basel

SWATCH WATCHES

Swatch (Courtesy of Swatch/File)

Rininta Justianto 

Who: Cafe Maikai owner; and her father Jerry Justianto is CEO of Masima Group

We used to have more than 200 Swatches, mainly limited editions. We’ve sold some since 2012, but still have probably 150 pieces. It was a nostalgic father/daughter activity. We both loved Swatch, because they used to have great collaborations with famous artists, and often released controversial pieces, such as the limited edition Kamasutra.

The coolest piece was the 1994 Christmas edition by Xian Lax [opposite], but the rarest and my favorite are the American artist Keith Haring pieces. His graffiti-like and whimsical art on the watches would be valued at perhaps US$1,000 online. Most of our pieces are stored in acrylic boxes or in their original boxes, but we separate the battery and the watch.

My father even made a website back in the 1990s so people could contact him to barter pieces. Sometimes two regular Swatch pieces are equal to one Swatch limited edition–the same concept with trading Pokemon cards.

HERITAGE PRODUCTS

Heritage (Courtesy of Widharmika Agung/File)

Widharmika Agung

Who: CEO Iwan Tirta Private Collection

Instagram: @iwantirta_batik

I have a soft spot for local heritage products, especially when it comes to local fabrics. I love the stories and memories that come with the products.

My wife and I found a really nice red, hand-knotted, rug with natural coloring at San Cristóbal de las Casas in Mexico. We had to carry the rug throughout our trip in Mexico. It adds to the memory.

In Chiang Mai, I got a really nice shoulder bag at a local market. It has this natural indigo blue look with a touch of white and red. I love the fact that it is big and I can easily put all I need for a day trip.

I got my first ikat from Sumba in 2010. We got hooked on the fabric, since it tells a story about a man and woman who are running away to stay together as lovers. As for batik, it’s hard not to fall in love with a piece whenever I go to an Iwan Tirta Private Collection gallery.

Read also: ARTJOG attracts renowned international collectors

ANTIQUE MAPS

David Parry, Ph.D. 

Who: Bartele Gallery curator

Instagram: @bartelegallery

I started collecting maps when I was a teenager in England, collecting English county maps. As a soil scientist and geographer by training, I have always used maps in my work, including making them.

I began collecting antique maps when I started working overseas in 1968. I only have a small collection now of 25 pieces, and sold my main collection of over 250 pieces at Sotheby’s in 2013.

The rarest one is undoubtedly the “Insulae Moluccae” from 1594. It is one of the rarest printed maps in the world, with maybe 20 copies in existence. It shows the Spice Islands of the Moluccas and Indonesia at a level of detail never before achieved. It is also the coolest for me because of the beauty of its composition, with magnificent engravings of the clove, nutmeg, mace, and sandalwood species along the bottom of the map–the commodities that brought the Renaissance explorers and merchants to Indonesia.

VINYL

Vinyl (Courtesy of Dipha Barus/File)

Dipha Barus

Who: DJ and Music Producer

Instagram: @diphabarus

Back when I was a little kid, like 10 or 12 years old, my father would collect tapes, cassettes and vinyl. Vinyl collecting is an incomparable music experience. I am hooked on their sentimental value–the dusty fingers you get from a second-hand shop, the crazy artwork and the joy of discovering new music and rare things.

Maybe now I have around 3,000 albums, with The Apryl Fool, the [self-titled album] from the Japanese psychedelic rock band as the rarest. I was a big fan of Haruomi Hosono, later known for his work with the Yellow Magic Orchestra–one of my biggest inspirations–back in my college days in Malaysia.

I look in every city that I visit. Six years ago, I found someone who had a massive vinyl collection up for sale in Cakung, Jakarta–I bought many rare pieces from Tantra, the 80s Italo-disco band. I keep my collection in my living room. I’d like them to be around me, easy to grab whenever I want to do something with them.

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This article was originally published in the Apr. 2018 edition of J+ by The Jakarta Post with the headline "The Obsession with Possession".