TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Carving out something special for wine lovers
JP/WASTI ATMODJO Hundreds of art shops line the main road from Ubud to Tegallalang in Gianyar, offering a dazzling range of crafts
Change Size
JP/WASTI ATMODJO
Hundreds of art shops line the main road from Ubud to Tegallalang in Gianyar, offering a dazzling range of crafts.
One of these, Twin Wood Carver in Banjar Sapat, offers a special product – wine bottle holders.
From the outside the small shop looks quite ordinary, but the unique products neatly displayed on glass racks are anything but.
Among the works on display are empty beer or wine bottles, or in some cases wine glasses.
“That’s just to provide an example of their purpose,” said Kadek Kerta Rusmana Yasa, the 23-year-old manager of Twin Wood Carver.
Originally, this shop, established in 2004, sold items for general use – such as for displaying pieces of jewelry such as bracelets and necklaces, along with a range of statues – and which were all of the same type. But since 2005 it has been focused more on its wine bottle holders, the fruit of Kadek’s creativity.
The concept developed by these artisans is quite plain – statues that serve a dual purpose. According to Kadek, at first the statues were just used for display.
“Then we started to see the possibilities of other functions, among them wine bottle holders, wine glasses or just name card holders,” he added.
The wine bottle holders come in a variety of shapes, although using two basic sources: humans and animals.
Kadek said the holders made in human form were deliberately kept abstract, without fully revealing the face or other body parts. Animal shapes include turtles, dolphins, snakes, eels, cats and dogs. And there could be more on the way.
“We are not ruling out the possibility of using other designs such as holders in the shape of plants,” Kadek said.
For materials, at the beginning Kadek used Cempinis wood, as it is known in the Balinese language. Although the wood is strong, it does not tolerate sunshine, splitting quickly; many customers complained. He switched to Suar wood from Sumatra — more expensive, Kadek explained, but better able to withstand the heat of the sun.
During the production process, Kadek is the ideas man. He makes sketches or designs and decides on the colors and the quantity. But Kadek also gives his workers the chance to propose ideas.
“And the suggestions are not bad, although some of their ideas can be improved a bit,” he said. He added that when it came to design it was sometimes his customers who proposed ideas; in that case, he makes a note of what appeals, so they can be sold to other people.
“The concept comes from the buyer, then I make the design,” he said.
Kadek said that the quantity produced was determined by the demand. At the start of every new design only five units are made, with more manufactured according to orders.
Kadek explained that the production process is done manually, apart from cutting the wood to
the required size, with a pattern used to determine the shape and size of the wood. The rest is done entirely by hand, through to the steps of sanding, coloring, varnishing and polishing.
“If the design is complicated it can take up to two days or more to make. But the average time taken by one worker to finish one statue is one day.”
After the statue has been shaped and sanded, it then needs to be dried. Kadek prefers this to be done naturally in the sunshine because the results are better – and using machines would damage the wood.
Drying must be done when the sun is warm enough but not too intense, usually between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. or after 3 p.m. A statue needs between five and seven days to dry.
Most of his wine holders can hold standard wine bottles of up to 30 to 40 centimeters high.
Larger statues are more expensive, because of the size of the block of wood required.
For example, a holder for a bottle that is 30 cm high costs about Rp 60,000 (US$5).
To accompany the wine bottle holder, Kadek makes wine bottle openers. The handle is made from wood, and they come in a variety of animals and human shapes. “This product really interests Japanese tourists,” he said.
Also to attract customers, Kadek makes seasonal changes to his products. For example around Christmas he makes the colors brighter than normal using natural hues in browns, reds and black.
