From a bamboo wall clock, leather bag and decorative desk lamp to green portable speakers, Indonesia’s best creative products have demanded attention at an exhibition in Glasgow, Scotland.

Long admired as a European culture capital, Glasgow has practically never gone a single day without hosting an arts event.

Indonesian students there recently seized the day and hosted an exhibition to showcase their home country’s rich culture through some of its most creative designs.

By coincidence, the exhibition was held during the final days of the Glasgow Doors Open Day, a popular heritage festival that takes place throughout the city, with hundreds of fascinating buildings normally closed to the public allowing free access.

Amid the large selection of galleries, museums and other buildings, The Lighthouse, Glasgow’s famous center for design and architecture, played host to dozens of Indonesian creative products that were presented for public viewing by the 2015 Palapa Project — an event organized by the Indonesian Students Association (PPI) Glasgow in collaboration with PPI UK.

PPI Glasgow chair Muhammad Ramdhan Abdurasyid said the 2015 Palapa Project aimed to introduce Indonesia’s creative industry to the global market, as the sector would be a strong economic driver in the future, and of course, promote the country’s culture.

The event, with its organizers wearing colorful batik, attracted more than 500 visitors, including students, artists, families and tourists as well as Indonesians residing in Glasgow and other UK cities.

“I heard about the event from a couple of Indonesian friends although there was also advertising for it in the city center. As someone living across the Pacific from Indonesia, I have never been exposed to its culture and ways of thinking,” said Mario Alberto Nuñez, a Mexican student currently studying at the University of Glasgow.

“And this is an eye opening experience for me. I believe everybody has heard of Indonesia at some point during their lives but only as a tourist destination. Now, I can say I have a better understanding of how rich their culture is.”

At the event, visitors witnessed dozens of Indonesia’s finest creative products — by the country’s young craftspeople, most of whom are newcomers, yet to produce commercially.

Simply cute: A visitor checks out the Eclo Lamp, a bedside lamp created using recycled wood during an exhibition of Indonesia’s creative products in Glasgow, Scotland.(JP/Bagus BT Saragih)

As many as 30 products were presented, including designer clocks, bags and desk lamps and even electronics such as portable speakers.

The products on display were finalists from the Palapa Creative Competition, a product-design competition that had been running since March. The 30 best products were chosen out of some 100 contestants, categorized into fashion, daily essentials, electronics and toys.

The board of curators and reviewers included prominent interior designer Francis Surjaseputra, US-based photographer Bridget Fleming, human-computer interaction designer Gilang Andi Pradana and British designer Marina Maclean.

“At the early stage, the participants presented their products digitally and the judges assessed all the submissions online,” said Rudi Bachtiar Rifai, the event’s committee head who is also a student at the University of Dundee.

Not all the inventors of the shortlisted products, however, could be flown to Glasgow due to budget limitations, he added. “Only the top three were funded to travel to Scotland to attend the 2015 Palapa Project,” he said.

The top three products were an Abhinaya fan lighting ornament; a Wature Yudhistira wristwatch made from leather, cow horns and wood; and a Curva Bamboo Clock, made of bamboo carved with a batik pattern.

Abhinaya is not just a fan-shaped lamp. Its beauty lies in its very detailed carvings of various Indonesian ethnic patterns. It uses 14 slats, each representing different areas, from Aceh to Papua.

“Abhinaya is inspired by the shape of the Phinisi ship from South Sulawesi. I used bamboo and cotton for the materials and laser engraving techniques to craft the patterns in the bamboo,” said 23-year-old Daniel Priatna, Abhinaya’s inventor, a student of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

Akhmad Syaiful Nasrullah’s Wature Yudhistira uses a classic Parang Batik pattern in the design of its strap, made from horse leather, while the image of the wayang character Yudhistira is engraved on the watch face. The watch hands are in the form of traditional daggers, called kris.

“Wature Yudhistira is carved using a combination of traditional and laser cutting methods,” explained Syaiful.

At a glance, the watch looks like plain wood with no other function, but when you touch it, you see the kris and the hands illuminate.

Syaiful said he was surprised by the great response to his watch from visitors at the exhibition. “Many wanted to buy them but I only brought these pieces for display,” said the man, who has yet to produce Wature Yudhistira commercially.

“There was a Scottish man who was really impressed by Wature Yudhistira and wanted to order 100 pieces! However, when he asked about the price I could not answer. I was too excited,” he added.

Tea time: The white clay used to craft this Pocitara tea set is taken from Klaten, Central Java.(JP/Bagus BT Saragih)

From a bamboo wall clock, leather bag and decorative desk lamp to green portable speakers, Indonesia'€™s best creative products have demanded attention at an exhibition in Glasgow, Scotland.

Long admired as a European culture capital, Glasgow has practically never gone a single day without hosting an arts event.

Indonesian students there recently seized the day and hosted an exhibition to showcase their home country'€™s rich culture through some of its most creative designs.

By coincidence, the exhibition was held during the final days of the Glasgow Doors Open Day, a popular heritage festival that takes place throughout the city, with hundreds of fascinating buildings normally closed to the public allowing free access.

Amid the large selection of galleries, museums and other buildings, The Lighthouse, Glasgow'€™s famous center for design and architecture, played host to dozens of Indonesian creative products that were presented for public viewing by the 2015 Palapa Project '€” an event organized by the Indonesian Students Association (PPI) Glasgow in collaboration with PPI UK.

PPI Glasgow chair Muhammad Ramdhan Abdurasyid said the 2015 Palapa Project aimed to introduce Indonesia'€™s creative industry to the global market, as the sector would be a strong economic driver in the future, and of course, promote the country'€™s culture.

The event, with its organizers wearing colorful batik, attracted more than 500 visitors, including students, artists, families and tourists as well as Indonesians residing in Glasgow and other UK cities.

'€œI heard about the event from a couple of Indonesian friends although there was also advertising for it in the city center. As someone living across the Pacific from Indonesia, I have never been exposed to its culture and ways of thinking,'€ said Mario Alberto Nuñez, a Mexican student currently studying at the University of Glasgow.

'€œAnd this is an eye opening experience for me. I believe everybody has heard of Indonesia at some point during their lives but only as a tourist destination. Now, I can say I have a better understanding of how rich their culture is.'€

At the event, visitors witnessed dozens of Indonesia'€™s finest creative products '€” by the country'€™s young craftspeople, most of whom are newcomers, yet to produce commercially.