Into the light: Workers make paper lanterns ahead of the Chinese New Year celebrations in Malang, East Java.

Amid the sound of music and the occasional joke, workers skillfully crafted lanterns of various types and sizes in a small house in Jodipan subdistrict, 3 kilometers east of Malang in East Java.

The home industry was set up in 2004 with workers comprising youths from around the neighborhood.

'€œAs a jobless high school graduate at the time, I took the initiative to craft lanterns after observing [making them] and trying to repair them at a Chinese temple near my house,'€ said business owner Ahmad Samsudin.

The company, called Cempaka Lampion, originally produced just red-ball lanterns. Today, it makes a wide variety of lanterns in different sizes.

With the Lunar New Year around the corner, they have been flooded with orders, which rose by 50 percent to approximately 750 lanterns in a month, all handled by 10 workers.

The hanging lanterns range in size from 30 centimeters to 3 meters and are made from dried rattan, special glue, cloth, paper, wire, cable, a lamp socket and a mold frame. Park lanterns use 6-mm iron rods, steel wire, glue, special cloth, cables and a lamp socket.

For lanterns with pictures or motifs, the cloth or paper is first painted using decorative molds or printing, depending on consumers'€™ desires.

'€œLanterns, especially the ball type, are made in the same way as Chinese products are crafted. The difference is that we use rattan cords instead of wire to make cloth replacement easier,'€ said Samsudin.

Production time depends on the size and complexity of the lantern. One with a diameter of 30 cm can be finished in an hour, and with a diameter of 1 m or more, in two to three hours. After taking shape, yellow frills and gold stickers are added as embellishments.

Colorful lights: Residents carry paper lanterns during a parade to celebrate a recent Idul Fitri in Malang, East Java.

Hanging lanterns are sold within the range of Rp 25,000-Rp 500,000 each, while park lanterns cost between Rp 500,000 and Rp 15 million, depending on their size and design specifics.

Among the home industry'€™s products are round, box, capsule and star-shaped lanterns carrying Chinese and Japanese motifs.

Lanterns for the garden and for inside come in the shapes of animals, fruits, cartoon figures, folklore characters, monuments and buildings. The latest items include lanterns for parties and religious celebrations.

Cempaka Lampion sells its products in Jakarta, Palembang in South Sumatra, Bali and Medan in North Sumatra. In the past two years, they have also marketed hanging lanterns to France and Italy.

'€œWe'€™ve just shipped 100 lanterns ordered by a cafe supporting the Liverpool soccer club in Britain,'€ said Rijal, a staff member.

'€” Photos by Aman Rochman