Courtesy of Sarrah Syarifaitualiyah

Abie Abdillah’s passion for product design stems from simple childhood memories, including drawing and playing Lego. He also became familiar with rattan while growing up, with a couple of rattan chairs in the family home that were replicas of works by Japanese designer Isa Kunmochi.

He was enamored by the material. While a student at Bandung Institute of Technology, he went along on an excursion with a group of the university’s interior design students to the Yuzuru Yamakawa rattan factory in Cirebon.

“Well, I sort of included myself on that trip and I was the only product design student there,” he told The Jakarta Post at Italian Institute of Culture Jakarta, where his work was presented in “The Indonesian Creativity through the Triennale of Milan 2016 and the Venice Architecture Biennale 2016: Reflection and Proposal Exhibition”.

He experienced an epiphany when he heard the late Yamakawa speak on his appreciation for rattan in Indonesia, home to about 80 percent of the plant.

“He told the bunch of us, ‘Indonesian designers, if you want to make a difference and be globally appreciated, be a rattan [product] designer.’ So, it became my new mission as a creative to work with rattan.”

Abie is principal designer of Studiohiji, which partners with Singapore’s The Common Goods as its distributor. The last two syllables of the name, he explained, carry philosophical meaning.

“Hiji means ‘one’ in Sundanese — reflecting that every product we create has individual meaning and stories. It all comes from a thorough process and attention to detail in reaching a preferred outcome.”

While he has gained international recognition for creating numerous pieces of contemporary furniture with the material, he feels there needs to be pride in Indonesia for it to boost economic and cultural prospects.

However, there has been stagnancy in the industry in the past decade, and he is “saddened” by the public’s dismissive attitude toward rattan as second-rate material.

 “It is quite a shame, especially with the export ban that started in 2011 [to reduce competition for domestic producers overseas], the lack of innovation that instilled this sort of doubtful misconception in people. They think that rattan is a short-lived and flimsy material to begin with,” he said.

“From what I learned, there are actually various grades of rattan. I use the manau species of rattan for the framework as a strong foundation, and sega for weaving, which is prime quality.”

Abie’s challenge to change the outlook of Indonesians is evident with examples of the Pretzel bench and the Lusi chair, exhibiting strong yet study curvatures in the design that present rattan in a contemporary light despite its vintage feel.

“I want to create dignity in rattan by not being pretentious. I try to express my craftsmanship in creating honest aesthetics by accentuating the material’s flexibility,” he said.

Net Chair: Courtesy of The Common Goods
INTERNATIONAL HONORS

Abie has displayed his designs in prestigious exhibitions, such as last year’s Maison de Objet in Singapore. Shortly after he was selected one of the winners of the Innovative Craft Awards from ASEAN.

His rattan designs were also included in the collection of Italian design firm Cappellini for Milan Design Week 2016 in April. Cappellini is the name behind works of top designers, including Marcel Wanders, Jasper Morrison and Tom Dixon. According to Abie, the abundant international interest should be the momentum for Indonesia to recognize its potential and reinvent rattan for the times.

“I was at an exhibition of Casa by Bravacasa in Jakarta last year when Giulio Cappellini approached me with an interest in developing my design. So now I am constantly trying out new things and figure out how to adapt my designs to Indonesia’s modern market. If they [foreigners] can appreciate rattan, then why can’t we?”

There are other ongoing efforts. The European Union has funded the Association for Advancement of Small Business (PUPUK) to promote sustainable production of rattan since 2013. The project focuses on several areas of the archipelago, such Katingan, Palu, Pidie, Cirebon, Surakarta and Surabaya, through the Industry Ministry and its establishment of the National Rattan Innovation Center, with Abie as a deputy chairman.

He said the preservation of rattan, the majority of which grows in forests, could contribute to sustainability.

“Little did we know that rattan actually grows by embedding on tree roots and bark so we don’t need to cut anything down,” he explained.

“Now, this project involves inspecting potential zones for plantations, so it has really become our country’s responsibility.”

Chair designs predominate in Studiohiji’s catalogue, a reminder of how he became familiar with rattan.

“Of course, it becomes the most challenging to design in terms of comfort as priority and then aesthetics — which explains the honesty I said before,” he said.

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The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post.