We first visited a weaving home industry, Ridaka, which house those gorgeous tiles, btw. But I hesitated to take pictures of their business as I was afraid I might offend their privacy, so I didn't take any pics of their old spinning wheels, making their own yarns, and their 10+ huge weaving looms(!). I was quite surprised to see such large operations inside a house that actually looks small from the front yard.
Only during our lunch at a nearby eatery, we learnt that the owner of Ridaka has a sister who runs a batik home industry. *entrepreneurship runs in the family apparently*. And they offered to bring us to Tobal Batik soon after lunch. Tobal Batik sits on a bigger house than Ridaka, but really, both houses just look like other houses, you wouldn't expect any big operations going on inside the house, or such large land area behind its front door. Well, I guess.. that's why it's called a home industry. :)
The moment I saw rows of batik, I knew I just had to ask if I could take pictures there at Tobal Batik. So I did, and.. permission granted! *yay!* I was quite overly excited already at this state. :) Then as we turned into another section (stamping) of the workshop, the first look I had into that section was their shelves of copper blocks. I was stunned, gasping, and I felt like fainting on the spot. No kidding, it was my first time seeing tons of copper blocks everywhere, on the shelves and tables(!). By then, excitement was nolonger the word to describe how I felt. It's heaven. Heaven was the word. :) Afterwards, we toured around the coloring, dyeing, and sewing sections of the workshop. And finally, we visited their batik shop, where I bought dresses for my two girls, and fabric for myself. :)
I had uploaded my Pekalongan pictures more than a week ago, but I only managed to share the story today *sorry*. So please enjoy the rest of the pictures here.
Thank you, Ridaka and Tobal Batik, for such priceless experience and for your kind hospitalities. Thank you.
oh btw, Ridaka will be at INACRAFT on April 23 -27, 2008 at Jakarta Convention Center, Jakarta, Indonesia.
