PROCESS + HISTORY

PROCESS OF BATIK

We begin with collaboratively sketching ideas for motifs and colours that simply come up in our head and take inspiration from what we see around. Inspiration can be found everywhere. A stamp is hand-drawn and hand- carved using foam, sometimes rubber or wood.

Dyes are bought from local markets and are mixed with a skill of specific measurements and combinations of dye colours to achieve desired shade. Hues and shades can vary and this is why we inform this to our customers, given the handmade nature of this process. And that in itself is a beautiful thing!  We only produce these batiks in well-ventilated and outdoor environments.

Designs are created by dipping the stamps in hot wax and then firmly placing on the Calico cloth. This process is re-applied all over the cloth in what desired order. Once the wax is cooled, it is submerged in to the dye bath and left there for as long as needed depending on the darkness of the hue. Laid out or hung to dry, we go in with a second dye bath if we need an additional layer of color. To remove the applied wax, we stir it in a large pot of boiling water sitting over a fire. Residual melted wax is never wasted. We reuse it for the next time. We have ensured our batiks are colourfast by a thorough wash of the cloth before hanging to dry.

 

You can see some videos of this beautiful beautiful handmade process here and here.

HISTORY NOTES

It may surprise you to hear that the origins of batik are not African. Rather, around 2,000 years ago examples of the cloth were found in the Far and Middle East, Central Asia and India. The craft spread long the caravan trading routes between the Malay Archipelago and the Middle East. It is believed that batik first stepped onto West African soil in the mid nineteenth century by way of indentured Dutch soldiers travelling from Indonesia, carrying trunks of Javanese batiks. As they hit the markets, along with the development of technique and tribal signature in populations like the Yoruba of Nigeria, West Africans adopted it into their own garments. It is commonly passed down through families