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Javanese Batik Part 2, World Textile Days, and Shop opening! - Published 5 Apr 2021

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Javanese Batik Part II - World Textile Day News - and a Virtual Wonderwool!

TEXTILE TRADERS IS OPENING AGAIN!

We are cleaning our windows, dusting off the cobwebs and beautifying the shop because at last we can open again. So on Monday 12th April our shop in Bishop's Castle will be open from 10 am to 4pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. If you would like to visit on any other day please ring and we'll see if we can arrange it.

WORLD TEXTILE DAYS - GOING AHEAD BUT SOME NEW DATES!
Apart from our April date in Surrey, which we've had to cancel, we have managed to rescue and reschedule all the rest of our 2021 World Textile Days.
CENTRAL (near Banbury) has moved to July 3rd
SCOTLAND (at Bridge of Allan) has moved to September 11th
EAST (in NORFOLK) has moved to October 16th
All the other dates are going ahead as planned (with fingers firmly crossed)
Everything will be compliant with whatever the rules at the time are, so we can't guarantee indoor refreshments or talks yet. But we will publicise these as and when we know more details. We hope you will be able to make one of them!
Keep in touch with the latest by keeping an eye on our Events Diary or the World Textile Day website.

BREXIT AND OUR ORDERS - an update

In our last newsletter we wrote about our lack of European orders this year, and we offered to refund any charges incurred. Since then we have had some very welcome orders and happily the reports are good. Orders are getting through quickly and we're not getting any extra charges
So if you're in the EU and do get stung by a customs charge, send us the proof and we will refund the charges to you.

VIRTUAL WONDERWOOL AND A ZOOM TALK

Wonderwool has gone virtual again this year - its sad we can't actually be there, but it does mean that you can join it from anywhere in the country or indeed anywhere in the world.

We are "official exhibitors" and will be posting a short 5 minute film about Textile Traders on Friday 23rd followed by assorted posts throughout the weekend with special offers.

Join the Virtual Wonderwool on Facebook

And, throughout the weekend The Welsh Guilds of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers have organised a series of zoom talks and short workshops. All of the presenters have given their time free of charge and the participants are invited to make a donation to one or both of the two charities being supported.

I shall be giving a talk at 4.45 on Saturday 24th on the very special role that batik plays in important life events in Java - from Cradle to Grave. You can look at all the talks and workshops on the Virtual Wonderwool FB page and you can register for a ticket to my talk here.

Javanese Batik Part 2 - Batik Tulis

Tulis means "written by hand" and this really reflects the fact that batik made in this way IS hand written - the wax all drawn on with the help of the little wax pen - called the canting (pronounced tjanting if that helps!)

Batik tulis textiles can be very traditional or extremely contemporary. They could be made on silk or on cotton. They could be made in a rural village, in a Palace or in a factory. Women could be working alone or alongside many others.
For example, the 13 or so women of the Bima Sakti co-operative live and work in a small village near to the Sultans of Java's ancient burial grounds. They make highly prized and extremely labour intensive batik textiles for the Sultan of Yogyakarta, as did their mothers and grandmothers.

These textiles then become imbued with deep spiritual significance and are treasured as "heirloom" items. They are worn or brought out and blessed at certain ceremonies along with other special items such as the Royal collections of "kris" knives

But you don't have to be a Royal to wear batik although in the past "sumptuary" laws decreed which designs could be worn. Some were reserved for wear by the Sultan himself only, some for his immediate family, the Court and so on. These laws don't exist any more - but these old and traditional designs are still looked upon as powerful and may be worn to express a certain wish or meaning. You just need to know how to read the language of batik designs!

A village woman can batik herself a garment to wear - she needs cotton (either commercially produced or sometimes available to pick, spin and weave locally) she needs wax (from bees) and she needs dyes (also available in plant form - blue from indigo, red from mengkudu (morinda citrifolia) and brown from soga (a collection of various barks including sappan wood.
In some villages in northern Java, women still make batik in this way. It's becoming harder to get hold of now but I buy it whenever I see it.

At the other extreme, rich Javanese women are prepared to pay a high price for top quality hand drawn batik. And that's because the women of Java can tell the difference and if they are going to special occasion - such as a wedding, a Government awards ceremony, or even just a posh afternoon tea with their Jakarta friends - they will want to wear the best and that means Batik Tulis - proper expensive hand drawn batik!

As the same amount of hours go into a hand drawn batik whether its made on cotton or silk, silk is becoming more popular.
Fine batik from Java is sold all over Indonesia and is just as likely to turn up at a temple ceremony in Bali, at a fashionable wedding in Malaysia or as evening wear all over South East Asia.

Batik can come from the humblest of circumstances and be made from the simplest of local products - cotton, beeswax, plant dyes.
It can be made for sacred ceremonies which go the the very heart of Javanese culture and heritage.
It can end up on the catwalks of top fashion houses.
It is worn by rich and poor - by Sultans and Presidents, at weddings and receptions and as everyday wear by millions.
This is just a taster!

AND FINALLY QUICK LINKS TO OUR VARIOUS SECTIONS

Batik & Printing supplies-cantings, copper batik stamps, woodblocks, dyes, wax and some new batik kits
Fabrics from Indonesia, Thailand and other parts of southeast Asia.
Collectable Textiles (hand made textiles, tribal costume, and treasures)
Clothes and Accessories - unique clothes, scarves and bags
Jewellery - silver tribal earrings, rings, and more