The Write Away Project

We’re collaborating with the talented Maya Kerthyasa once again on something special- the Write Away Project:

Hey, remember postcards? It’s time they became a thing again. Our stationery is designed to resurrect the hand-written word – to get you off your keyboard, out of your DMs and back into the good old-fashioned art of letter posting.

Our designs come courtesy of local artists on the island of Bali, Indonesia.

Unplug. Send your love. Write Away.

We love the idea of reconnecting through something we can hold in our hands and put on a plane, ready to wing its way across islands and seas to find its new home on a cork board, fridge door, edge of a mirror, or carefully tucked away in a a journal.

Maya’s discovery of her talents with ink and paper and her special connection to Bali were the perfect way to kick off the project. In the future we hope to work with many more of the island’s artists to create their own Write Away collections.

Get to know: Paola Zancanaro, designer

From the moment we saw the designs of Namu, we fell in love. We’ve been even happier to form a friendship over the years with the woman behind the brand. Paola has worked with prestigious designers, including Miuccia Prada, Giorgio Armani, and Vivienne Westwood, and has traveled to far-flung regions to create events, exhibitions, and installations. Paola is an advocate of fair trade and slow fashion and is passionate about all crafts and to maintain alive age-old artisanal techniques.

Where do you come from?

I come from a charming town called Alassio in the northern part of Italy. Alassio is located between Cinque Terre and the south of France and has a beautiful white sandy beach and lush green hills.

What makes you do what you do?

Curiosity, never wanting to stop learning and a real passion for the crafts and everything that is handmade and heritage.

How does Bali influence your designs?

The lush green of the rice fields and the different hues of flowers and leaves are a constant inspiration for my work. Bali’s culture and its skilled artisans will never stop influencing what I do and what I enjoy dedicating my time on.

When was the first time you ever touched fabric? And what excites you about your work at the moment?

I was surrounded by fabrics since my early childhood as my grandmother had an atelier and my mother had stunning dresses made by my “nonna” from jacquard to exotics silks and beautiful crepes encrusted with bejeweled embellishments. Since the lockdown, I have dedicated my time to learn more about natural dyeing techniques and which barks and leaves are available in Indonesia. I am trying to upcycle my collection by re-using leftover fabrics and create garments that are fun to wear both at home and out.

What are your favorite patterns and influences? Where are they from?

The Art Deco period will always be the main influence for my work - I love everything of that period from the ladies hair cut to the gorgeous jewels that the Indian Maharaja used to ask jewellery houses like Cartier to customise from themselves.

How do you measure your progress in life and work?

Good question! I measure my progress both in life and work by being serene and content with myself and securing that my team is happy and learning from what we build together.

Who were you as a kid?

Naughty! Never stop talking and asking why, why and why…I guess I am still a kid ;-)

What is your favorite event?

Difficult questions. As in my life I have been fortunate to organise many beautiful events across the globe for some of the most prestigious fashion houses but my favorite ever it has to be Holi Saloni in Udaipur in 2018, where we celebrated the Indian festival of colors.

Imagine you are there, what are your three favorite things about that event?

The explosion of color on Holi Day, the Indian craftsmanship to build Ad Hoc mud houses and intricate decorations and stunning venue Devigargh Palace.

The sound of boxes

Music at events is a huge part of the attendee experience- live music especially just takes the moment to another level.

With the Elami Boxes we wanted to make sure the experience was amazing from the first minute you see the box being delivered, to every layer you unearth and every piece you unwrap. So of course we decided to create a Spotify playlist for every box!

Curated by Dayu Ajeng, each playlist is guaranteed to bring you something new.

Listen here: Elami’s Spotify

Get to know: Summa Durie, Curator and Artist

We caught up with our dear friend Summa Durie recently to ask her what’s new in 2020, what she thinks about everything that’s happening in the event space, and to tell us what’s going on in her world of art, events, curation and more.

Photo by Roberto Aria Putra. of Summa durie with Roa

What was your favourite moment today?

We recently moved back up to Ubud to what I can only describe as a little smurf village. Our balcony looks out over a jungle garden and rice fields—a view normally saturated in greens, sky blues & pops of tropical colours. Today started with a rainy, misty morning but suddenly through all the greys and blues the most brilliant, eery orange appeared on the horizon as the sun tried to peek through. I am kind of obsessed with colours at the moment so this stuck with me.

Tell us about the projects you are working on…

And which one has your heart right now? I am the International Curator for an art space here in Bali called Rumah Sanur - Creative Hub. In 'normal' times this is a bustling place that hosts art, live music, festivals, markets—last year alone we welcomed 32,000 people through our doors, held 450 events/concerts/art exhibitions, and held workshops for over 6,000 participants. I am also the Co-Curator of TEDxUbud (working with the awesome folks at Elami & Co) and a freelance curator. In the crazy times we are living through right now a lot of this curatorial work has come to a standstill as gathering people has become slightly tricky. So this has become a time of reflection and resilience—looking at how models can change and how art and artists can still connect in different ways. With that in mind, we've been cooking up some new projects which are still in the very early stages. Without saying too much at this point one of them involves some of my favourite things—art, monsters, myth & history—so I am very excited to see how it unfolds.

Photo by Neyna Rahamdani for TEDxUBUD

What are you (un)secretly good at?

I originally trained as a theatre designer but realised I'd never learnt how to paint. So a couple of years ago I found some classes to learn the basics and mucked around now and then. But it has only been since this lockdown that I have established a regular practice and have felt myself developing as a painter. I have been working on a series of studies to explore different styles and colours—it been wonderful seeing what works and what doesn't. If you want to have at my look at my experiments see my IG @summa_. It has also been a great time for exploring other artists’ work and making connections online. I have found a lot of forums for artists gathering together and learning from each other which has been brilliant. A special shout out to Nicolás Uribe (@nicolasuribe) for his insanely brilliant art and daily videos. At the moment I'm totally fangirling over the works of Colleen Barry (@colleenbarryart). If I ever get a chance to attend a workshop with either of these artists I'll be one happy woman!

How did you start curating?

I started curating in non-traditional spaces—clubs, bars, restaurants—in my early 20s. My focus back then was on emerging and street artists*, and I'll always be grateful to the people who allowed me to take over their spaces. I believe art can and should exist outside white cubes, that art should be where people are. But alternative spaces don't work for all art forms, so these early exhibitions led to me curate exhibitions for major festivals and in more traditional gallery spaces over time. My curatorial work in the visual arts morphed into programming music, performing arts and even a writers festival—I programmed the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival programs 2013-15, which is how I landed in Bali. What I am most excited by is the intersection between different art forms and how when they come together they can create little moments of magic.

*Side note: after working with street artists in Australia, a dream came true here in Bali when Belgium street artist ROA came to Rumah Sanur and did a piece on our walls. I had stalked ROA's work all over Europe so I’m still pinching myself one of his works is on our walls.

How do you curate?

Curating is all about connections, most importantly the connection with artists—it is still the thing I adore most about it, working with and watching artists grow.

Curators need to have an understanding and respect for artists—their background, art form and the stories they are telling. If an artist in return trusts the curator's vision for their work and the exhibition, good things can happen.

Curating groups show can also be about understanding how different artists' can work together, how to create a cohesive exhibition that doesn't feel disjointed visually or thematically. Again, this comes back to understanding an artist's style and voice. But curating is also about connections to communities, spaces, festivals, buyers, sponsors, funding agencies, media, and arts writers. A lot goes into making an exhibition successful, far more than simply hanging works on walls. A good curator knows how to make all these connections work or can bring in the right people to make them happen.

Photo by Suki Zoe, Gelombang by Made griyawan Exhibition for john Hardy Jewelry

Do you have some tips for upcoming curators?

I am stealing some advice a mentor once passed onto me, but I think it is still relevant for all curators and they are the three Rs.

Relationships – know the artists, art spaces, and galleries you want to work with and develop those relationships. Go to artist studios, attend art exhibitions and artists talks. Remember relationships take time, but if you show up they will happen.

Research – a curator must always be researching—new artists, new works, and ways of presenting contemporary ideas that will resonate with an audience. But equally important is knowing your art history—limitless resources exist online so there is no excuse not to do your research.

Relentless – the final ‘R’. Curators must be relentless. Being a curator is not a 9-5 job, it’s a way of being—constantly searching, piecing art, and works together.

To be a good curator you have to be part-composer, part-mad scientist and above all be a relentless collector of people, ideas and things.

How does the curation process happen in the COVID-19 era?

This is a big question that I think everyone is still trying to work out. There is no issue in creating connections and ideas for exhibitions at the moment. We are all connecting via Zoom, IG Live, or whatever platform you like to use. I think the big question comes in the delivery of these ideas. Online exhibitions and digitally generated walkthroughs can go so far, but there is nothing like seeing the artwork in real life. For me something is still lost in the digital realm—I love to walk around sculptures and get up close to paintings to see the texture. Also missing from online is the other people. Art is about an individual's experience in the artwork, but it is also about a collective experience—when people gather in RL to appreciate art.

Where do you see it all going? Meaning, the future of events in the time of a pandemic…

Again I don't think anyone quite knows the answer to this as none of us knows how long this pandemic will go on for. But for the time being, I think we'll see more experiments with online viewings or exhibitions and events with restricted numbers. For galleries, this is not such a hard thing, but for a lot of other art forms like music and performing arts it is hard to create sustainable events with only a fraction of the ticket-buying audience. I think we are all hoping there is a magic bullet that will solve this crisis but no one knows if and when this will happen. What I do know is that humans are creative and resilient beings and whatever happens I am sure we will continue to make art and share it, although I can't wait for the day we can all do that together again.

Thank you, Summa!

Designing for COVID-19 education in Bali

It’s been really interesting to watch the huge amount of posters, billboards, signs, and graphics pop up in the wake of COVID 19. From simple commands, to Mr Bean cameos, to mask education, and stern threats. The graphics, and different styles have been flooding our eyes and brains for the last 5 months.

So many questions about who the posters are for, who decides what gets printed, font choice, and more… Definitely makes us think about effective design and messaging, and how communication actually works on a human level vs how government/bureaucracy thinks it happens.

Here are a few of our favorites. Special thanks to Suki Zoe for collecting most of the pictures on her travels.

1. Wear a mask 2. Don’t panic 3. Exercise

Petulu village really has the best messaging we’ve seen. Positive and to the point.

Other terms also apply…. that’s a lot of logos and text, Ubud. Points for being bilingual!

Balinese speakers only. At the Ubud wantilan.

All the official stuff.

Lots of points being made here.

Go Kopernik and Alam Santi for a clear message on masks.

Another one from Petulu

Balinese language and Mr Bean- amazing.

Targeting office workers?

Red is definitely eye catching against Bali’s green.

Health and safety - two in one

How to wash hands- popular in the first month. Replaced by masks now

Bali Snakes and Ladders! The launch of a new game

We've wanted to create a game for years and thanks to this pandemic downtime, we've finally done it! Maya Kerthyasa lent us her amazing line drawing skills to create a board filled with Balinese myths... Snakes and Ladders, known as Ular Tangga in Bahasa Indonesia, has its origins in second century India.

“This version of Snakes and Ladders is inspired by Balinese life and mythology. At the bottom, we have Bedawang Nala—the turtle that carries the world—accompanied by the two dragons Basuki and Anantaboga. Spiritual nirvana is represented by Mount Agung and the heavenly realm above. The other illustrations are symbols of fertility, creation, enlightenment, abundance, death, disease, disaster and knowledge. Many of these symbolic drawings are inspired by life in and around the Balinese kitchen.”

—Maya Kerthyasa

More about the history of the game:

The game was popular in ancient India by the name Moksha Patam. It was also associated with traditional Hindu philosophy contrasting karma and kama, or destiny and desire. It emphasized destiny, as opposed to games such as pachisi, which focused on life as a mixture of skill (free will) and luck. The underlying ideals of the game inspired a version introduced in Victorian England in 1892. The game has also been interpreted and used as a tool for teaching the effects of good deeds versus bad. The board was covered with symbolic images, the top featuring gods, angels, and majestic beings, while the rest of the board was covered with pictures of animals, flowers and people. The ladders represented virtues such as generosity, faith, and humility, while the snakes represented vices such as lust, anger, murder, and theft. The morality lesson of the game was that a person can attain salvation (Moksha) through doing good, whereas by doing evil one will be reborn as lower forms of life. The number of ladders was less than the number of snakes as a reminder that a path of good is much more difficult to tread than a path of sins. Presumably, reaching the last square (number 100) represented the attainment of Moksha (spiritual liberation).

-Wikipedia

The specs:

» 50cmx50cm fabric board—screen printed on 100% cotton

» 2 wooden dice

» 4 stone tokens

Shipped in a handmade paper box.

The Elami Box story

With our new world molded by Covid 19, we’ve had to come to terms with the fact that our whole reason for being (a.k.a bringing people together for events) is no longer possible while this virus runs amok.

We really missed having that connection with people and watching their faces light up at learning new things, or trying something different for the first time. So we decided to send a new experience to our people: the Elami Box!

Welcome to Elami's new monthly Subscription Boxes. Order every month, or just once. For you, or as a gift. We have carefully curated a little surprise to brighten your day, something to look forward to. Maybe you'll like it so much that you'll get it the next month. We have selected unique products from the best Indonesia makers. We want them to keep creating the incredible things they are known for—and introduce you to people and brands you may not know. Give it a try.

We were lucky enough to have one of our favorite photographers Neyna Rahmadani come and document packing day for our latest edition. Please enjoy moments of wrapping and packing below.

Blindsided with Room4Dessert

For the first time in 70 plus days, the four of us came together in one room to create a little experience for Room4Dessert's Blindsided dinner guests.

”Together but apart. The menu is meant to be a surprise and won’t be too complicated—you will have to boil some water and slice some things. We will leave a little space for your magic touch. At least for the dessert portion, where we will invite you to plate one of our signature desserts.”
—Chef Will Goldfarb

Inspired by the pass the parcel game, we created an interactive experience where guests got a wrapped gift that had a connection to the course they were about to enjoy. All the products came from Room4Dessert's new range of Pasar products, including sourdough panko, lemon kosho, a tisane, and seeds.

Individually wrapped and hand-lettered parcels with the names of the corresponding courses.

For some beautiful shots of the plated food created by one guest, head to over to R4D's instagram. You can also add the playlist for the night to your Spotify account. It was lovely to be back in the realm of creativity and events, even if it was ‘new normal‘.

Behind the design: The Way of Waves exhibition material

Designing for the Made Griyawan exhibition at John Hardy Seminyak was an honor. Bringing together a classic Bali brand celebrating modern heritage, and a young artist cognizant of 900 years of history and the need for renewal going forward made for great design inspiration.

We created a number of print, including flyers, postcards, and booklets, and digital materials. We also designed and produced a beautiful paper fan featuring Made Griyawan’s work in honor of the occasion. Handmade and finished with naturally dyed indigo thread tassels.

Long postcard.

Exhibition flyers.

Behind the design: Room4Dessert's 20/20:Hindsight

We first met Will Goldfarb all the way back in 2017 when he agreed to step on the TEDxUbud stage. Luckily it didn't seem to put him off us and we found ourselves reunited with him and his team in 2020 for a very exciting project- 20/20:Hindsight. Part one involved Elami and Co matching 6 of our favorite artists to 6 trail-blazing chefs from around the world, invited to Bali by Room4Dessert for a series of dinners all in aid of raising funds for the amazing KIM Woman's Center in Ubud. We created the posters for each Chef after pairing them with a specific artwork from the Bali-based artists. 

Will mentioned he liked the idea of each dinner have its own artwork and all of them together looking like a collection of record covers. The typefaces were chosen to live up to the standard of the Room4Dessert brand, modern but classic, and suitable for both print and digital. We went to two of our favorite type foundries, Colophon and Sharp Type and proceeded to geek out as usual over the custom typefaces. The choice of typeface really gives a personality to a piece. Even if you’re not into design, it subconsciously conveys a huge part of the story.

Part two is being led by Maya Kerthyasa, who will be crafting some incredible experiences and itineraries for each Chef in the lead up to the final dinner. We're looking forward to seeing what unfolds!

About the event: 

"Hindsight is our way of showing how clear our vision is, looking backwards of course. Selecting six of our favorite chefs to interact with Balinese culture, producers, artists, musicians, and of course ingredients. Each menu will be a custom experience based on the Chef’s itineraries. 

First up on April 5 is Dave Pynt from Burnt Ends in Singapore, currently one of the toughest tables to book in the world, and our good friend. Having plied his trade at the estimable Etxebarri, Chef Dave was our first guest chef, and we did our best not to burn the house down. Burnt Ends is currently #59 in the World’s 50 Best List, and showcases Chef Pynt’s vision of the magic of cooking with wood.

Next up, the king of “no such thing as a byproduct, just another product,” and we suspect, secret leader of an underground Danish supergroup, on 24 May, Matt Orlando of Amass, Copenhagen. Having recently expanded to an epic brewery operation (Broaden and Build), Chef Orlando comes to Bali to explore, to revive, and to excite. 

Leading our all female kitchen brigade next is Garima Arora of GAA, Bangkok on 21 June. Chef Garima has wowed critics globally with her personal take on traditional Indian and South Asian flavors, and provided us with one of our most memorable recent meals. (She was also recently named as Best Female Chef in Asia via the San Pellegrino juggernaut.)

Another powerhouse 19 July when Bo and Dylan of Bo-lan arrive to reinterpret traditional Thai food through the R4D pantry. You have likely seen Chef Bo recently on Chef’s Table, but we have been most impressed by the care she and her team take to prepare a basic family meal. 

Following Kadek Catri Diah Wardani’s stage, we were blessed to invite Namae-San of Effervescence in Tokyo, to cook with us 16 August. Chef Namae’s poetic style and outlook have inspired us for years, and this is a special chance to explore Balinese culture and community.

Lastly, but certainly not least, Chef Dan Hunter of Brae, will arrive for 20 September. At Brae, Chef Hunter produces over 90 percent of his ingredients from his surrounding farm, prepared in a signature refined style, that literally needs seeing to believe. His Phaidon book is a new classic, and the elegantly understated rooms at Brae provide a unique window into his all encompassing vision."

Our most loved memories of the year

Our 5th year was by far our most intense and creative year to date. We had the pleasure of working with incredible clients (new and old) and producing a variety of events, from 10 people dinners to over 500 attendee experiences, from product launches to employee appreciation, and everything in between.

Each of us remembered a different highlight of 2019, so we’ll work our way down the list of our top ten moments, in no particular order.

Ajeng

Putting together The Artists Dinner and Arta Derau creating a one-off set of ceramics in response to the theme, food and location of the event.

The first Open Studio at Threads of Life Natural Dye Studio and Garden, which also launched their new line of Farmer to Fabric products.

Daniela

The incredible projection mapping by Agung Prabowo on Carina Hardy’s Back to the Breast installation at The Artists Dinner.

Not an event that happened in 2019, but the excitement of brainstorming and programming for the new John Hardy Jewelry space in Seminyak in 2020 was a highlight of the year. Also seeing Make a Scene’s installation for the store.

Reuniting again with Room4Dessert for a series of posters for the 2020 event series entitled Hindsight: 2020- a cultural and gastronomic exploration of Bali featuring guest chefs, artists, media types, and artisan food producers.

Michellina

It takes a lot of people to do events. Even a small dinner has a supporting cast of over 25 people.

The details of The Elementals Dinner, including the edible landscape table centerpiece, the hand-lettered menu on the candle-lit lanterns, and the place names made of rice grains.

The collaboration between Cosa and Make a Scene! at the beginning of the year for a special event.

Mila

Going back to Setia Darma and having our TEDxUbud stage under the stars, framed by the rice-field and coconut trees once again.

Being able to bring The Creative Refresh into being in such wonderful spaces and with amazing collaborators.

We pick our favorite moments of TEDxUbud 2019

Our 8th edition was an incredible experience, possibly our strongest ever in terms of production and program. For an event that takes so much time and so many people to put together, often memories of those 12 hours can just seem like a blur of noise and light. Watching the photos come in from the phenomenal photographers can be a whole new experience and slightly surreal as we see things that as producers we didn’t get to witness in person (backstage doesn’t have great views), but only in our minds’s eye as we dreamed them up many months ago.

From over 1,300 official photos, it’s pretty hard to pick favorites. So we decided to ask each other what were our most loved images and memories of the night.

Prehistoric Body Theater performs. Photo by Shayna Pitch.

Ajeng’s choices

Julia blowing bubbles. Photo by Suki Zoe.

Making up the dinosaur dancers with natural clay pigment. Photo by Neyna Rahmadani.

Standing ovations always make our heart sing. Photo by Suki Zoe.

Daniela’s Picks

Azhar at work.

Under the X at night. Photo by Neyna Rahmadani.

With photographer Bang Dzoel. Photo by Suki Zoe.

Michellina’s favorites

Speaker Louise in deep concentration before going on stage. Photo by Neyna Rahmadani.

Joy and relief. Photo by Herry Santosa.

Powerful portrait of Jonny Miller by Bang Dzoel.

Mila’s picks

Food that moves! Cotton candy by Neyna Rahmadani.

The X from above. Photo by Neyna Rahmadani.

Our pop up name badge. Photo by Neyna Rahmadani.

Producing TEDxUbud 2019

We have the privilege of working with a group of amazing people every year. Thousands of people hours over months and months go into this one night. Every year we ask ourselves why we do this and every year the answer comes back the same: it’s because of the people we get to work with. From the technical crews, to the core team of volunteers, to sponsors, speakers, performers, on-the-day volunteers, creatives, it’s over 100 people who work on their small part of the magic.

Here are some of the less glamorous (but always satisfying) parts of the day before and day of TEDxUbud.

Wrestling the red dot. Photo by Suki Zoe.

X men at work. Photo by Neyna Rahmadani.

One of the most challenging days we’ve ever had because of the heat of the sun. Just incredibly hard on speakers and team. Photo by Suki Zoe.

Replacing a piece of the screen. Photo by Neyna Rahmadani.

Out go the cushions. Photo by Neyna Rahmadani

Waste management strategy in place. Photo by Herry Santosa.

A very focused jimmy jib operator. Photo by Suki Zoe.

The super team. Photo by Suki Zoe.

With Bang Dzoel, one of our official photographers.

Behind the stage. Photo by Bang Dzoel.

Photo by Neyna rahmadani.

Photo by Suki Zoe.