Chronicles

She stands barefoot on the balcony watching the dancing soldiers of Jathilan. Some folk believe that Jathilan is a dance hiding the secret spirit of the great Java War, to blind the enemy from our desire for freedom. She too has this desire, to be free and wild. It is a mystical night perfumed with uncertainties. A falling star suddenly paints a momentary hope. As if her angel in the sky hears my silence, whispering to heal her loneliness. I kiss her soft lips and press her hands. In between us, there is a time that I wish to freeze. In one thousand magical dreams, I am forever madly in love with my ‘sweetnite’.

TULISAN AIR 2020 (Artist In Residence) is a curatorial program for an exclusive collection of Farand Rasyid Hazfanur (16 years old), a gifted young painter with a Cerebral Palsy disability. On 23 September 2020, we will be presenting a selected list of six Giclée prints from his abstract paintings. Each edition is available in three different sizes. Giclée is a digital print on matte canvas with museum-quality of archival standards, stretched on wooden frames.

Since 1945, we, Indonesians, have celebrated 17 August as our independence day. We have really come a long way since then. Today, more women receive equal opportunities, more access to better education, more workers are paid fairly, more companies embrace transparency, and more people are mindful about their footprint to the environment. Every single Tulisan product is handmade with love by local artisans in Indonesia.

A great poet was born in Medan, North Sumatra, on 26 July 1922.
His ideas were too early for his time.
He used Bahasa to ignite a revolution in the mind.
His linguistic skills created a movement for freedom.
During war and misery, his poetry opens another window to the imagination.

A woman is beautiful because of her strong soul. Adorned with embroidered calligraphy, THE STENOGRAPH SERIES is our collector's edition which reflects Javanese philosophy. We created this hand-pulled serigraph in a limited run, through sustainable and ethical practices in Indonesia. Every artwork is signed and numbered, with a certificate of authenticity. The first edition of our STENOGRAPH bag features artwork 'Suwung Pamrih, Tebih Ajrih', opus no. 1910.

‘Sunrise’ textile design uses floral ornament sketches from one of our classic stories, THE SOUND OF DAWN. This short prose was written and illustrated by Melissa Sunjaya in 2011. It is a metaphor for an awakening of the soul that recognizes that all beings are equal and united in harmony. It’s a new dawn for everyone.

It was a challenge to bring this design into production, because of the screen size and the fine fabric. The hand-screened printing process took five times longer than our regular print run because the textile is so delicate. We had to extend preparation time since we had to iron all sheets to achieve the best inking impressions. After, we had to make sure that our printing atelier is extra tidy and clean from specks of dust. The highly porous nature of this fabric enables it to absorb the pigment well and produce brilliant colours. 

Every customer's satisfaction and excellent quality control become a daily goal that we aim to foster. Alongside this, we continuously improve tulisan.com to serve you better. Only after a short time operating our brand-new online experience, we have received remarkable reviews from our collectors and new followers about both our products and services. It's been encouraging for our team to receive appreciation messages on our progress. So thank you for your patience and understanding.

Our products are hand-made and are not of mass production.

Each product is different, and it has been our technical specs and brand DNA since we started in 2010. After printing, we rotated the serigraph sheet before cutting, to avoid having uniformity of the print positions. Many hand-labour methods of the printing process also add variants to the diversity of print impressions.

This original pen-and-ink sketch of ‘Roses’ was first inked in 2009. There are twelve roses in the drawing. The number twelve plays a significant role in the message. It symbolizes a complete cycle of twelve, such as 12 months in a year, 12 hours, 12 zodiac signs, and many more. There is the number ‘1’ which represents completion, perfection, and independence. Then it is paired with number ‘2’, which signifies the other perspective of any given situation. Together as ‘12’, it means harmony.

Today is Earth Day. Many of us are facing the biggest concerns of our lives: first of all,  our wellbeing in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and secondly, the future of our children on our planet. We are forced to be apart, yet we are more connected in so many ways. Together in our minds, we are stronger and we believe that we can endure this difficult time. During this global self-isolation period, we have contemplated on current ways of living and how we can make a better tomorrow. Our intention, our health, and our planet are intimately connected. We cannot continue running with greed, instead, we wish to plant the new seeds of empathy so that our planet will be a happier garden.

She adored mythology, took interest in a vegetarian lifestyle, and detested polygamy. Raden Adjeng Kartini, an Indonesian hero born in Jepara, was one of the pioneers of education and equal rights for women in her time. Many inspirations of our product designs came from women who live during the Dutch Colonial period in Indonesia. Times were tough for the proletariat and gender discrimination was high. It took a determined mind to break social pressure. These women became the first female athletes, scholars, pilots, sailors, and spies.