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Batik
the Beauty
of Wax Painting
On the island
of Java in the country of Indonesia, batik is an industry that has
been in existence for hundreds of years. Batik (the Javanese word
for "wax painting"), is a technique of painting on both sides of a
cloth with melted wax then dipping the cloth in a dye. The dye is
absorbed by the uncovered areas but resisted by the waxed areas.
After the wax is removed (by boiling), the process may be repeated
many times with dyes of other colours. All
the designs we use are traditional designs from the Tasikmalaya
region of West Java, Indonesia.
 The word batik is
thought to be derived from the word 'ambatik' which translated
means 'a cloth with little dots'. The suffix 'tik' means
little dot, drop, point or to make dots. Batik may also originate
from the Javanese word 'tritik' which describes a resist
process for dying where the patterns are reserved on the textiles by
tying and sewing areas prior to dying, similar to tie dye
techniques.
All
of our batik is batik cap or cetak. This process
utilizes a stamp to apply the wax to the fabric, and it is
traditionally done by men. 'Batik
tulis', which literally means 'batik writing', requires a stylus in
order to apply wax to the fabric. This delicate work is usually done
by women - as can be seen below, it can be a real social occasion.
 On an authentic piece of batik, the colour and pattern on the
reverse side of the cloth will be just as intense as on the
front side. We purposefully avoid making robes from non-authentic
"batik" cloth such as "batik" printing, or cloth with only a batik
motif. We only use real handmade batik cap and batik tulis or a
combination of both. In this way we are able to support the poor,
and help ensure that their traditional skills do not die out.
All
batik textile are either 100% cotton for bathrobes and 100% silk for
scarves.
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