Signature hand pose of Be Practical holding a long wallet made with Batik Lasem  (Source: Be Practical)

Rosianna “Ochie” Rusly is an Industrial Engineering graduate from University of Washington, Seattle, USA. Prior to pursuing her passion in Crafts & SMEs, Ochie was a Management Consultant in Accenture Indonesia focusing in Supply Chain Management. She then joined various Startups in Crafts & SMEs industry while setting up her own sustainable brand: Be Practical.

In this episode of aNERDspective (our NERD talk show where we converse with amazing friends about their textile adventure and perspectives), we talked to Ochie about creatively upcycling pre-consumer fabric waste, incorporating lean production principles into small businesses and celebrating local talent beyond heritage.

Note: Full chat is available on IG TV and this transcript has been edited for reading format.

 

Tony Sugiarta (TS): Welcome Ochie to another episode of aNERDspective. How are you doing?

Rosianna Rusly (RR): Very good. How are you?

Good. How is the pandemic in Jakarta?

It has been a while, so people are pretty much bored, I guess. But we are still hoping for the vaccines to be distributed soon. At least, we can be positive about it.

So, today’s session will be a very relax chit-chat session. Ochie is the brain behind Be Practical, which is a very practical accessories – wallet and card cases – using offcut textiles. We will be talking more about the business impact from COVID and all but probably we can start with a little introduction of who Ochie is, your background, and how you started up Be Practical.

I graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle. I was majoring in Industrial Engineering. Once I graduated, I joined Accenture Management Consulting back in Jakarta and I was focusing on Supply Chain Management. I spent almost 5 years in Accenture and then I found my passion in creative thinking, craft, as well as SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) business. I joined various start-ups, which revolve around Arts and SMEs, since. So, that was my first love to this industry. 

For myself, since I was a kid, I love drawing, sketching, DIY projects, doing things and making things my own. I also collect batik fabrics. I love the prints and how they make it. Whenever I travel around Indonesia, I basically look for their traditional clothes and always get myself a batik or a tenun. I usually turn them into clothes, like dresses, tops, and pants as well. But if I really really like the fabric, I keep it as it is, I do not want to cut anything from it. I just keep it as one (whole) piece and then just wrap it when I want to wear it. Since I make some clothes and I see how hard it is to make one piece of batik, when I see a lot of scraps come from batik dresses and clothes, I was triggered, “What can we do with this cut-off batik and tenun?”

I don’t really like things that are pretty but you cannot really use it. I like to have things that are really practical, very easy to use, and help me to do things more efficiently or faster. Basically align to my major, which is everything has to be efficient and lean. So, there is Be Practical, where we are trying to bring impact to the world by crafting practical goods, embracing local talents, and creatively minimising waste.

When do you start the brand? What triggers you to set up Be Practical?

It started from two to three years ago. That was the very first idea. But I am not focusing on how or what to do to make this as a main business. I do not continue that until 2019. So, that is the first start for Be Practical.

If you can introduce a little bit of product ranges that you have and how it evolves?

Sure. It started with a long wallet. This is the first product that we created. It is a long wallet that is very thin, with thickness less than 0.5cm. When opened, it has 2 compartments – one big and small parts (for cards and receipts). This is our first baby.

Once we created a long wallet, we also created the mini version, with the same design but in a smaller version, with two compartments as well. 

During this pandemic, we created one more product. Because we know that we do not really carry cash these days and we just need to bring cards when we go out. So, we have a new design, the card case. It has 3 compartments on front and back side (total 6 compartments). It is very practical and simple. You can just put this in your pocket and go to do groceries. 

It is really practical as you said. How long does it take for you to come up with a  design, prototyping process, could you share a little more about that? 

We work in the arts, so when I got the idea, it was not that long to create the concept, measurement, etc. As I already know what kind of product I want to make, I usually do a lot of sketches and because I am basically an engineer, so I have to prototype, sketch, and measure everything. I usually use some scraps, for example, when I mistakenly cut a fabric, I use any scraps so that we can prototype the product first. Then we see how it goes from there, from how I like the look of the end product, and how to fasten the production time, as well as reducing the amount of waste and amount of fabric that we use. 

Do you do the production yourself?

No, I do cut the fabrics (myself) because one of the main points of Be Practical is that we try to make a design that shows the beauty of fabric. So, I do cut the fabric myself to make sure which part of fabric is best for the products and I have two more team (members) to make the rest of the products.

It is really your experiences and your education as an engineer to get into things like supply chain, efficiency, and design. It seems that it is very organised. 

Thank you. I think one of the biggest waste is also time, so we try to do a lot of lean productions. My team also works from home. They are basically mums or young women, so they can have time to take care of their kids and households as well. I think it helps to know how to make productive time for other needs.

One of the biggest waste is time… it helps to know how to make productive time for other needs.

I think you are the second guest who is talking about lean production. I used to be in a research lab and we learnt about Lean Six Sigma and lean production. It is really interesting to see someone in the industry where we talk about art and creative scenes, which are mostly “unplanned” or “do whatever that you like”.

When I went to school, it seemed that lean is more of manufacturing or big factories, like car factories or even airplanes. We try to make sure that now, starting with the hospital, they are also being lean. 

(In a way,) this is also manufacturing in a very small scale and a handmade process. So, it is not a different concept basically. 

In terms of sourcing, where do you get your cloth?

I contacted various brands as well as some friends that I know. They are locals, based in Jakarta, so whenever they have a pile of cut-offs, they just send it to me. 

Previously, I used dobby fabric commonly used for batik, but I feel that the cut-off from dobby is very limited, it is very low in supplies. I explore other materials from fast moving fashion brands, completely other materials which are nice too. So, this is one of the things that we explore during the pandemic. It is still cut-off, it is still waste for others, but it is also something that we can use and still being sustainable.

Yes, talking about design. Our sister brand, aNERDstore, does carry some of Be Practical products in our consignment stores. Some of the feedback that we have gotten is that some of the backing (ed.: inner lining). For example, we ever have a Yogyakarta’s style Parang motif that looks very manly, but the lining was dobby. For some of the male customers, they like the outer design, but the inside is too shimmering and girly. The solid lining might be a great alternative as well.

It is a very good input. 

Is there a particular criteria of what cloth that you use? Or can any brands actually contact you and pass you their scraps?

Yes. Before, it was just batik and tenun, but now I am very open because we can now use the plain fabric as the inner lining. If you have something with more prints, we can put it in the front part of the product.

So, we are trying to use everything and we are very open to collaborating with more brands.

You mentioned that you got all these different cut-offs and you use the larger pieces to make the bigger wallets and smaller wallets. If there is any leftover you make it into card cases. Do you have an estimate of how much waste that you have left after you cut everything?

It really depends. If I got the scraps from tailors, like those who make men’s shirts or women’s dresses, they have different patterns and different cuts, so I would say probably the remaining from what I have got, I would think (it is) less than 10%, I guess. And for the 10%, I also send it to another crafters who make patchwork. So, they can utilise those small fabrics and combine with others to make a patchwork.

So, it is really almost zero waste. Where do you draw your inspiration to come with all these products?

Anywhere. Sometimes it comes from my own needs. For example (showing a long wallet), I usually take this when I travel because I do not want to carry a lot of things. I used to carry a zipper wallet, because in Indonesia we carry a lot of cards, even my house keys in my wallet, coins, and everything else. So, when I travel, I only bring certain cards, enough cash, and I do not need membership cards and everything else. That comes from me, I need a smaller, thinner, and lighter wallet. That is why I created this wallet.

Sometimes I have a small bag, it does not fit if I use a regular wallet then I need the smaller one which is easy for me to just put it in and go. 

It really comes out from the fact that you need all these and you incorporate them with the off-cuts that you got.

We talked a little bit about minimising waste and  incorporating sustainability. What has Be Practical done in your process or your activities to include these sustainability concepts?

First thing is that we use off-cut fabric. We are actually utilising someone else’s waste. And, the way we cut our fabric, we try to maximise how much that we can use from the fabric itself without disregarding the beauty of it. As I mentioned, all of our team are working from home, so there is no travel. And things are being shipped in bulk, so it is not going to be shipped one by one.

I want to also talk about the packaging. We notice that our products are mostly gifts for someone else. We want to use this packaging as a gift pack as well, so they do not need to bring more boxes or wrap it before giving to someone else. They can use this packaging and check if this is the right pattern that they bought without having to open the product itself.

That is how we actually try to incorporate sustainability as well.

Is there anything that you would like to add on but you have not done?

I think what I have not done is mostly on the product design. By this time, we only have these three basic shapes for the products. That is what we are going to do this year, where we can create more products as well, but still continuing these three products because some people like these designs. The main idea of Be Practical is that we want to embrace the beauty of the fabric. We want to keep the design simple, but the main highlight is basically the fabric itself.

Do you use batik only? Because I think most of your feeds (on Instagram) are mostly batik fabric.

Most are batik. But then, this year we actually collaborate with more local brands as well, so we use some locally sourced products as well. We notice that basically batik is art, so people draw with canting and wax. But then these days, there are more youngsters who draw with computers doing digital design. So, we do want to work more with digital design so it is not only batik, but it is also something that people created. For example (Ochie showed a design), she actually designed the whole fabrics, but the fabrics inside are still the cut-off materials. We are still using the cut-off materials, not just the custom-made fabrics. 

So, this pattern is done by a local designer? 

Yes.  

It is a printed textile? 

This one is a printed textile. They designed the textile and then printed it. And then, some of them make it into clothes and then (we got) many fabrics from them. 

So, you are not just celebrating local culture, but also local talents or local designers as well? 

Exactly. Before, we were embracing just the local heritage, but I think this is bigger than just heritage. We want to include all the talents in Indonesia.

Are you currently selling it online? 

Back when I started Be Practical, the main driver was more on consignment because I have a full-time job, so I do not think I can handle any online business because it is a B2C and you have a lot of customer interactions. But when the COVID hit Indonesia, it changed the whole business. So, we do a lot more on online marketing now as well. We still have those consignment places, but we focus more on the online business for now.

It is kind of a result of COVID?

Correct. Yes.

Probably you can share a little bit more of how COVID and the pandemic impacted Be Practical as a whole? 

That was one of the shifts from COVID era. That is we do a lot more online marketing, online digital presence and listing in a lot of marketplaces. This product (card case) is actually born during this COVID era. I will not even think about this before because we still use a lot of cash in Indonesia. Probably people will not even think about bringing just cards. So, this is one of the items that we created during COVID. 

Then, it is the change of fabric that we get. Before if I traveled, I could get fabrics from all over Indonesia. These days, it is becoming more difficult. But it is actually a blessing, I guess, because we now use not only just the dobby material, but it is also the non-dobby materials that still match with the patterns. 

So the pandemic has not been too bad, I guess?

It was not. I thought it was going to be pretty bad, but I think, to see from the brighter side, it has a lot of good impact for the future as well. 

One of them is giving birth to one new product. Similarly with this interview, we started during the pandemic as well because we wanted to give different perspectives around textiles, and we used to do it offline through workshops and seminars. During COVID, everyone was staying at home and Instagram Live was very popular. Then, after people went back to the office, the live audience got fewer, but they watched the recording. It continues and it is really very inspiring and informative to listen to all the guests who have come so far. 

I agree. I think that was one of the lessons for me too. I started listening to a lot of other brands, sharing about their brands, about their journey and then I also started this online sharing during the pandemic which, I think, is a good thing. So, everyone is sharing their experiences and understanding about this industry, which is good. 

So you are currently mostly, in terms of market, in Indonesia?

I list it on etsy.com as well so I do get some orders from abroad but mainly still locals. Since I put it in consignment places, I am not really sure if they are local tourists or they are actually international tourists as well who bought the products. So, I guess that is one of the key (learnings) that I am learning from the consignment business as well. 

So you put in consignment stores that caters to tourists?

Basically anyone because those stores are in Jakarta and in Bali. So probably in Bali there are more tourists. In Jakarta, there are a lot of expats as well and tourists. That part, I do not really know who actually bought it. 

Yes, you cannot get the information directly as if you were in the online space.

So, we have established that the pandemic was not so bad. What are some of the challenges that you have faced while running Be Practical? 

Supply was one of the biggest challenges. Because these are cut-off materials, so every design is very limited. You cannot do any restock from each material because I do not even know where they bought that material. So, supply was a pain, but it was also a beauty for the product itself. When I mentioned the inner lining part, it is not unique but it is also limited. It is not that much available basically from the supply side. So, that was one of the triggers for me to actually find other sources and what can be transformed to wallets as well.

Other than the supplies, are there anything else? 

The second one was the consignment. We now learn to do online marketing.  We are learning to have a lot of presence as well. And basically to be patient about how we sell this online. 

So, you did all that (digital marketing, etc) on your own?

No, somebody else still helps me out there.

I am under the impression that you do still have a full-time job. I am very (impressed) that you have been very consistent on the internet, on social media as well. You have a full-time job and running all this side business. I am just amazed at how you are productive and manage your time. 

Well, thank you. It is still a learning for me too, but I think as long as I know when to basically get help. On which part I can do and which one I think I would need some help, that is the key point.

It sounds like prioritizing what to do. 

Yes, that’ right.

Going back a little bit on product feedback. Some of them are light colored and I believe that you want to make something that is long-lasting as well. What are some of the tips to take care of your products? Because I do not think you can wash them. 

No, unfortunately, we cannot really wash this. What I usually do is that you just need a cloth. Then just put a bit of water on the cloth, but do not make it very wet, just lightly watered. (ed.: damp). Then just tap on the products. If it is dust then it can just be wiped off. If it is water-based, like sauce from food, unfortunately, it has to be carefully taken care of by doing it very slowly and very lightly as well.

I think we are almost towards the end of our (session). Before we close off, what are some of the ongoing projects or what is upcoming from the Be Practical that we can expect in the near future? 

We are going to do more of the wholesale orders. If somebody wants to get some corporate gifts and that you do not want to choose each of the fabric, you can (specify) and leave it to Be Practical to select the design. Or, you can do custom prints as well, where we still use the cut-off for the inner lining, and then we custom the outer design. Also the packaging is very different. 

Before, we were embracing just the local heritage, but I think this is bigger than just heritage. We want to include (and celebrate) all the (creative) talents in Indonesia.

It looks really good, so you can have your own design, your prints that you can customize for your clients. 

Yes and your own brand as well. But then, we still push that we use the remaining fabrics as the inner lining, so it is of less waste.

Sounds good. Anything else that you are working on?

I think that is it. So, hopefully, it is something that we can bring a positive impact to the world and to our society as well. And hopefully, people in Singapore also can see the idea and the vision that we are bringing. 

Thank you so much again Ochie for dropping by and sharing your experience. 

We hope you enjoyed this episode of aNERDspective. Check out the previous episode on IGTV and our gallery and store if you would like a piece of Indonesia for your home or wardrobe. Selected range of Be Practical products are available at aNERDstore website and stockists.

Photo credit: Be Practical, unless stated otherwise.