A classic flower on a Oey Soe Tjoen’s intricate batik cloth (Source: Widianti Widjaja)

Widianti “Kiem Lian” Widjaja is the third generation successor of Oey Soe Tjoen’s batik atelier (or OST for short). Known for their fine hand-drawn batik tulis, their works have been exquisite commodities among the collectors and institutions. In fact, there is still a long list of people who are waiting to order!

In this episode of aNERDspective (our NERD talk show where we converse with amazing friends about their textile adventure and perspectives), we talked to Kiem Lian about the process of making an OST batik and asked her some of the most intriguing questions that everyone might have on their mind.

Note: Full chat in Bahasa Indonesia is available on IG TV and this translation of the transcript has been edited for reading format.

Tony Sugiarta: Welcome Kiem Lian to today’s aNERDspective. How are you?

Widianti “Kiem Lian” Widjaja: Fine

How is Pekalongan during the COVID pandemic? 

Pekalongan is hit by a flood at the moment. 

It seems that it is an annual event.

Yes, almost every year.

We will be chatting casually. I am very grateful that you can spare some time to answer questions from our friends. Oey Soe Tjoen (OST) batik is so legendary that I reckoned there must be a lot of books or interviews regarding OST batik. I am often asked, why does an OST batik take so long to produce? The older ones will say that they will pass away before they can get the cloth. Hopefully, with today’s session, we can help to answer or clarify from OST atelier’s perspective regarding the process of making these textiles. 

Perhaps we can start with a quick introduction about who Kiem Lian is and your journey prior to taking over OST batik atelier.

I am the third generation from Oey Soe Tjoen (batik atelier) and I am the second child. I started taking over OST batik since 2006. In 2002, my dad suddenly passed away and I was asked by the big Oey family to manage the workshop. There are two of us (siblings), so the choice is either my brother or myself.

Have you been involved or helped out before?

Not yet. My dad died a month after I got married. I returned to Pekalongan to get married and a month later, he passed away. I have never known the world of batik. I only know casually as we live alongside batik, under one roof with my parents. To be completely involved, at that point, not yet.

Why did the big family choose you in the end, instead of your brother?

Initially, my brother was first offered. However, he stayed in West Timor then, it was impossible. His wife does not want to come here. Meanwhile, my husband is from Pekalongan and I stayed here after marriage. There is no other choice (who to continue the workshop).

So, it’s just because you are closer to home. 

Yes.

To understand a little bit about the process, why it took so long, etc, perhaps you can tell us about the process of the making of OST batik? If there is anyone who got the chance to order, how does it start?

Before I answer that question, let me give you an overview. In the first generation of OST, during my grandfather’s era, he had 150 employees. During my father’s time, he had 60 people and, in my time, I only have 12 people remaining.

We know that the slowing down is due to manpower. In our workshop, everyone is specialized. One person will complete one part, not the whole batik. There is division (of labour). If she is good at making flowers, she will complete the flower. For leaves and background, it is completed by someone else. If one completes her portion and if the artisan for the next step is still occupied, she cannot immediately take over. She has to complete what’s on hand and the batik piece has to wait for the next available slot. One piece requires up to five people. I, myself, am in charge of design, quality control and finishing (i.e. dyeing and wax removal).

By specialisation, you mean nyanting (hand drawing wax)?

Yes.

From the design perspective, OST batik are made to order, right? How was the design (process)? Do you make a new design or what was the design consideration during the discussion (with customers)?

During my parents’ time, they did have stocks as they had extra time to produce stocks. When someone came, they can choose the half-finished products and we continue the process. At that time, my parents kept half-finished batik, so a (walk-in) customer can choose two colours for the background. They have the luxury of time. It is impossible for me to produce stocks as I am still struggling to finish the current order.

Can they choose their own design?

When I first started, they can choose the design. Lately, as there is a long queue, they said that they can trust us with the selection. They leave it up to us, as long as they can get hold of an OST batik piece.

Where are we in the queue now?

I have stopped taking requests for orders for two years now.

Yes, we first met in 2018 when I brought some guests. We have to wait for two years before we can put down our order. And I checked back recently if we can do it and we are still unable to. You need patience to get good stuff.

After the design, you passed it to the artisans and because of the specialisation, it has to be in order. How long roughly does it take for the whole process?

We have no time limit. We give freedom to work. What’s important in the result, not the time (i.e. how fast you complete).

On average, how long does it take?

Up to 3-4 months for each section.

That is just the active touch time, you mentioned that there is a waiting time and such.

Yes. Also, we are dependent on the weather. If it is rainy weather like these few months, you can say that we are not productive. We use sunlight during dyeing. So we pile up the cloth, until we get the “right” sun with the right amount of heat. That is normally between 9-11 AM. Anything after 12PM, we cannot use. It is too hot.

That is a very small time window to get the optimal sunlight.

For dyeing, I want to ask. In the book, it is mentioned that you must re-learn everything and use your dad’s handwritten notes as a guide. I have a question: what is the consistency of the “first snot” during influenza?

To feel caustic soda, one of the components for dye fixing, when mixed with 5L of water, we must be able to feel like a slime. If it is too slimy, meaning that the solution is too harsh. So the consistency of the “first snot” is optimal.

Caustic on your hands, aren’t they dangerous?

It is! But that is the key to fixing, so we have to use that. 

You touch it directly, without any gloves? Or how do you handle it?

Bare hands, without gloves.

I learnt a little bit about dyeing and I read that you have to “feel it”. Batik, indeed, must use all senses.

Yes. For the blue, you have to directly use air keras (ed.: referring to a very acidic solution of pH 1 to 2, which could lead to burnt skin when not handled properly. In batik, some dyes use a concentrated nitric acid as a fixer), and we need to feel it by hand when poured into the water.

You learnt all these from your father’s notes?

Yes, when I was waiting for my marriage day, I was home for about six months. Then, I always accompanied my father to work, without thinking that one day batik will be under my care. So I was just sitting and chatting, for fun. Without realising, he was actually giving me some important lessons.

Do you have some examples?

For example is the “first snot” example when I asked what do you feel? 

Another example is the blue colour. It depends on the sun, not the time. That uses only feeling or instinct. So I asked, “what are your looking at?”, as I did not see anything changes. He said that you have to look at the head of the bird. If the head is grey, don’t leave it until it turns blue, you need to go for the next step. When it reacts with air keras, it will turn blue. If it is blue, it will go even darker with the air keras.

At that time, I was just curious. When I tried it myself, then I understand that what he told me were actually important lessons.

So, with the formula, weighing scales and other measurements, they do not guarantee (that the dyes will turn out well).

It does not. From the formula that Papa gave, it has totally changed now.

What change? The quality of the raw materials?

Yes.

After everything is done, you remove the wax and then QC. How often is the QC? Right at the end or at every stage?

At every stage. I do not continue if it does not pass. 

That is for those who are in the middle of processing. What if the result is not as expected when everything is completed?

I will burn them.

Why don’t you sell it off?

Thing is, if I sell a substandard item, people will not know if it is substandard or not. They will only see that it is OST-produced. (It will not be good) when they finally find out that it is of lesser quality.

So that is to preserve the quality. What would you say the character of an authentic OST batik?

I am often asked that question but I think the collectors are the ones who can answer them. I made it based on what I feel. Who can see the differences among OST batik and other batik are the collectors or researchers. I see that all my batik are the same.

Do you see any difference among the first generation, second generation and the batik that you make?

From first to second generation, I did not see any stark difference as my father mainly continued what my grandfather did. Perhaps, I am bolder in my colour selection and I experiment with new designs, some of which are born out of necessities. When I first take over OST, I did not know how to wear a jarik (ed.: full length batik cloth). When I wear one, it will not be straight.

For Encim-style batik (ed.: the buketan motif), the flower (bouquet) at the front and at the back must be aligned. I do not know how to do that then. Hence, I made one in which it is not obvious even when I wear them improperly.

Ok, the most important is to keep the quality. Other than burning them, what did you do to prevent these substandard products as well as to keep the authenticity of an OST batik.

I treated all of them like what my father and grandfather did. There is no change. Indeed, I selected artisans with a certain standard. If they cannot follow my standard, I have to let them go.

What is the selection process of your artisans?

For any new artisan, they must first know how to nyanting. I will not accept if they do not know how to wax. Like in school, they must first graduate from elementary school (with basic education) and I am the high school to further refine their skill.

The front part will be waxed by an experienced artisan and the newcomer will continue on the other side (ed.: nerusi, a process to trace the wax from the opposite side to ensure proper resist on both sides of the cloth). When they are more experienced, they will then be asked to do the front part. If they are unable to trace or keep on making mistakes on the back, they cannot work with me. I would rather work with fewer people than working with more people but we have to keep on repeating the work.

About regeneration, perhaps not just in OST but as a whole, the artisans are older and there are no young batik artisans, what is your experience in OST?

During my mother’s time, she did a lot of regeneration effort by teaching these artisans to follow OST’s standard. However, I see it as a wasted effort because once they get what they want, they will quit and work with other workshops. They will always be accepted by other workshops. Anyone who came out of OST will be accepted everywhere. I felt that I have sacrificed a lot for training, including time and materials, and there is no result. When I took over, I did not continue with the regeneration as most are pre-orders and customers do not want their orders to be an experiment or training.

What are the reasons that they leave?

It could be that in OST, they will be considered a junior and in other places, they are a senior. 

Hence, they can get higher pay?

Not exactly. They said that in my place, they have to be very slow and careful. They have to work with perasaan (a good sense of touch. Check out another artist talking about rasa in batik). In other places, they can complete it quickly and get paid faster.

How are they paid?

Per parts (, by each piece).

Do they all come and work at the workshop?

That was in the past, during my parents’ time. After I took over, they work at their own place.

So, when they complete, they submit and they get paid?

Yes.

They are purely paid for their wax work. How about materials?

Materials (e.g. cloth, wax, canting), they are all from me.

Indeed, they received a net pay for their wax effort.

Yes. Sometimes, they use our wax to complete other workshop’s order. Our wax can stay well for up to six months. For other workshops, the artisan have to buy their own wax. The problem is when we engage these people who work for several workshops, they will mix the different wax (from multiple sources) and affect the quality of ours.

Other than these, what are some challenges in expanding OST batik?

The main challenge is manpower which decreases as the time goes by. If they are my children, I can direct them. For example, if they cannot draw, I can enroll them in an arts class so that they can take over. I cannot force that on other people’s children. 

So the 12 people are solely doing the wax works?

Yes, I did the dyeing myself. I selected one of them to be my assistant during dyeing.

How about the children of the current artisans? Are they with you or working elsewhere?

They do not work with other workshops. Most of them work in a konveksi (ed.: a small scale clothes-making facility) making jeans. Some are also in school.

So the criteria to work in OST is that one must be patient and sharp-eyed.

You took over because you were requested to and according to what I read, you also need to complete the order that your father had taken. If you were to set up your own batik workshop and brand, what will you do differently?

It is impossible. If I were to make my own batik, the process must be out of this house. It cannot be in this house (ed.: currently Kiem Lian is residing at her ancestral home in Kedungwuni). This house is reserved for OST batik. If I were to make other batik lines, I would have to get out of this house. The process must be out of this house. 

Is that a mandate?

Yes, it is from my mother. Often, if you make a batik on two tracks, the hand-written ones will be destroyed.

Ok, so you only make fine batik tulis and never go for handstamped batik.

Yes, it cannot be in another form. That is a mandate from my grandfather to my father. If I am unable to do so, I have to quit.

If you quit, what happens to OST batik?

It is over.

In the future, as the workers are aging, it will be more difficult to find a new batch of manpower. In the future, I will not take orders but I will continue to make batik without (the pressure) of a pre-order. When I complete one, I will offer and sell it. If there are no takers, that is fine, I will keep them.

How long till we reach there?

Perhaps that will start in 2025.

So people can know when to hunt for OST batik again. It will be the fastest finger first. Will you get your kid to continue?

I will not choose either one of them.

So it can end in this generation?

Yes.

Is there any pressure to continue the legacy of OST?

From the big family, there is no pressure as they know the real condition. From an outsider’s perspective, they often ask why don’t I choose one of my children to continue? 

Personally, I will not choose and I will neither direct nor force either one to continue. However, I will guide them and get them to assist me with the work. From there, we can see who is the one who is genuinely interested. If neither is interested, it is their path and I cannot enforce that they should be on the same path as mine. They might have their own path. 

So I have to be prepared. The big OST family has started to prepare themselves. If one day this (legacy) should end, just don’t stop at the lowest point.

If one day this (legacy) should end, just don’t stop at the lowest point.

Thank you for that message. I think that it is important for people to know that many find it a pity that this legacy has to be discontinued. However, we do not know what actually happened and there are other perspectives from the workshops which we might not know. So, thank you for sharing that.

(Another FAQ) OST is not impacted by the pandemic. What do you think?

If I say that I am not impacted, people will say that I am arrogant. *laughter*.

I have closed taking request to order since two years ago, so I am finishing the incoming orders. (ed.: if you managed to get yourself into the queue in Kiem Lian’s order book, you will be attended as soon as possible). When the orders are completed, they have a potential owner. If the customer cancelled the order because of the pandemic, I will offer it to the next person in the queue, so that they skip a few numbers and don’t wait for too long.

As for my husband’s shop, it is impacted because the buyers do not have any income. Pekalongan has a lot of konveksi and many are working there. Hence, if the textile konveksi are not producing, many people are let go.

Are the expenses now subsidised by the income from batik?

Honestly, on the contrary, batik is subsidised by the shop, not the other way around. I can continue in batik business because my husband has another source of income. Family expenses are my husband’s responsibility and income from batik is not used for our daily expenses. (So, I can have more creative space in developing batik). To my knowledge, if they are depending on batik for their livelihood, they are more impacted if their sales drop.

We discussed that OST only make fine hand-drawn batik and there is no handstamped batik, how about products with smaller sizes?

We ever produced a wall hanging. My parents did make wall hanging with different dimensions, of width ranging from 30 cm to 1m. At that time, the buyers were foreigners and not Indonesians. For Indonesians, for the price they pay for a wall decoration, they would prefer to buy the cloth. 

I mentioned that you received a lot of the same questions that you released a new book. Can you tell us the process and inspiration to produce that book?

At first, I wanted to make a catalog of all OST collections. Within the timeframe of two years, that was not realized because out of 150 designs, there are still many empty logs without any photo. I could not get the images from the collectors and I have to make them myself. This reproduction takes time. 

Recently, I asked my customers on the queue, if they do not have motif preference, they can get ahead of the queue and they can get their OST piece faster. I will make one to complete the catalogue and I will offer them to these buyers when completed. If they want a specific design, then they have to wait until their turn. After two years, I could not even complete this catalogue.

In the midst of all this, I also wrote a biography. When I accompanied my grandmother, my mother and my uncle for interviews, I wrote down what they said. From there, I compiled them and if there’s anything missing, I interview any relatives who are still around. 

Ed.: the book is bilingual, written in Bahasa Indonesia and translated into English. The book talks about the journey of Oey Soe Tjoen’s atelier. It address some of the most frequently asked questions, like what took them so long to produce a piece? why do you not train new artisans? Of course, a feast for the eyes of some OST batik pieces. We have some copies (both regular and limited edition version with signature and a small OST batik swatch) available in Singapore and do contact us if you would like to purchase.

There is also a Oey family tree, who do batik and who do not. I find it interesting as there are not many batik makers who show their lineage.

Yes, because many people said that they are an Oey.

They sell batik with Oey’s name?

Yes. (For example), my grandmother’s name is Kwee Nettie and there is a batik with brand Nettie Kwee, just the name reversed.

So there is no connection?

No.

Wow, there are a lot of tricks to make an imitation. Does OST produce batik with Grandma’s name?

Yes, they ever sell them for 2 years.

Is there any difference between batik that were signed by OST or the one signed by your grandmother?

Actually, the makers are the same – dyeing done by Grandpa and QC by Grandma, just the signatures are different. However, at that time, the one signed by Grandpa’s name, Oey Soe Tjoen, sold better. Hence, it was decided that we will not use Grandma’s name.

So, everything from design to quality are the same?

Yes. Exactly.

Really the power of branding. 

In that era, a female’s name is not important and, as many has proven, you cannot put their name.

So, why did they start using Grandma’s name as a signature?

It was not told why they started that but it did not sell well and, hence, discontinued.

From what I see, the one signed with Grandma’s, the gradation (of colours) is not as good as those signed with Grandpa’s. The colour combination is simpler but the background is more detailed.

What is interesting from the book, for a little preview?

For the first book, I am recounting the transformation from the first generation OST until my generation. It recounts the ups and downs from the day we started until surviving it today. For the second book, I will tell the production process. People can imagine why the process is so long, why it cannot be sped up like other makers. There, I want to show the process in detail since the old days.

So there will be a second book. 

Yes, but it will still be very far, in about two years.

That is the first preview for the next book here! I believe many people will be waiting for it.

Because that is the secret of OST.

We are certainly waiting for that! Before we close off this conversation, do you have any messages for our readers?

For all OST batik lovers, I would like to express my gratitude for all the appreciation and how you would like to love and own a piece of OST batik. However, due to limitations and my capabilities, I sincerely apologise if I am unable to deliver as expected. 

Once again, thank you for dropping by and I hope this can answer some questions from our readers about the making of an OST batik.

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. While Kiem Lian does not accept orders at the moment, you may check out her Instagram for behind the scenes of OST production. If you would like a copy of Oey Soe Tjoen’s latest bilingual book Merajut Asa Dalam Sejuta Impian, do contact us for a ready stock in Singapore.

Photo credit: Widianti Widjaja, unless stated otherwise.