The quote “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” perfectly captures the essence of these artisan shops. Transforming waste into sophisticated, high-quality goods is no easy feat, yet these shops have embraced the challenge by repurposing what was considered waste materials and establishing businesses that are not only environmentally-friendly but also purposefully sustainable.
Popsiklus
Popsiklus has quite the practical background story. A graphic designer who had to put down her stylus due to motherhood found herself an entirely different challenge at home: garbage.
The neighbourhood that she lived in lacked a regular garbage collection service and often left the waste in her house uncollected. Founder Nia Rachel Sugihrehardja then soon found herself with a pile of milk cartons and plastic and decided to manage her own trash. Managing organic waste was a lot easier than the recycled ones, but this exact problem was the main drive for Nia in creating Popsiklus.
First, she started by transforming these milk cartons into quirky book covers, these creations made charming gifts for her family and friends, eventually catching the discerning eyes of bazaar-goers who suggested Nia to sell her products instead of just keeping them as gifts supplies and thus, slowly and surely, Popsiklus was born in 2009.
What the world often sees as disposable waste, Popsiklus turns them into crafts that are functional, vibrant and cool. With milk cartons leading the charge as the primary materials, Popsiklus creates tote bags coming in bold colours and sophisticated designs, while plastic bottle caps are reimagined as sturdy handles and ornaments for the brand’s signature bags. Book covers and eye-catching wallets are also a favourite amongst loyal customers. Proving that Popsiklus’ creative approach exemplifies their commitment to sustainability and adaptive design philosophy that embraces material constraints as a creative challenge.
Unlike traditional materials such as fabric, where errors can be easily rectified, milk cartons present a unique challenge: once pierced by a needle, the holes are there to stay. A single product goes through ten meticulous stages of production, and if a mistake is made at stage seven, it’s back to square one. A single bag alone requires three days of dedicated work, such attention and time put into this craftsmanship ensures the quality of Popsiklus products.
IG: @popsiklus
Patémar
Sometimes passion and love for mother earth can birth the most audacious ideas. Rudy Hertanto never planned to delve into the world of fashion, but one transformative scuba trip to Labuan Bajo altered his life plans.
A devoted scuba diver, Rudy always bears a special kind of love for the ocean, so when he saw these beautiful beaches and seas constantly marred by the persistent blight of plastic, he knew he had to do something about it, in whatever capacity that he could. He thus then created Patémar with the philosophy of turning pollutants into a sartorial product, something people can cherish and use to return to the same waters they were polluting. With their flagship product, swim shorts for men, Patémar emphasises the notion of metamorphosing the undesirable into the desirable.
As a premium lifestyle brand dedicated to crafting swimwear from recycled ocean-bound plastic waste, the process of creating one product is a laborious cycle of tailoring and design. The transformation of waste into wearable art is an intricate process in which plastic waste is meticulously sorted and shredded. Then they undergo a reverse engineering process that turns them into fine threads, which are then woven into high-quality fabric.
Unlike conventional swimwear, which involves only a handful of panels at the maximum, each of Patémar’s swim shorts consists of 18 distinct parts. Following the quality and steps of Italian tailoring tradition, these steps guarantee the optimal breathability, silhouette and fit, challenging the misconception that sustainable fashion must compromise on luxury.
The brand’s dedication to excellence reflects its mission to elevate Indonesia craftsmanship to rival the revered European tailoring tradition. Each product takes about 4-5 days to produce, all tailored by Balinese master tailors with over 20 years of experience, while the design process takes about 4-5 months. These designs are bold and eccentric, a riot of hues with vividly playful imagery that often carries profound messages, especially if they’re created through collaborations with local artists. Such an example is the Sama-Sama Collection by Jakarta-based painter Abenk Alter. This collaboration further infuses the brand with cultural resonance. As of now, there are around 24 designs currently available to purchase from Patémar’s website, each carrying its own unique aesthetic and story.
IG: @patemarshorts | patemar.com
Palka Kreatif
Palka Kreatif was kickstarted by an architect named Fula and her idea to turn the leftover stack of papers she had in her studio into a book. Fula’s initial foray into bookbinding techniques marked the beginning of her brand in which her deep connection to nature and commitment to both environmental sustainability ignited a broader vision: creating a brand that harmonises creativity with conversation and social empowerment. With their letters, papers and books made of recycled materials, Palka Kreatif is now a thriving hub of circular production that engages local women and artists in crafting their distinctive products.
Recycling at Palka Kreatif begins with understanding the materials– knowing which types of paper that can be recycled since not all materials are created the same. They sort the papers using the help of local waste collections, sorting them before proceeding to the next step. The papers are then weighed and soaked to soften, boiled and then ground into pulp, several organic formulas are added to enhance the paper’s quality. Then a series of printing, filtering and drying processes followed. The drying step solely relies on the air without the aid of sunlight or machines. Once dried, the paper is then harvested from the drying mat, pressed and shaped into various products: envelopes, books, greeting cards and name tags.
One of the most popular product series is their “Herbaria” book collection, a joint collaboration with a local artist who goes by the name @herbariaa on Instagram. This 60-page, cream-coloured notebook is adorned with pressed flowers on its hardcover. Splashes of natural colours from the flowers create a harmonious visual appeal that is sophisticated yet raw and organic (pun intended), each book has a unique design that cannot be replicated. There is also the Dwulang series featuring a hardcover wrapped in recycled paper blended with various natural materials such as banana tree trunks, straw, and onion skins, where you can customise your name on the covers.
Palka Kreatif follows the principle of circular production– imagine a cycle where waste is not an endpoint but a new beginning. Their waste materials from their recycling process are not discarded but are reimagined and reincorporated into the production cycle, through this process, the materials used in book-making and other crafts are continually repurposed. The dream for this brand is to cultivate a creative ecosystem, one that is dynamic, empowering and a collective process. It is not a solitary endeavour. Local women contribute to the craftsman ships and local artists who may not have had a platform are given the opportunity to express themselves with these recycled papers as their canvas.
IG: @palkakreatif
