Insiyah

"We work hard to create our unique shirts, dresses and more — all in the spirit of our rich artistic and cultural heritage."

"Hello, my name is Insiyah. I was born on January 1, 1982, in the village of Rogojampi Banyuwangi in East Java. Most men in my family and relatives are fisherman, while most women sell homemade food and make batik fabrics.

"I grew up in this environment until I went to work in Malaysia for seven years. While there, I studied fashion as a hobby in Kuala Lumpur, hoping I could eventually open my own shop back home in Java or Bali.

"After marrying my French husband, I went with him as he worked in different countries before we decided to go back home. Today we have one daughter.

"My husband supports me in doing what I like. At first, I opened a restaurant but now I'm working in fashion apparel and helping my family, relatives and friends. I'm not really a fashion designer but I wanted to create unique clothing which reflects our Indonesian culture from all provinces, starting with Java and Bali.

"Together with my husband, friends, a drawing artist and designer, we work hard to create our unique shirts, dresses and more — all in the spirit of our rich artistic and cultural heritage. Mostly we use rayon fabric, and we create patterns related to our country's traditions.

"I hope Novica can help us promote and sell our designs, as our main goal here is to help — first, ourselves, our children and families to have a better education and way of life, but also our relatives and friends by creating more jobs for them. Not to mention that after achieving those goals, we will try to set up our own foundation to help needy children and women of our province by creating schools and shelters."