Sterling Silver Floral Hoop Earrings from Bali, "Cape of Flowers"

“My name is Ni Kadek Dwi Adiastuti and I was born in Singapadu, Gianyar Bali in 1990. My village is known as an art village where most of the people are woodcarvers and traditional dancers. And my father is a woodcarver. When I was born my parents did not have much; but enough. I am the second child of four children. Like many children in my village, my education was only high school. And I started working once I graduated from senior high school. I was 18 years old when I first applied to a big silver company in Celuk, in Gianyar, Bali. I was put in marketing at first, but then I moved to production. There I learned a lot about silver jewelry making.

“Though I love making silver jewelry, it doesn’t mean that it is my only hobby. Besides making silver jewelry, I love dancing--traditional dancing. As I mentioned before, my village is known for traditional dancing. Many dancers live there, and I grew up watching them dancing. Another activity I love is exercising in a gym. When I have spare time sometimes I go to the gym, to keep a healthy body. But I can not do that really often, because I have two daughters to take care of. My husband is from Karangasem, and now we live in Gianyar. Being a mother is happiness for me. I love watching them be happy, but when they are sick, that makes me sad. Especially when I need to go to work and leave them alone at home.

“Now my brothers and sisters are all married and work on their own. That makes my parents' family economy also become lighter. When I was little, there was a time when my father had kidney stones and we needed to work harder to get an operation for him. There was time I remember that my mother and I even had to take water from the wellspring and sell it. We had to come and go to the wellspring many times to get enough water and then sell it. From that water money, we could only buy a little bit of rice and tempeh for food. But that was a long time ago; now we have better lives. Thank God, now my father is healthy and fit.

“My mother is the one I look up to, to be the best mother I can be. I learned money values from her to raise my kids. Even though my parents had only a little, they worked hard to provide the best for their children. My mother’s words that always I remember are, ‘No matter what we have, a little or a lot, we need to share with others’. And I also remember my father’s words, ‘Life is like a wheel, it spins; and sometimes we are at the top, but sometimes we are at the bottom’. Those words are always my inspiration.

“My jewelry inspiration comes from everything close to me, such as wood engraving motifs. Balinese traditional silver techniques and motifs are also my preference. Balinese motifs like jawan (silver granules), bun (curled silver wire), and engraving are the most common techniques and motifs we use. I manage the jewelry workshop with my husband’s help. There are also two helpers in my production. For almost 12 years I worked for somebody else, but I have now resigned and decided to develop my own designs. My children are also the reason I decided to resign, because now that they started school they will need their mother more. I hope that you can help me succeed, since now I am no longer working. I hope to keep having income so I can provide good food and education for my children.”