click click clack

One thing you should always be thankful for is your talented friends. These are some photos of me and my talented boys, photographed by my talented photographer friends.

These ones are by Noorman Wijaksana,the always-smiling guy from next door town, Bandung. The mural of the "Headless Songstress" on the wall was done by my also very talented best friend, Painsugar. All photos taken at Flat Sarijadi, courtesy of Forum Pekerja PTDI Bandung. They're fighting a real cause, so google them if you would and give your support






But along the process, we sadly had to part ways with one of our band members. Leaving the five piece band to only four peeps left. This also mean that we must do another photo shoot for the new formation.
This time, lovely photographer Adnyani Dewi lent a hand (and an eye), and these are her results

a...band...on

Whatever it was i did, it was no excuse for abandoning my blog this long.
I have been purrty busy, that is apparent. Have i turned into one of those boring people who doesn't have the time to stop and smell the roses?
Well, yes and no.
Yes... because i haven't been making good use of my fingers and right brain for months. Not a single craft work. Not even little origami or collage.... nothing!
This was my last work, and it was done moooooonths ago.


But... the good news is, I haven't been completely useless. My coffee shop is still buzzing nicely, thank goodness. Although i wish i could have given it more attention than i actually am now. The other good news. My album was finally released last month. I've decided to self-release it this time, meaning i'm not only singing , but also taking care of everything from design, distribution, promotions, and management here and there. Of course i get tremendous help from the band and our friends.
Anyway, the music project is called TIKA & the dissidents and the album is called "the Headless Songstress"
And in case you're wondering, it's doing wonderfully marvelous!
Great reviews, sales are unexpectedly good, and the CD packaging that I designed is getting lots of cool responses.
You see, in replacement of your boring old plastic jewel case (why do they call it 'jewel case' anyway? it's nothing but break-a-lot rectangular plastic).... I went for a fabric pouch instead. I slipped in a scrapbook inside with all the necessary info - lyrics, credits, etc- plus 70 pages of blank sketch paper for the CD buyers to use as they wish.
Of course, the CD is in there too, tucked in the last page of the book inside a nice powder blue envelope.
Here's a picture.



Bottom line, as much as i am ecstatically happy with my music project, I really miss doing all the other things that i love. Crafting, cooking, traveling, and sharing it all right here on this blog.

ps
go to www.suaratika.com to get more information about "TIKA & the dissidents" and "the Headless Songstress"

the shop is on the way

It's been almost a year since me and my two buddies shali and ika talked about starting our own shop.
The three of us thinks its about time we have a place that supports and distributes the craft works we've been making for years. And other crafters' works as well of course.
We want a feel-good business. Something that gives and gives back.
And so we came up with Bikin Barang, which in Bahasa Indonesia translates to "making stuff". A shop that sells handmade stuff and vintage treasures as well as craft supplies to support the craft movement. Our products will range from plushies to furnitures, knit pillows to screen printed artworks.... everything handmade.

Then we started making plans, having meetings, concepting, calculating.... and then we get distracted.... and we make plans again, have meetings again, we re-concepted, we re-calculated, and then... we get distracted again.

This time we dont let our self get distracted. This past few days, we've been busy decorating the shop. We've contacted fellow crafters and told them the good news we've been waiting to say since the day we came up with this idea "Our shop is opening, would you like to participate?"