Follow Friday: Iwet Ramadhan, a Story Teller With a Tale to Weave

Iwet Ramadhan uses social media to spread his love for all things batik. (Photo courtesy of Iwet Ramadhan)

Wethandrie Ramadhan, better known as Iwet Ramadhan, is a busy man: he juggles a variety of different jobs all at the same time, from being a radio presenter at Cosmopolitan FM and TV host for Kompas TV and O Channel, to being an emcee and group head station manager for all the stations of the IRadio Network.
“If you can do everything, why do just one thing?” he says with a laugh.
His long career, particularly in radio, had already garnered him a strong following before social media caught on in Indonesia, so when the likes of Twitter and Instagram came along, it didn’t take too long before Iwet had built up a large number of followers.
Today, he counts 164,000 followers on Twitter and more than 9,000 on Instagram (both accounts are @iwetramadhan).
For Iwet, social media is a great platform for that he calls story telling, letting his followers in on what he sees, feels and thinks.
“I don’t like the word promotion, it’s too much of a hard sell, I think. I prefer telling stories. Thus a good story sells better, no?” he says.
One particular story line that Iwet is intent on spinning is his love for batik.
Born and raised in the distinctive culture of Yogyakarta, Iwet has long harbored a passion for the traditional wax-dyed textile, and today runs the batik fashion line TIKPrive.
“I had my first batik scarf when I was 2 years old,” he recalls.
In 2010 he established TIKShirt, which was a way for him to introduce batik and the philosophy behind the wealth of motifs to the wider public through fashion.
“The name of the brand is also a play on the word T-shirt,” he explains.
Over time, TIKShirt transformed into TIKPrive, to better reflect the brand’s premium quality, made by the best artisans in Indonesia, Iwet says. The products are all handmade and can be purchased online or in the shop by appointment.
Iwet also decided to start a new venture called kreaTIK, which creates concepts with the goal of introducing local culture, through batik classes and cultural tourism, in a series of YouTube videos.
“I’ve been familiar with batik since I was born,” he says, adding that it’s regrettable that so few Indonesians take pride in the rich tradition.
“They’re the ones that always proclaim their love for this country, but turns out they know so little about Indonesia and batik,” the 33-year-old says.
Iwet’s love for batik extends beyond TIKPrive and kreaTIK. He has also written a book called “Cerita Batik” (“Batik Story”), which depicts his journey traveling through Java to find a supplier for batik cloths for his TIKPrive label.
“I met with batik makers, experts and even the descendants of the sultan of Yogyakarta. I then realized that many of the motifs were not well-documented,” Iwet says. “So little is known about the lives of these people.”
“Cerita Batik” aims to tell the stories of batik to a wider audience. The book also features swatches of different types of batik, so that readers can feel the fabric for themselves and observe the smallest details.
“Basically everything about batik is discussed in my book,” Iwet says.
Asked if he has any plans for the future, he says he wants to stick with what he’s doing right now — primarily radio work, TIKPrive and his new project at IRadio Network.
“My big dream of getting world-famous designers to use batik from Indonesia is still alive,” he says. “It will come true, slowly.”
With more than 100,000 online followers and counting, who would dispute that?

By Dhika Himawan on 11:30 am Jun 06, 2014