Meet our Makers: Wayan Durpa
For this series, we share a little more about some of the highly skilled artisans we work with and their personal relationship with their craft.
“My heart lies in weaving because this is the history of my ancestors.”
Wayan Durpa is a Master Atta Grass Weaver. He originates from Tanah Aron, a small village nestled beneath Mount Agung in East Bali. He is a 4th-generation atta grass weaver, who first learned about the intelligence of atta - and the highly intricate skill of weaving it - from his grandfather when he was a child.
Once it has been woven and left to dry naturally, atta becomes shower resistant, with the tensility and robustness of steel. This makes it an ideal material for our basket bags, which are designed and made to last.
Wayan initially learned to weave baskets and other utilitarian items that were needed for local use, and became a master weaver more than 10 years ago. He was the first artisan STELAR's founder, Lorna, met, and collaborated with when the brand first launched five years ago. Today, Wayan is responsible for the development of all our new atta samples, and heads up our community of more than 40 atta weavers, who work from their homes in East Bali.
Wayan is also a passionate bee-keeper, with over 70 bee hives that produce two different types of delicious honey. Our favourite one is made from mango blossom nectar that is produced by bees that pollinate the flowers of his organic mango tree - you can imagine how heavenly it tastes.
Our atta bee key charm was entirely conceived and created by Wayan, and we donate 10% of sales all proceeds of the charm towards supporting him to further expand his bee colony.
When we asked Wayan what he enjoys most about collaborating with STELAR, he told us that he loves having the flexibility to work from home, while continuing to practice and evolve the ancient skill of atta weaving that has been in his family for generations.
SHOP WAYAN'S BEE CHARM
