Locally made ikats for sale at Nihi on the island of Sumba.
On the subject of textiles, whenever a client tells me that they don’t love florals but want some sort of pattern - ikats often come to mind. I love ikats because they give a space a sense of personality, without being too stuffy or preppy.
My husband’s grandmother was a prolific textile collector, and it was not until I came upon her vast collection of ikat books, that I realized how much I really had to learn on the subject.
The word “ikat” is Indonesian, and it means “to tie.” Ikat is one of the oldest forms of textile decoration. As a designer, the thing that really lights me up are textiles. My mother likes to say that “thread is in my blood” - but that is a story for another time. Anyhow, you can imagine my excitement to be going to the islands of Bali and Sumba for our honeymoon — home of textiles galore.
While we were in Sumba (at the fabulous Nihi resort), they had a little market on the property where local women would come to demonstrate the weaving technique and sell their wares. We also had the treat of visiting a local village, and stopping by a roadside store to source directly from the artisans. We ended up purchasing one there, and another from our favorite staff member at Nihi.
Me, holding the ikat that we purchased from a local market.
Trying to make decisions!
If you can’t make it all the way to Indonesia, here is a link to buy Sumbanese Ikats on Etsy ! If you are wondering what to do with them, the main lodge at Nihi provides a lot of inspiration.
Ikat inspiration in the main lodge at Nihi
