Christmas Tree Aluminum Garland with Glass and Pompoms 'Festive Forest' Item ID: 2671763225

"My name is I Komang Sudiarta, but many people know me better by the name Ketut Darsa. The reason is very funny; at first I used my parent's name, 'Ketut Darsa', as the name of my shop. So now many people know me better by the name Ketut Darsa. But that's okay; for me the name of my parent brings blessings to my endeavors.

“I was born in 1974 in Gianyar, in the village of Tegalalang. Tegalalang village is very famous as an area for selling handicrafts. Along the way, there are various handicraft shops, including my small shop.

“My parents are farmers; they don't really understand crafts. But from farming, they were able to send me to high school. I started working when I was in high school. At that time I worked as a sculptor. But when planning to start a business, I thought, there are so many competitors in the world of sculpture; can I survive?

“But there was a friend from Buleleng, in northern Bali, who introduced me to aluminum crafts. Then my friend worked as a handyman in my shop. Some of my designs were originally requests from my customers, but then I developed them again after analyzing the market. I have faced many obstacles in running the aluminum craft business. The most important is the problem of raw materials. The main raw materials are imported from Java. Often when orders are high, enough raw materials don't arrive on time.

"I am married and have four children, all girls. The oldest is still in college and the youngest is 2 years old. Having 4 daughters makes me have to be more serious about work and take responsibility for them. This makes me never stop developing my ideas into new products.

"Of all my products, I think Christmas ornaments are the product that I prefer the most, because the demand is quite high just before Christmas. However, I also develop my work by keeping up with the traditions and culture of Bali. The decorative box that I produce was inspired by the tools used to carry the means of worship that will be offered to God at the temple.

“Hopefully, with my collaboration with Novica I can introduce aluminum crafts to the international market."