The Artist

My desire is to create a wearable medium for visual impressions. With a passion for typography, lettering and illustrating decorative embellishments, I believe that fluidity, weight and tension in every line stroke are instrumental in creating a memorable impression. The inspiration of most designs is taken from my travels. I am constantly fascinated by details in my surroundings such as the old cast iron ventilation grilles, quirky shapes of botanical specimens, faded colors of vintage stamps or simply fine handwritten scripts on old postcards. I use traditional and contemporary elements from varying cultures in my work. For instance, I love layering fresh Scandinavian color palettes over architectural patterns from the Middle East.

I believe that the groundwork of ‘Tulisan’ sprung from my wonderful childhood, in which I was blessed with the freedom to think and express myself. Born in 1974 and raised in Jakarta, my family lived in a quaint pavilion attached to a vintage colonial house where my grandmother lived and worked as a passionate dressmaker for the expatriate community. I used to watch her making pillows, quilt covers and hats in a room that filled me with wonder and nurtured my imagination. My father, on the other hand, had a passion for photography and stencil application which took place in his workshop where his tools were always neatly organized in small color-coded boxes. This was where I learned the importance of meticulous grids and pattern precision. My father taught me many creative skills, the most memorable of which was the skill of making a calligraphy pen out of a simple felt tip pen.

Learning these skills at the tender age of six made me feel comfortable in sketching and using calligraphy strokes. My mother had always been a home decorator, a perfectionist and a determined entrepreneur. She loves to restore discarded products and turn them into chic interior accents. My mother, Didi Hersubeno, and I complement each other and have collaborated on several professional projects. We established ‘Tulisan’ together, and are equally dedicated to delivering excellence in design, production, and customer care.

It is my long-term dream to create handmade products in Indonesia with an original twist. With ‘Tulisan’ I am able to do just that. So I would like to thank our loyal customer base for believing in our vision and my entire creative team for their dedication to making our workshop colorful and full of wonderful energy.

Warmest regards,

Melissa Sunjaya

Artist and Founder of Tulisan