Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine April 2019 | Page 65

Lifestyle / Interview
Alvin Tjitrowirjo
Taking Indonesian
design international
Interview by Yani Lauwoie
stakeholders,” explains Alvin,
who honed his skills at Melbourne’s
RMIT University and the IED European
Design Labs in Madrid.
While exploring a variety of materials,
Alvin admits he has a soft spot for
rattan, a material with a long and
rich heritage in Indonesian culture.
His preference is not only based on
practicalities – rattan is strong, light,
flexible, sustainably produced and
easy to combine with other materials –
but also on the philosophy behind it.
“I see rattan as being similar to
us Indonesians; we are talented and
beautiful but sometimes we undervalue
ourselves. That is the thing I want to
change,” says the designer, who is in
demand as a guest lecturer and speaker
at international universities from
Japan to Peru.
One of Alvin’s unique and impressive
rattan designs is the Linger Bench,
which has been displayed internationally
on numerous occasions, including
at the Wicker Basket Museum in
Coburg, Germany, the Salone del
Mobile.Milano in Milan, and London’s
iconic Harrods department store.
Handmade, the eye-catching piece
at once embraces Indonesian tradition
and a contemporary approach
through the innovative use of
languid, sensuous curves.
Alvin’s designs can also be found in
Claude Cartier Decoration store in Lyon,
France, the Personal Space MB store in
Manhattan Beach, California, and The
Artling, an online art gallery based in
Singapore. His body of work was
recognised with a prestigious national
accolade in 2017, when he was named
the IDEAFEST and Samsung Indonesia
Awardee for Indonesia’s Most Influential
Person in Creative Industry for Product
Design, following on from his 2010
Australian Alumni Award for Design
and Creativity.
Although he is already at a level
that many designers his age could
only fantasise about, Alvin is not
stopping anytime soon. He still has
plenty of dreams to achieve.
As a proud Indonesian, Alvin always
infuses his work with a sense of
national identity. “My future goal is to work together
with international as well as local
brands, including Garuda Indonesia,
to make Indonesian products more
popular internationally,” he says, adding
that he has collaborated with TOTO
Indonesia to design an exclusive
bathroom collection, TOJA.
“Indonesia is known for its ethnic,
vintage and traditional crafts, but we
also produce many contemporary-
designed products that maintain
Indonesian characteristics,” he says. Being a globetrotter, Alvin flies
frequently with Garuda Indonesia. “As
the national airline, Garuda Indonesia is
definitely showcasing Indonesian
hospitality,” he says.
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