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Bobby Bead
Silversmiths |
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Agung Ray |
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Agung Ray visited Bobby Bead in June of 1999 and
invited Bob to Bali to meet family members who are skilled silversmiths.
Some of these relatives are pictured below. Agung Ray is the Manager of
all of our Bali Silver & Java Copper and Brass production. Agung
also has traveled to China, Hong Kong and the TOHO factory in Hiroshima,
Japan for purchasing of beads for Bobby Bead. As a child Agung Ray was a
National Performer of Balinese Traditional Dance. Agung has a wife Yuyun
and 2 children, a boy named Agung Krishna and a girl named Agung Ayu,
they are expecting their 3rd child in the fall of 2008. Agung also
has a Cafe named Warung Galuh and Agung has a automobile showroom.
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Wayan and his wife Koming
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Wayan Riwan |
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Wayan was trained as a silversmith as a child working with his father.
Many of the best silversmiths are young. In fact at the age of 28, Wayan
is one of the oldest of his team of silversmiths.
Upon the sudden death of his father, Wayan was forced to drop out
of trade school and take over the family business to support his mother
& two young sisters Kadek & Koming.
One of the first things Wayan set out to do was to build a new
silverworkers workshop as well as two sleeping rooms for his staff. Many
of his closest friends assisted in the building. The silversmiths begin
& end work at odd hours, take naps during the day, and work late
into the night. Much silver production is very social. Most silver
workers live a short distance away and have known each other all their
lives. Many are cousins, and many are trained in the silversmith
traditions that have been in their family for many generations. Wayan
and his staff produce over 500 different styles of beads &
components for Bobby Bead. Wayan & Koming now have a beautiful
baby named Putu |
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Wayan Putra |
| Wayan is an exceptionally gifted
silversmith. Wayan produces
a wide variety of detailed beads, pendants, and other components. Wayan
is a “Guru” (teacher) of many of our silversmiths, training many of
our staff in difficult techniques such as the production of our new line
of magnet clasps. Many of Wayan’s styles are quite unique, with
beautiful detail and finish. All of our key silversmiths meet once a
week in our office in Bali to discuss technique, critique, and show each
other new samples of their work. |
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Wayan Gustama |
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Wayan is the most recent master silversmith to
join our team. Wayan has a staff of 8 skilled silversmiths assisting
him. As you may have noticed many of our silversmiths have the first
name of Wayan. Wayan is the name given to most first born children in
Bali
. A
first born child has many additional duties in their life, to support
their family and the community in which they live.
Originally from the Singaraja area of
Northern Bali
, Wayan moved to the famous silver center of Celuk in
Southern Bali
as a teenager to be a silversmith's apprentice.
Wayan is married with one child.
Wayan makes a wide variety of beads, ear wires, clasps. He also
makes pendants with stones and
Minnesota
glass art beads, as well as, bone pendants carved for
us by Made Sukandar. |
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Komang |
| Komang is a very talented silversmith who enjoys
producing exclusively designed beads and components for Bobby Bead.
Komang has only two assistants and produces more than 200 different
styles of beads, 98% of which of his own design. With so many different
styles, Komang is often working on orders for his beads 6 months to a
year before we receive them. Even with so many orders, Komang’s
favorite thing to do with his time is to experiment with new varieties
& designs of beads no one has ever made before. In the photo to the
left, Komang is being watched by his son, Wayan. |
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Wayan Sudarta |
| Sudartha is a highly skilled
silversmith producing a wide variety of beads, components, and pendants
for Bobby Bead. Sudartha produced our line of Alphabet beads. Sudartha
is very skilled in the art of granulation. There is a great amount of
time and detail invested in each of the letters, our exclusive line of
“animal” beads, and other unique beads & components. He is
married and has two daughters. |
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Nyoman Riwan
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Nyoman Riwan was our very first
silversmith. He was also the father of Wayan Riwan, one of our key
silversmiths. To meet Nyoman was the purpose of
Bob’s first trip to
Bali
. Nyoman was the Uncle of A.A. Ngurah Raiyadi Putradalem our Bali
manager of
Bali
silver items. Nyoman spent his entire life as an acclaimed silver & goldsmith in
Singapadu,
Bali
. Nyoman passed away suddenly of natural causes in July, 2000. His
firstborn son Wayan, mother, & two younger sisters assist in the
production of beads & components. In this photo, Nyoman, shortly
before his death, is making a special pendant for Bobby Bead. He is
working with one of his assistants on his porch. Many times silversmiths
in
Bali
work outside at their homes. Nyoman is wearing traditional Balinese
clothing.
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Mustika & Manik |
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Mustika & Manik are a husband & wife team
of silversmiths.
Mustika’s specialty is toggle clasps, and he produces a wide
variety of toggle clasps. Toggle clasps are a very difficult item to
produce and most silversmiths don't know how to make them. Many of the
handmade toggle clasps produced in
Bali
for us and others are made by Mustika and his staff.
Manik has her own line of traditional Balinese
beads and components as well as her own team of silversmiths. Whereas
Mustika is a very soft spoken person, Manik is very lively with a big
smile and lots of energy.
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Made Abasan |
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Made & his wife make a limited variety of high quality beads &
pendants for BOBBY BEAD. They are a 2-person team that works closely in
all of the fine silverwork they produce. They live in the Singapadu area
which is famous for the high quality silver & gold artwork produced.
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Gurianto
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| Gurianto began learning about
silversmithing in school when he was 7 years old. Later, he spent two
years in Bali learning the art of making Bali silver beads. After having
mastered the Balinese style of silverwork, he went back to his home town
of Lumajang in Java to continue his profession. He is married to Kuswati
and they have two children, a son, Kurniawan who is 8, and a
daughter, Tutut who is 2˝.
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Johnny
Poluan
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Johnny Poulan has a very productive and talented group
of Silversmiths working for him and his brother-in-law, Padi, and his
best friend, Basuki. Most of the staff reside and work in home workshops
near Lumajang, Java. Johnny's team of talented silversmiths produce
several hundred different styles of beads, headpins, clasps, spacer
bars, and many other items, including many varieties of gold and silver
jewelry. About 30% of Johnny's team are women; most of the silversmiths
have either known each other all their lives or are related.
Johnny is based in Denpasar, Bali where he lives with
his wife Ester and their 3 daughters: Jennifer Harley, age 5, Elizabeth
Jessica, age 3, and Estefanny Christina, age 2.
Johnny makes his journeys to the workshops in Java one
or two times a week. Each one-way trip takes a full day of driving. He
is always coming up with many new ideas and styles. On their trips to
Java, Johnny, Agung Ray, and Bob have worked together with the
silversmiths to create many new styles.
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Agus and his
staff produce some of the finest silver beads and findings that Bobby
Bead sells. Currently Agus is the main silversmith in Bali. Agus is
married and they have one child.
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| Agus
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Wayan
Suparta Yasa
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Wayan and his wife Kadek work together
making a wide variety of beads, head pins, toggle clasps, spacer beads,
multi-strand components, and other traditional Balinese silver items for
us.
Wayan was born
December 31, 1977
in Singaraja,
Bali
and his wife Kadek was born on June 14, 1979, also in Singaraja, a city
in northern
Bali
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They both currently live in Celuk,
Bali
the artistic center of silver and gold production in
Bali
. Soon they hope to raise a family, as they both want children, however
they have explained they have been focused only on their silversmith
work since marriage, often working long hours to perfect their skills.
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