Bobby Bead Silversmiths

	Bobby Bead Silversmiths
		Agung Ray
		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.
Wayan and his wife Koming		Wayan Riwan
		Like many skilled silversmiths, 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
		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.
		Wayan Gustama
		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.
		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.
		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.
		Nyoman Riwan
		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.
		Mustika & Manik
		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.
		Made Abasan
		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.
		Gurianto
		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 2½.
		Johnny Poluan
		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.
		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.
		Agus
		Wayan Suparta Yasa
		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 . 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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