"As the firstborn son, I had to continue my father's work and I was also responsible for taking care of my sisters who were still in school."
"Hello, I'm Wayan Sudira, an honest, kind and resilient man according to my friends. I live in a village in Ubud renowned for handmade mirrors and frames. When I was born my parents were farmers and there were four of us children, but then father changed to being a painter and later a wood carver, crafting mirrors and frames like others in the village.
"Father, uncle, and neighbors taught me to carve wood when I was in the 2nd year of elementary school, and I continued carving until I graduated from Senior High School. I used to work early morning before going to school, and continued after school and I still had time for my hobby: playing soccer with my friends.
"When I finished high school I decided to study in a Tourism Academy in Denpasar, which lead me to work in a hotel. My father passed away in 2005, but his hard work had resulted in a workshop with limited market. As the firstborn son, I had to continue my father's work and I was also responsible for taking care of my sisters who were still in school. Also, my father told me before he died that I couldn't get married before my siblings.
"Therefore, with my uncle's support, I decided to work in a hotel in the US in order to get more capital that could be used to improve my father's shop. I worked there for three years and when I returned to Bali, finally I married my girlfriend and we have a daughter. Having child makes me more responsible and vibrant in many ways. And thanks to God, our workshop has prospered.
"Ubud is a comfortable place live in, its art, culture and cool weather ignites my inspiration and develop new designs. I realized that this art form is actually interesting: I can develop my talent in art and designing, and also know about newest fashion. Most of my inspiration comes from the beauty of Bali's scenery.
"I work with the assistance of my uncle, sister, nephew and some artisans. We use durian and albesia woods as our main materials. Durian wood is actually difficult to get, but we have a special supplier for this. We work with traditional and manual tools like chisels, saws and mallets. And we have developed several kinds of finishing which make my products look different from the others. Besides, we are really concerned with materials we use, like durian wood, using best quality glue, etc.
"I hope that through this mutual cooperation with Novica will expand my market."
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