Ebony and Smoke Embroidered Rayon Tunic from Bali, "Kayangan in Black"

"I'm a fashion designer, born in Bali in 1970. My parents sell food ingredients and I remember my parents would take me to the market with them I was just a little girl. They taught me about the food business and, as I grew up, I was able to help them.

"My uncle sold apparel and this interested me. After graduating from high school, I took a one-year sewing course in Denpasar, and then worked in marketing for a garment company.

"People know me as an assertive woman and hard worker. In 1999, I married Putu Suryawan and we are blessed with a daughter. Having her adds a new color to our life, ad we are filled with happiness and joy.

"We really like gardening and we usually spend a lot of time in our garden where we feel serenity and peace when surrounded by flowers. We also like traveling to peaceful places closer to nature like mountains and plateaus.

"In 2000, my husband and I began selling accessories and finally, seven years later, we started creating apparel for a client from abroad. Since then, my husband has handled the bookkeeping while I work more in design and production.

"Today, we have 20 helpers from my neighborhood — 16 of whom are women — and also employ other people in Java who do the embroidery. For the on-site collaborators, I usually train them for the finishing and embroidery to ensure quality. I coordinate the work according to their skills.

"Our designs are inspired by the flowers in my garden and by Bali's rich cultures, artistic crafts, and the beautiful tropical beaches. Design, material selection and quality characterize our work and make our apparel different from others. We use rayon, cotton, silk and viscose. The embroidery is done with traditional methods in my workshop and in East Java.

"'For me, failure is only a suspended success.' These words have always come to mind from the time I was a student. There are other words from a friend that also inspire me — 'don't take life too hard. We must enjoy it and relax if we want to be a success.'"