Natural Fiber Hand Woven White and Beige Tote, "From Beach to City"

My name is Edina Poerwati from Surabaya. People know me as fierce, independent, and detail-oriented. I'm not a very active person. I love to do relaxing things such as reading books, arts and crafts, and scrapbooking. I also love to travel.

My town is busy but calm, even though it is located close to Jakarta. I love the town where I was born and raised. It is known for its local Indonesian cuisine such as soto, tahu campur, and semanggi. My father is self-employed, and my mother is a secretary at a hotel. I'm the first of two children. I was raised by my grandmother, as my parents are very busy. So I was raised in a very disciplined way, as she was influenced by the Dutch. In my school days, I was considered a good girl and never left a class. I also loved to join organizations. I started working at the age of 21, and my first work experience was as a private teacher teaching elementary school children when I was still at the university. Once I graduated from the university, I worked as an interior designer and furniture designer.

Today I work at my family's handicrafts workplace. The more time I spend at this workshop, the more interest I have in creating home decor items out of natural fibers. This is where I decided to work on natural fiber bags. I try to make my designs original, and all from at least 90 percent natural fibers with a touch of modern design. The materials can include a combination of recycled plastic lacing and some metal. We are making an effort to create these items as valuable goods with high quality and style. We design our works from scratch, with consistency in materials and crafting. I hope you can help in making my designs known to the world.

I'm married, and my husband is my work partner. We have a boy and a girl together, which changed our lives to be more responsible and taught us to face different tasks all at once. I feel most at peace when my husband and children are all asleep at night. Sometimes I look at my children while they are asleep — it makes my heart warm, and my goal in life becomes clear. I make an effort for them, and I know I can succeed. 'If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit.' As a wife, mother, and working woman, I get tired from all the activities and routines. These words remind me that women are created by God to be strong. I only need some rest, and I can start over again.