TAHUN ITU menjadi kelahiran Nathania Art, rumah batik tulis milik Sisilia Sandra yang beralamat di Desa Babagan, RT 8/RW II Nomor 5, Kecamatan Lasem, Kabupaten Rembang. Cobaan kedua datang ketika negeri ini ditimpa krisis moneter 1997-1998. Situasi perekonomian yang lesu membuat berbagai sektor usaha ikut terjerembab, termasuk batik.
Beruntung Pemprov Jateng maupun Pemkab Rembang tanggap. Tak ingin batik Lasem punah, para perajin digelontor berbagai program agar usaha mereka bangkit lagi. Perajin batik di Rem- bang, khususnya dari Lasem, diberangkatkan ke Pekalongan, Solo, Jogjakarta, dan Madura untuk studi banding. Selain itu, Pemkab Rembang juga rajin mengadakan pameran batik ke berbagai kota besar, antara lain Jakarta dan Bandung. Alhasil, pamor batik Lasem pun terkerek lagi.
“Saya mulai usaha tahun 2009 dengan tiga pekerja, modalnya sekitar Rp 10 juta. Itu untuk beli kain, pewarna, dan mengongkosi karyawan,” ung- kap Sisilia Sandra. Nathania Art melempar produk ke pasaran tanpa merek. Meski begitu pelanggan sudah hafal ciri khas kain batik buatan Sisil—pang- gilan akrab perempuan yang lahir di Surabaya, 6 April 1978, ini—dan para perajinnya, terutama dari sisi motif dan warna.
Lerek, sekar jagad, krecak, naga, watu pecah dan lok can adalah beberapa motif yang banyak dipro- duksi karena laris di pasaran. Sisil dan sang ibu, Lilis Kimiati, yang juga perajin batik, terus berkarya untuk melahirkan motif-motif baru. Salah satu karya kolaborasi ibu dan anak ini adalah batik tulis motif Pagi Sore Lerek Taman Bunga yang menghasilkan hak paten dari Dirjen Hak Kekayaan Intelektual (HKI) tahun 2015. “Idenya dari kami berdua, terus diker- jakan sama perajin. Untuk hak patennya, semua diurus oleh Semen Indonesia,” cetusnya.
Bagi Sisil, paten sangat penting untuk melindu- ngi karya orisinalnya dari ulah nakal penjiplak. Di sisi
IN THAT YEAR, Nathania Art was born. The batik house belongs to Sisilia Sandra is located in Babagan village, RT 8 / RW II No. 5, Lasem District, Rembang. However, another catastrophe came when the country was overwritten by 1997-1998 monetary crises. The sluggish economic situation made various business sectors decline, including batik business.
Luckily, Rembang Regency Government and Cen- tral Java Provincial Government were responsive. Not wanting batik Lasem went extinct, the government gave the batik artisans various programs so that their business to rise up again. Batik artisans in Rembang, especially from Lasem, were dispatched to Pekalon- gan, Solo, Yogyakarta and Madura for comparative studies. In addition, Rembang regency government diligently held some batik exhibition to major cities such as at Jakarta and Bandung. As a result, the pres- tige of batik Lasem is raised again.
“I started the business in 2009 with three employ- ees and about Rp 10 million of capital investment. That was for buying fabric, dyer, and employee’s salary,” said Sisil, the nickname of the businesswoman who was born in Surabaya, April 6, 1978. Nathania Art sent products to market without speciic brand. Even so, the customer has already well-known with the characteristic of batik cloth made by Sisil and her craftsmen, especially in the motifs and colors.
Lerek, sekar jagad, krecak, naga, watu pecah and lok can are several motifs that they produce due to high demand in market. Sisil and her mother Lilian Kimiati, which also batik artist, continue to work to produce new motifs. One of their collaborative works is motif Pagi Sore Lerek Taman Bunga that got patents from the Directorate General of Intellectual Property Rights in 2015. “The idea came from the two of us, and then it was produced by our craftsmen. For getting the patent, everything was handled by Semen Indonesia,” Sisil said.
For Sisil, patent is very important to protect her original works from the skittish cheater. On the other
lain, hak eksklusif itu menjadi semacam pembuk- tikan bahwa produk Nathania telah diakui secara nasional. “Ada puluhan motif yang telah saya ciptakan, saya lupa persisnya. Saya juga membuat motif khusus menjelang hari raya Imlek, Natal atau Idul Fitri,” lanjut ibu satu anak ini.
Bila batik Imlek didominasi warna merah, ku- ning dan hitam, maka motif Natal bernuansa hijau.
Sedangkan idul itri, menurut Sisil, “Lebih bebas,
baik warna maupun motifnya. Yang penting baru dan bisa untuk merayakan lebaran.” Dari sisi harga, batik Nathania terbilang umum-umum saja. Artinya tidak terlalu mahal, pun tidak juga murah.
Batik satu warna dibanderol Rp 125 ribu per potong, dua warna Rp 150 ribu, tiga-empat warna mulai harga Rp 400 ribu, dan yang paling mahal adalah batik motif klasik yang pembuatannya makan waktu satu hingga dua bulan. “Harga batik klasik yang paling murah Rp 1 juta. Maklum, pem- buatannya lebih lama dan njelimet,” ujarnya.
Bila dirata-rata, dalam seminggu Sisil mampu memproduksi 50 lembar batik tulis. Tak perlu susah-susah memasarkan batik berbahan kain mori primis dan prima itu, karena begitu keluar rumah produksi sudah ludes terjual. Tak heran bila Natha- nia sampai sekarang tidak punya satu outlet pun. “Soalnya sudah dipesan oleh para bakul (peda- gang) dari luar kota. Ada yang dari Surabaya, Se- marang, Jogjakarta, sampai Jakarta. Paling banyak dari Surabaya,” beber perajin dengan omzet Rp 50 juta sebulan ini.
Sisil mengakui dari sisi pemasaran pihaknya tidak pernah mendapatkan masalah. Justru, seringkali dia tidak mampu melayani pesanan pelanggan. Meningkatkan volume produksi hampir tidak mungkin karena keterbatasan tenaga kerja. Nathania memiliki 10 tenaga kerja, lima di antara- nya pembatik, namun jumlah tenaga borongannya
hand, the patent also became a kind of proving that Nathania’s product has been recognized nationally. “There are dozens of motifs that I have created. I don’t remember how many exactly. I also made a special motif for Chinese New Year, Christmas or ‘Eid,” said the Sisil, the mother of one child.
Batik for Chinese New Year is predominantly red, yellow and black. Batik for Christmas is with shades of green motif. “Batik for ‘Eid…,” according Sisil, “…is free in color and motif. The more important is the batik should be new and able to be used to celebrate ‘Eid.”
Nathania’s batik price is not too expensive or too cheap. Batik with one color costs Rp 125 thousand per piece. Two colors batik is Rp 150 thousand. Three to four colors batik is Ro 400 thousand or more. The most expensive is classic motif, which takes one to two months to create. “The price of the cheapest classical batik is Rp 1 million. Under- standably, the making process is longer and more complex,” she said.
Sisil in a week can produce 50 pieces of batik. It is not hard for her to market batik made of primis and prima mori. Out from her production house, the batiks are already sold. No wonder that Natha- nia until now does not have any speciic outlet. “All were just ordered by traders from out of town. The traders are from Surabaya, Semarang, Jogjakarta, and Jakarta. Most of them come from Surabaya,” said Sisil who gets turnover of Rp 50 million per month.
Well, Sisil never gets problems from the mar- keting aspect. Instead, she sometimes can’t fulill customer’s orders. It is almost impossible for her to increase the volume of production due to limited manpower. Nathania has only 10 workers, ive of them are batik artists.
Pemilik : Sisilia Sandra Workshop : Desa Babagan RT 8/RW II Nomor 5, Lasem, Kabupaten Rembang Omzet : Rp 50 juta per bulan Gabung Semen Indonesia: 2013
HP : 0852 2521 8488 WA : 0896 9068 6046
Owner : Sisilia Sandra
Workshop : Desa Babagan RT 8/RW II Nomor 5, Lasem, Kabupaten Rembang
Turnover : Rp 50 million per month
Join in Semen Indonesia partnership : 2013 Mobile phone : 0852 2521 8488
WA : 0896 9068 6046
NATHANIA ART
Kata Sisil, ada 20 pembatik yang mengambil order dari Natahia untuk diker- jakan di rumah. “Usianya rata-rata di atas 40 tahun. Satu orang biasanya mengambil gara- pan dari tiga juragan, soalnya di Lasem ini kekurangan tenaga pembatik,” katanya lagi.
Diakuinya, sejak menjadi mitra binaan Semen Indonesia tahun 2013, pertumbu- han usaha Nathania semakin kencang. Dua kali mendapat pinjaman modal, masing- masing senilai Rp 40 juta dan Rp 50 juta, Sisil memanfaatkannya untuk membeli bahan-bahan produksi. Perusahaan semen pelat merah ini juga mengajaknya pamer- an ke berbagai kota, antara lain Jakarta, Gresik dan Mojokerto.
Sisil menyadari persaingan di bis- nis batik semakin ketat. Bila tak pandai berinovasi dan berkreasi, ingat perempuan murah senyum ini, bisa-bisa ditinggal lari
konsumen. “Inovasi itu termasuk dari sisi promosi. Ketika perajin lain memanfaatkan media sosial, kita tidak boleh ketinggalan. Ya lewat facebook, BBM (BlackBerry Messenger), serta WA (What- sApp). Saya selalu berusaha mencari pasar baru,” terangnya.
Sisil merupakan generasi keempat pewaris usaha batik keluarga yang dirintis nenek dari ibunya. Ketika batik Lasem ambruk sesaat, sang ibu sempat beralih ke bisnis sarang burung walet dan mem- buka toko emas. “Setelah baik Lasem ramai lagi, ibu memutuskan kembali ke usaha keluarga ini. Kebetulan saudara-saudara yang lain juga jadi pengusaha batik,” tutupnya. (*)
said there are 20 freelance batik crafters who take material from Nathania to work at their own home. “Their age for average is 40 years. One crafter may take batik ma- terials from three bosses. Well, in Lasem, there only small amount of batik crafters,” she said.
Since becoming a partner of Semen Indonesia in 2013, Nathania’s business grows faster. Sisil received capital loans from Semen Indonesia twice; Rp 40 mil- lion and Rp 50 million. She used them to buy production materials. She was also invited by Semen Indonesia to take part in some exhibitions in various cities, such as Jakarta, Gresik, and Mojokerto.
Sisil awares the competition in batik business is increasingly higher. When you are not good at innovation and creativity, you might be left by your consumer. “You must be innovative even in promotional aspect. When other craft- ers take advantage of social media, you must take more. You may use Facebook, BlackBerry Messenger, and WhatsApp. I’m always trying to ind new markets,” she said always with smile.
Sisil is a fourth-generation heir of batik family business pio- neered by her great grandmother. When batik Lasem collapsed for a moment, her mother had to switch the business to birds’ nest and gold store. “After batik Lasem business raised again, my mother decided to return to the original family business. Moreover, my other siblings are also batik entrepreneurs,” she said. (*)
TAK KAGET KALAU TAS KALYANA DIHARGAI MAHAL. SELAIN BAHANNYA KULIT SAPI KUALITAS A, PROSES PEMBUATAN-
NYA PUN RUMIT DAN MEMAKAN WAKTU LAMA. ALASAN ITU YANG MEMBUAT TAS DENGAN MOTIF BATIK INI TIDAK DIPRODUKSI MASSAL.
NO WONDER THE KALYANA’S BAG IS EXPENSIVE. THE RAW MATERIAL IS HIGH QUALITY LEATHER. THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS IS METICULOUS AND TIME CONSUMING. THAT’S WHY THE KALYANA BAGS WITH BATIK MOTIF ARE NOT MASS PRODUCED.