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EDRIC ONG ELECTED TO
WORLD CRAFTS COUNCIL BOARD
At the World Crafts
Council (WCC) Assembly held in Chennai,
India on 10th Oct, Mr.Edric Ong, President
of Society Atelier Sarawak, was elected as
the Senior Vice President ( Asia-Pacific for
South East Asia) for a period of four years
(2013-2016). The incoming President of the
WCC is Mr Zhou from the China Arts and
Crafts Association, taking over from Mdm
Usha Krishna from India.
The WCC Assembly in Chennai was attended by
over 500 delegates from the regions of Asia-
Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin
America and Africa. During the 5 day World
Craft Summit themed ‘Kaivalam’ or ‘The
Future is Hand –Made’, the WCC-Asia Pacific
Region also held its election and Dr Ghada
Hijjawi Qaddami from Kuwait was elected as
President, taking over from Mdm Surapee
Rojanavongse from Thailand.
Numerous events such as fashion and jewelry
shows, Craft Expositions and special
exhibtions like ‘Living Legends of Crafts’
were held in conjunction with the WCC
Assembly.
Mr Edric Ong, in accepting the Senior Vice-
Presidency post, outlined the forthcoming
and immediate programme of activities he has
initiated. There will be an exhibition on
‘World Eco-Fiber and Textile (WEFT) Art’ at
the Brunei Gallery, School of Oriental and
African Studies (SOAS), London from January
to March 2013 under the sponsorship of
Galeri Petronas, Malaysia, and the ISEND-WEFT
2013 to be organized in Taiwan in October
2013.
“ We will also be holding a 2 day Symposium
on ‘Endangered Textile Traditions’ at SOAS,
London after the launch of the WEFT Art
exhibition in London on 17th January. This
is an urgent subject, and we need to draw
international attention to our threatened
textile traditions such as our Iban
mordanting ceremony known as ‘Ngar’
conducted for weaving of the cotton ‘
Pua-kumbu’ textiles”
Photo caption: Edric Ong (4th left) standing
next to Mr Wang Shan ( WCC President elect)
and Ms Beatrice Kaldun from UNESCO(far
right) and other delegates from Kazakhstan.
EDRIC ONG IN MILAN
Malaysian Designer of the Year,
Edric Ong, was invited recently to show his designs
in Milan at the UNESCO World Forum on Culture at the
Villa Reale Palace in Monza. The event was held at
the same time as the Milan Fashion Week.
Edric poses with his creation in hand-
embroidered ‘pina’ pineapple fiber
Edric showcased his range of Iban
hand-woven silk ‘pua kumbu’ from the longhouse of
Rumah Garie in Sungai Kain, Sarawak; his signature
natural-dye batiks; fashion accessories combining
‘bemban’ fiber and leather; and hand-embroidered
‘pina’ or pineapple fiber textiles.
The VIPs and renowned designers
who saw his designs were: Koichiro Matsuura
(Secretary General of UNESCO); Sandro Bondi(Italian
Minister of Culture); Franco Fratini (Italian
Minister of Foreign Affairs); Alber Elbaz( Head
designer for Lanvin); Francoise Monteney (President,
Chanel ); Agatha Ruiz de la Prada ( Spain) etc.
“It was indeed an honour to show
at Milan, the fashion capital of the world! The
Villa Reale venue was grand and impressive- a newly
restored palace in Monza. I also met so many other
designers from all over the world invited to this
UNESCO event; and I was especially proud to
represent Malaysia.” added Edric.
Aside from his fashion and
textiles, Edric also exhibited his craft designs
that have received the UNESCO Award of Excellence
such as the ‘Bakelalan reed and bark “Raung” covered
boxes.
His next show will be in Manila
and Davao (October).He is invited to be a Judge for
Crafts in Bhutan and Mongolia (November) and to
exhibit in Maison & Objet in Paris in 2010.
Edric (2nd left) with other designers after
the show in Milan
The Villa Reale Palace in Monza
TOP ASEAN AWARDS FOR SARAWAK
TEXTILES
Sarawak designer Edric Ong
recently received 3 top prizes at the ASEAN SILK
TEXTILES competition held in Bangkok, Thailand.
Representing Malaysia, Edric won First Prizes in the
categories of ‘Warp Ikat natural dye’ for his
submission of silk “Pua Kumbu”; “Hand painted Batik”
and “Hand printed Batik”.
Edric Ong (right) handing over his 1st Prize batik
for ASEAN Exhibition to Dr. Jaranthada Karnasuta,
Permanent Sec. Ministry of Agriculture.
The competition was held in
conjunction with “Silk for the Green World- ASEAN
Collaboration on Sericulture Research and
Development Conference” organized by ASEAN and the
Queen Sirikit Center for Sericulture. Prizes were
presented to the winners by HRH Princess Soamsavali
at the IMPACT Convention Center; and the conference
officiated by Thai First Lady Dr Pimpen Vijjajiva.
“I’m deeply honoured to have
received these prizes because the submissions from
our neighbouring countries were all of top quality”
said Edric.
He added that there were a total
of 10 submissions from Malaysia for ikat, batik and
kain songkit and he was happy to have received four
awards- three 1st prizes and a 2nd prize also for
hand-printed batik.
The winning piece of silk pua
kumbu was a magnificent large piece made by Mula ak
Jama of Rumah Garie longhouse; whilst the hand
painted silk batik design was based on a painting of
Pitcher plants (nepenthes)made by renowned artist
Michael Lim.
“We had three booths allocated to
us at the Silk Expo where we showcased and sold silk
pua kumbu; batik and kain songkit as well as the
silk paintings of Bidayuh artist Narong Daun. The
public really appreciated our fine work and beauty
of the textiles! We even sold a piece to Alex Tu, a
Thai MTV star.”
All the winning pieces were on
special display for the recent ASEAN Ministers
Conference and the Bangkok International Fashion
Fair.
Alex Tu, MTV star wears indigo silk pua kumbu stole.
EDRIC ONG WINS DESIGNER OF THE
YEAR AWARD
Renowned Sarawakian designer,
Edric Ong won the prestigious Designer of the Year
Award at the recent Mercedes Benz-Stylo Fashion Week
held in Kuala Lumpur last Friday.
Datuk Nancy Yeoh, CEO of Stylo
announced the results at the finale of fashion
extravaganza which saw the participation of 36
Malaysian designers and three guest designers from
Madrid, Spain. Melinda Looi, was also the joint
winner of the Award.
Former Prime Minister, YABhg Tun
Abdullah Badawi presented the trophy and a Rouberge
watch to Edric Ong at the Award ceremony.
During the Mercedes-Stylo show,
Edric presented a collection themed “Saffron Blues”,
evocative of summer breezes, sunny beaches,
moonlight swims, romance & beach weddings.
The fashion collection featured
two main natural colours:
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Saffron from the Jackfruit
tree bark
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Blue from natural ‘indigofera
tinctoria’ leaves
Using natural cotton, linen and
silk on EO design batik, Iban ‘Pua Kumbu’ and hand
stitched ‘Kantha’ embroidery, Edric has recently
shown his collection in Harrods London, and will
showcase them in Jakarta in mid April. He will also
be exhibiting the latest range of Iban silk “pua
kumbu’ textiles at the Prince of Wales Gallery in
London at the end of May.
E.R.O’S ART2WEAR
ART2WEAR or WEARABLE ART-
whichever way you want to call it, is the latest
creative collaboration of Edric and Ramsay Ong(E.R.O.)
The artistic cousins launched their current
indulgence in fashion and accessories at their
gallery, Artrageously Ramsay Ong and EO Gallery
along 96-98 Main Bazaar, Kuching on Saturday 29th
Nov with a fashion show.
The unique fashionwear of Edric
Ong combines a touch of the ethnic and oriental with
the contemporary; innovating styles with creative
use of hand-woven ikats and batiks in silks and
cottons using natural dyes.
Art2Wear features his latest
range of award winning silk Iban ‘pua kumbu’
textiles and his designs of exquisitely fine
hand-painted silk batik with orchids and pitcher
plant motifs.
Ramsay Ong’s creative jewelry
draws from the cultural traditions of Sarawak people
combining glass, ceramic and semi-precious stones
with fiber, bone, and silver. His beadwork creations
have become collectible items, and are now spread
all over the globe from Asia to Australia, Europe
and North America.
His jewelry line is called
“Bead-Art: Praise Your Neck”.
WORLD ECO-FIBER AND TEXTILE (W.E.F.T)
FORUM GALA INTERNATIONAL FASHION SHOW (13 SEPTEMBER
2008)
Edric Ong created another unique
and original thematic collection at the 5th Bienniel
WEFT FORUM held in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.
He used the unique tree bark
cloth known as ‘talun’, plaited and lined with
linen, trimmed with faux fur as shawls and capes or
as appliques on sheer silk tops; then he presented
the unfinished woven pandanus mats as bustiers
teamed with hand painted ,natural dyed silk batik
wraps.
As a finale, Edric’s two black
models wowed the capacity crows of the Civic Center
with a futuristic twist using the ‘jala’ or casting
net of fishermen!
PUA KUMBU FASHION IN KOREA
A fashion collection featuring
Sarawak’s ‘Pua Kumbu’ handwoven textiles designed by
Edric Ong received rave reviews at the Gala show of
UNESCO’s International Symposium of Natural Dyes
held in Daegu, Korea on 24th September. The
Collection was the finale of a show that showcased
the best of Asian designers working with natural
dyes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Philippines,
Japan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Edric Ong said that he was
honoured to have been invited by Prof. Kim Ji-Hee,
the Organising Chairperson, to showcase his fashion
collection and also to present a paper on the Iban
textiles at the International Symposium. The Mayor
of Daegu City was Guest of Honour together with
several UNESCO officials from Paris and Seoul.
Models for the fashion show
included Miss Korea 2008 and Miss Supermodel Korea
2007. Edric Ong’s fashion was a cultural fusion of
exquisitely beaded ‘baju kebaya’ with silk ‘pua
kumbu’ sarong long skirts; and also other
contemporary styles featuring the unique textiles as
shawls.
EO AT SANTA FE INTERNATIONAL FOLK ART MARKET
(11-13 JULY)
Edric Ong showcased the best of
his creations that had received the UNESCO AWARD OF
EXCELLENCE for the fourth year at the SFIFAM. They
include:
- Iban handwoven silk and cotton
"pua Kumbu' ikat textiles
- Natural dye wood block
handprinted silk stoles and shawls
- Hand Painted batik
- Bakelalan reed and bark
embroidered hats ( a hit among young and old!)
- Rattan basketry
He also coordinated the showcase
of other products from South East Asia such as
Indonesian batik, Thai silk, Cambodian textiles and
Burmese brocade and tapestry weaves.
The response from the customers
was tremendous and the event was a rousing success
thanks to the Organisers and the many volunteers!
EO AT CALIFORNIA GIFT SHOW, LOS ANGELES (18-21
JULY)
Assisted by David
McLanahan of Jungle Arts and Flora, Edric was able
to show his latest range of designs to his American
buyers and to meet several new ones esp from the
Museum Shops and Galleries. Among the new designs
were hand painted crepe silk batiks with pitcher
plant motifs, orchids and anthuriams.
On 17th July, Edric also visited
the Sawdust Festival at Laguna Beach at the
invitation of textile artist friend Olivia
Batchelder and showed his creations to friends
there.
EO TO FEATURE AT THE SINGAPORE STYLO
GRAND PRIX MERCEDES BENZ FASHION SHOW
A press preview and Stylo party was held at
KL Hilton Ballroom on August 1st to showcase
the Malaysian and Singapore designers who
will be featured at the gala Singapore Stylo
Grand Prix Mercedes Benz fashion show on
26th September.
Edric presented his 'Japon-Iban' bridal
outfit : a marriage of a pure white brocade
silk bridal kimono worn over a brilliant red
flare skirt with Iban beaded bodice 'marek
empang'. Modelled by Angie, it was a sure
hit among the guests!
Look out for his
collection in Singapore which will feature a
new twist on tree bark cloth and fish net!
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