Love thy neighbour

Sometimes things just work out, although you may stress about the how & why's, in some moments things just fall into place. That was the feeling that all of us Vasties had when visiting Java. The feeling was exactly like Ross had expressed "it's like coming home", for the past few years, we have been focused on what is happening in other countries, these countries were growing at such a rapid rate and we were trying to be one step ahead of the trend, and what we didn't realise is what great products our neighbours were doing, we now do!



Halena x

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Posted in: Cool Find, Design Digs

Old friends and new designs

After working for Vast Interior for 9+ years, this is that first time that I am visiting one of the early vast suppliers. This supplier has know Ross for more than 20 years, and it definitely shows, he treats us like family and as do we him. We have an amazing day visiting his factory, and spending time with him and his designer, the saying "get the creative juices flowing" I think was developed in these moments in time. By the end of the day we felt like we clearly understood the direction in which we were taking.

Quality Control!



Halena x

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Posted in: Travel Titbits, Cool Find, Design Digs

Long time no see

Another day visiting old friends and seeing what direction they have taken or moved into, over the past few years. Plus visiting newly sourced suppliers and having coffee with people you normally only have contact with via email - is sometimes surreal, and its moments like these that we are all so glad we do what we do, and the amazing opportunities that we have.

The revival of rattan and natural fibres is evident everywhere we go. Reinventing the old style and re-fashioning for the new age. Coloured rattan, vintage cane and endless forms of natural weaves to reinspire our natural roots born in Indonesia, years ago.

Halena x

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Posted in: Cool Find, Design Digs

Fruitful finds

I'd say by this stage of the trip we have completed maybe 90% of the business, so the mood is definitely more relaxed, as we have found some great product  on this trip, and its only when we start showing the Vast Interior Perth Franchise Patrick, that we realise that. Patrick is not only a franchisee but also a supplier to Vast Interior Stores, he has great product -using Mango wood to create it, we spend the full day at his factory, working on stains and finishes not just for this year but next also. Now that we have finished making those decisions we head to dinner at one of Patrick's favourite places, and I can honestly say up to then it was the most tastiest food I had all trip!

Halena x

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Posted in: Cool Find, Design Digs

Mount Merapi

I wouldn't say it was a day of rest, but a more relaxed day of travels, we head to up to the factory another way, only to see the indescribable sight of devastation as a direct effect of Mount Merapi.  Where there should be houses and fields there is a grey black river of rock hard lava, and just to give you and idea how close we are to the Mount Merapi - were we stood, and saw this devastation is in fact at least 15km from the top. It was devastating..

Halena x

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Posted in: Travel Titbits

Life's a Beach

Weekend of rest here we come! Off to Bali for a chill out & shopping (both work and personal) before coming home to start all the real work :). We arrive at the private villa in Seminyak, and are ready for a nice dinner and catch-up with our travel mates Kerrie and Phil, who were already there. We head off to down the road to the beach, stoping in at any shop that takes our fancy, before making it to our final destination sunset over Seminyak beach - beautiful.

Halena x

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Searching Jogja, Central Java

Following a lead in Jogja, Central Java, we headed off in search of some funky new homewares suppliers. The level of detail we had about this place was not a lot, and the address consisted of the company name, village name, suburb and town (which, funnily enough, is a relatively common level of address detail here!).

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Posted in: Searching

Scrap Wood Recycling

Wow! I was so impressed with how little waste this manufacturer in Indonesia has. Almost every scrap of wood gets used for something: only tiny slithers of wood are left over.  The owner actively seeks ways to use the offcuts from other products. Good for him, good for us, and good for the environment.

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Posted in: Eco Find