About Us
We are Charlee and Bruce.
We share a mutual admiration of the art of Indonesian textiles (woven ikat and batik) - their depth, extraordinary diversity and beauty. Searching for batiks is a very special way to interact and forge relationships with people we would not normally meet and to travel to places in Java, Indonesia that are definitely not on the main tourist circuit. We search for small neighbourhoods that produce and sell their batik, smaller markets and individual producers mainly working out of their homes.
Our focus is on finding batik cloth, tablecloths and other batik products that we feel will be interesting and attractive to Canadians - and affordable.
For us, it is as much about the journey and meeting new and immensely creative people as it is about the purchases....
Bruce Bailey has spent many years in Asia working as an International Development Consultant and during that time lived in Indonesia for more than 10 years.
Charlee Ostrom, former co-owner of Ground Waves in Perth, Ontario, is a Fibre Artist, a weaver of life's offerings - evolving and searching.
Together we have created "Finebatiks".