The Entrepreneur

This month marked the fourth year of our existence in Royal Plaza , still the major place we resided. Although we'd grown to other places such as our 2nd store in Royal Plaza, litle joint-venture projects in Hotel Majapahit & The Grand Palace Dept. Store, Royal Plaza Outlet still the one i consider the most memorable move i had as beginner entrepreneur.

I Remember on how we rent one (nearly) 9 sqm tiny store that i thought would be a cool idea, only to realize that i had choose "the wrong side" of Royal Plaza wing (The Pintu Timur, this section has no major anchor to create substantial traffic). But indeed God had plan for every variety of plans we made.
And we turns out fine. Not (yet) big, but fine. Alhamdulillah.
It also the month we choose to publish our first printed ad in freely-circulated "Hallo-Surabaya" tabloid aimed for middle-class households. It is placed in strategic malls, hotels, and major residentials all over Surabaya. Hope this investment can move us into some (business) recognitions.

For you visiting Surabaya and looking for a quality souvenir of East Java, please check our wide array of Madura Batik selections at "The Pasongsongan Royal Plaza"  G-floor (Ground) no. C2-45 , Jl. A Yani 16-18 Wonokromo Surabaya.   

Foreign Affair : European Influence in Madura

Salah satu bangunan paling penting di masa lampau adalah masjid (tempat ibadah), selain penjara, kantor pemerintahan & kraton (kediaman penguasa). Jadi sebenarnya kalau pengin melihat contoh terbaik dari arsitektur dan budaya setempat, lihat saja salah satu diantaranya. Di Madura hanya ada satu kota kabupaten (Sumenep) dimana kita masih bisa melihat & sekaligus merasakan suasana “tempo doeloe” karena banyak bangunan-bangunan penting tersebut, masih terlestarikan dan kadang masih digunakan sesuai dengan fungsi aslinya.Tapi kali ini kita bicara mengenai satu obyek masa lampau, yaitu bingkai. Bingkai ukir ini, yang membingkai Asma’ul Husna di kanan & kiri mimbar di Masjid Agung Sampang, benar-benar membuktikan pengaruh masa lampau yang ada di Madura. Arsitektur Masjid Agung sendiri sudah amat modern tapi frame ini adalah bagian dari Masjid Agung yang terdahulu. Ukirannya eropa banget, gak ada sama sekali unsur local-nya. kalau kita bayangkan frame ini apabila di tempat lain biasa digunakan sebagai bingkai kaca pantul di atas commode atau meja console Bagian “crown” nya adalah bentuk “scallop” yang dibentuk dari lembar-lembar daun acanthus (inget langgam kolom Corinthian ?) , ada “garland” rangkaian bunga & buah serta bentukan “urn” atau guci tutup di kiri & kanan. Hal yang membedakan dari ukiran di sekitarnya (Masjid Agung Sampang penuh bagian bangunan yang diukir indah) adalah langgamnya yang sangat eropa dan kualitas ukirannya yang sangat artistic.

Foreign Affair : European Flair

Just like all kingdoms in Nusantara, Kraton Sumenep had always subjected to various influences that also enriched its already-colorful local culture. This also included the Dutch Colonial style that couldn’t be more obvious in this Royal Sumenep Cemetery Complex of Asta Tinggi.

Situated on the very special terrain ouside royal town of Sumenep, up to the hilly side of the island, lies the tomb of kings and royal families from ancient time. Classic language (this time’s European-interpretation of roman classicism) had appears from the very beginning of this remarkable site. Impressive gate with five chained urns adorns the main gate that gave glimpse of the main building inside. Right in front the main entrance after dividers that we can see two storied building with Ionic-style rounded ‘porch’ and Corinthian pseudo column that supported silvery-scaled dome complete with its wind direction (styled after flag over crescent , indicating the Moslem-nature of this building). More evidence pronounced at the heavy twin gate with Baroque touch that leads to the older part of the grave where earlier kings and his royal family lies in more traditional-style building. If there’s not the tombstones covering every surface of the ground, you could easily forget that this is actually Sumenep, the place where religion and traditional way rules, even today.