If you have not realised by now, we are literally living in a world where history has its ways of repeating themselves. Take a wider picture. I’m talking about history that means centuries ago, decades earlier or just about any day from yesterday back. It amuses me how much history has influenced many of the things we see today. From artworks to clothes, house, food and just about everything we are exposed to. The world we live in today can never really be detached from history. If anything, its influence has only created more value for the future.

My encounter with Francis Surjaseputra has justify just that. An artist, interior designer and product designer, Francis has used what is called “Design Thinking”, which is a general method on finding solutions that is initially used by designers by ways like hacking into the society in order to create valuable changes. It just so happens that most of the products he created involve his cultural and historical encounters as well as his vintage treasures as part of his inspiration to produce a thought-provoking outcome. And apparently, he has made quiet the impression in his field. So what does this say about involving history to your creation? It means that if you haven’t thought about it, you are clearly skipping a beat. 

One particular work by Francis that has caught my attention was his modernisation of Suru. Some of you might not have heard this, but Suru is an old Javanese word for spoon. Had he not visited the Javanese habitant as well as his nostalgic experiences as a kid, he would not have remembered the local people's habit of eating with spoon made of banana leaves and the fact that they are completely clueless as to the exact name of the spoon they’re using. They just know it’s been there for ages. What’s sad is that it’s not even used as much now since younger generations are already using newer spoon models. 

Clearly, his interest towards culture and history has been a fundamental key of inspiration that guides him to his creation. Yet, his travels were not the only journey that inspired him. He has his own studio where he is surrounded by his vintage collections. Not to say that his collections were a direct source of inspiration to his works, but it has definitely inspired the way he creates his products being that he has great appreciations toward things of the past that is so much more well-built and long lasting in his point of view. Seeing his collections had me at a constant state of surprise. What was more surprising is that when I got home to do further research, some of these things are not even ‘googable’. That just goes to show how much dedication he has to not only become a collector, but as means of giving back to the community by preserving his historical encounters. 

From this habit, the method of ‘Design Thinking’ has become more substantial. As part of his solution, the Suru he designed has given a touch of modernity to a culturally historical context. It’s more than just the outlook of the product, but up to the materials chosen for it considers for a healthier prospect of eating habit in what he eventually calls ‘eatual’ (eating ritual). Here, he created a pocket book consisting of paper-made Suru to be cut-out when needed. Offering a cleaner way for the community to eat. The other Suru he created are made of materials like brass, wood and silver. It’s proven scientifically that silver is an effective element in destroying bacterias. Hence, preserving a healthier eating habit.

At the end of the day, the meeting I experienced was certainly ironic. How is it that as we move on to the future we get lower quality made products? Then it hit me. Maybe new does not mean better. Sometimes in order to build quality products, the two has to be combined. Inspiration can come from anywhere. I just think that indirectly or not, the present day is a continuance of past products. It’s sad that most of the times, these past products are not acknowledged as valuable assets of inspiration and as a consequence, are slowly forgotten in the face of the world. Of course, you don’t have to be a collector to appreciate their existence. All that is needed is to stop being ignorant.