Fashion designer Jyoti Morningstar is a free spirit who divides her time between Bali and New Zealand, cleverly combining her love of design, yoga and life.
I first came to Bali when... I was 11 on holiday with my mother, and then again when I was 19 - fresh from high school and searching for the meaning of life in exotic Asia. More recently I came to Bali to sample my first We'ar collection of yoga clothing. I had made my first patterns at home on Waiheke and knew it was possible to make small production runs in Bali as there are many small family-run sewing workshops here. What I found was so much more. I could batch dye small quantities of fabric, screen print anything and people were happy to make only 10 pieces of a style. It was a creative paradise for a budding designer on a mission to start a global brand. I already had friends and contacts who had taken up Bali life so I arrived to friendly faces and based myself in Ubud - Bali's spiritual and artistic heartland. I now spend half of my time in Bali and the other half in New Zealand.
Bali was an ideal place to set up a yoga brand because... the Balinese intuitively understand yoga and the principles of a yoga-inspired business ethic. It was also an attractive place to start because of being able to do small runs of garments as well as being home a to very active, creative and supportive international community - both spiritually and design-wise. We'ar is very much a concept brand and so each aspect of the design and articulation - from the initial design direction to the choice of textiles and packaging, from the business negotiations to the human and ecological imprint - references the same objective, that we are here, we are now, we are the people we've been waiting for and this is the time in which we will create the world we want to live in.
From an aesthetic perspective I guess the "intricately simple" design approach is characteristic of We'ar. Our clothes are very detailed in terms of stitch technique, adjustable features, extra linings and finishings. Each piece is functionally designed for the body shape it is intended for - which is why we don't make unisex clothing and really encourage people to buy the right size so they can optimise the design features that will work the hardest in achieving both a desirable look and feel.
I think of the styling as zen nouveau - very pared-back looking but lavish to the one who wears. We try to avoid "process sewing" so mostly each garment is sewn by an individual so the creative detailing is not lost on the person crafting the garment (we don't want to robotise humans). For example, the twice blessed dress takes one person an entire work day to stitch and involves many different techniques that require careful attention.
When I first get up in the morning I ... cuddle my cat, make a green smoothie, chant and do yoga, go for a surf or run on the beach or just laze around with a pot of coffee enjoying the early light and tranquillity.
My Bali house is unusual: it is very tall and skinny rather like a miniature version of a city building except it is in Seminyak and surrounded by mango, coconut and starfruit trees. The English woman who designed and built it has spent a lot of time in Greece and so has employed a reasonably eccentric Asian-Mediterranean fusion approach to light use and keeping cool. The kitchen is dark and cave-like which is cool and a relief on bright, humid days while the upper floors are light. The uppermost level is a loft which is almost entirely open on all four sides that allows you to utilise the most advantageous cooling airflow in different seasons - all of which are hot in south Bali.
My neighbourhood is a superb collection of Indonesian Catholics, Balinese Hindus, French designers, Australian queens, Latina princesses and Italian freaks - what to do? Bali is the most multicultural place I've ever experienced and everyone lives, works and dines together in just a few square miles. I almost think once diversity passes a certain level people finally release this need to make their way right, to aim for conformity.
My favourite things at home are ... Well, I'm pretty fond of everything. It is so small that it's easy to have the whole place full of perfect stuff. My favourite painting is by an Ubud artist and is a very large, grey-white canvas with a man plummeting from a diving board at a perfect vertical toward a white bird that swoops just above a single line of brown earth. It is a painting of a dream.
I love my dressing room, overflowing with shoes, clothes, large chunky framed mirrors and lit from a large antique wooden window that has been hand-carved into a motif of vines and flowers. A large starfruit tree growing outside shadows the light deep green and in the cool season a yellow flowering vine climbs in and drops blossoms everywhere.
What was the last thing that you bought? A pair of boots by Niluh Djelantik because they were outrageous and beautiful and I've been loving our early design collaborations for "We'ar so bootiful" - our upcoming range of hand-made boots (stay tuned for leather and vegan boots).
Most days you'll find me ... During the week day after my morning pleasures of yoga etc, I usually have coffee with friends at Zucchini or The Corner Store, followed by office time and meetings on Oberoi St or straight over to our workshop in the wood-artisan district where I work with our sampling team either on production or new designs. But most days have different elements. I'm collaborating with quite a few other designers, artisans and suppliers so sometimes I'm just riding around catching up on it all, maintaining the relationships and seeing what's new in terms of materials, ideas and intention.
The social scene here ... that I'm part of is divided into distinct communities - the local Seminyak crew which is predominantly design-focused and the Ubud crew who are strongly focused on spirituality and sustainability. The people who make up these tribes are from all over the world and have chosen to work in Bali because of the abundant opportunities to create here. Whether it's a raw chocolate and durian snack, a green school or an eco-luxe clothing label, nearly everyone here is creating. Among my friends everyone is designing clothes or villas, teaching yoga or painting. There are not so many normal working-for-a-wage type jobs here for internationals so most people create their own niche through their art or craft. I guess we're called lokal buleh "inside outsiders". There are many different groups but the common thread among the people I love in Bali is expression and the passionate realisation of this.
Are there lots of people walking around with the book Eat Pray Love - looking for love and enlightenment? Ha ha, in Ubud yes. We used to call them Lizbions [after the book's author Liz Gilbert] but lately they've become "EPL-ers".
Is Bali the place to find it? Sure. it is such a fertile, vibrant, abundant island. Filled with gods and goddesses devis, devas, beautiful and interesting people, delicious food, huge exotic flowers, mysterious ritual, ancient temples and practices, sacred mountains, huge, wild surf - whatever your dream, if your senses are alive, you can taste it on your lips in Bali.
Where else in the world do you travel? To be honest we'ar keeps me so busy that I haven't been travelling much in the past two years - NZ, Indonesia, Hong Kong, France and Singapore are my basic stomping grounds of late. Singapore for perfumes and friends (we blend the we'ar signature fragrance there in collaboration with Johari, the first son of the Kazura perfume family, an old south Indian family of perfumers), France for design inspiration and love, HK for business and yoga.
What is your favourite Indonesian dish? There's quite a lot of yummy treats to be had in Indonesia although not much of it is that healthy! On the traditional side I can't go past nasi goreng and my fave place for it is the uncle on my gang (alleyway) who randomly opens up the front of his house with three woks in the evenings. He and his wife make their own pickles to which I am completely addicted. He throws in a handful of tiny green chillies and wraps it in brown paper to make it a "nasi bunkus" (wrapped rice) and it's only 10,000 rp (NZ$1.30).
What are your favourite shops, restaurants, bars and places to visit in Bali? For high tea and a second-hand book shopping I love Biku on Petitenget. Namu, a new concept store directly across the road, has some great ceramics and simple, chic clothes that somehow work for the beach and dinner. Le Took is super cute on Jl Kunti. For fashion I like Magali Pascal (just 150m down the street from the we'ar store on Oberoi) and Biasa (Jl Seminyak). Breakfast and lunch is tastiest at Zucchini and the coffee at the Corner Store can be enjoyed while sifting thru the overstuffed racks of Australian designer print dresses (both next to We'ar on Oberoi). Further down Oberoi is the ever delicious Chandi which makes killer fresh ginger mojitos and has a supremely eclectic menu on which everything is tasty, fresh and organic. Cafe Bali is like the cantina for Seminyak dwellers - best chocolate moelleux in Bali and perhaps the best fresh strawberry margaritas in the world. For healthy, organic goodness I totally rate Bali Buddha and Kafe in Ubud - Kafe has the most delicious tahini dressing and has been the inspiration of my own ongoing efforts.
For weekend forest retreating with all the comforts, Como Shambala is practically heaven on earth - with top international spa therapists, a divine in-house yoga teacher and the most impressive juice menu ever. For drop-in yoga in Seminyak I love Desa Seni and in Ubud the Yoga Barn has a mind-blowingly full programme with some excellent teachers. For lazing around on the beach Karma Kandara offers the white sand idyll with good DJs at the weekend.
How has living in Bali changed you? I guess my creative process requires quite a team to manifest and Bali still maintains a strong artisanal culture that provides me with the palette I need to create. So in one sense it has given me the means through which to express myself - a crucial ingredient for contentment as a creative.
* The We'ar Retail Lab is situated at 29 Cross street, Newton, ph (09) 358 0030 or go to we-ar.it.
Check out 'Series A' an exhibition of yoga photographs by Mark Mateo and Vincent Bolleta at we'ar from Friday.
