In this episode, host Dr. Sofie Boons speaks with Dr Alvi Lufiani, jewellery lecturer and researcher at the Indonesia Institute of the Arts in Yogyakarta. Together, they discuss the potential of bamboo as a sustainable material for jewellery, its cultural significance in Southeast Asia, and the role of craft in shaping a more environmentally conscious industry. Discover how traditional practices and innovative thinking can help redefine what sustainable jewellery could look like.

About the speaker:

Dr Alvi Lufiani is a lecturer at the Department of Craft, Faculty of Visual Arts & Design, Indonesia Institute of the Art (ISI) Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Completed her Master of Fine Arts at the Art Department, University of Oregon, USA with a Fulbright scholarship, and received a Doctoral degree from the Faculty of Visual Arts and Design, Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia.

Alvi is active in various research with studies on craft, art, urban and design development. She is also participating in exhibiting artworks, especially studio and contemporary jewellery, both at home and abroad, such as in Japan, Vietnam, China, Malaysia and the United States.

In 2023 Alvi had the opportunity to give a public lecture at Joshibi University of the Arts, Tokyo, Japan entitled Indonesian Art Craft: A Retrospective & Its Changes. In 2022 at Silpakorn University, Bangkok, Thailand with the topic: Craft Now: in the Realm of Transformation Technology. Still at the same university, in 2021 gave a lecture with the theme Indonesian Bamboo Architecture; Representation of Local Wisdom. In 2019, she gave a lecture at FH Bielefeld, Germany with the topic Craft Today; Reimagining Craft Identity and in the same year also gave a lecture at the University of Technology Mara (UiTM) Malaysia with the theme Contemporary Body Jewellery as New Craft.

Previously, in 2015, Alvi had a chance to give a lecture on “Indonesian Contemporary Art and Craft: A Perspective” at University Ibero-Americana, Mexico City, Mexico. In addition, she was an external examiner at the Metal Design Department, Faculty of Art and Design, UiTM, Malaysia.

She is currently serving as an Academic Program Consultant at the same department and Faculty at UiTM, Malaysia. In 2024 and 2025, she became a curator at the Hong Kong International Jewellery Exhibition and Jakarta International Jewellery Fair at the invitation of the Indonesian Ministry of Industry in Jakarta.

Learn more about our host Dr. Sofie Boons here, and listen on Spotify here, and Apple Podcasts here.