You asked, we answered! We received requests to share more about the artisans who make your Indos, so today we are going to introduce you to five members of our workshop crew: Yunus and Putra (from the tire cutting division), Fandi and Bandi (sole application), and Rani (finishing/ packaging). We have a really great crew at the Indo workshop but some are more camera shy than others, so we will start here and hopefully add more profiles as time goes on!
Yunus & Putra - tire cutting
Yunus and Putra (pronounced You-noose and Pooh-tra) work together in our tire cutting division and are basically two peas in a pod. Yunus lives right around the corner from the shop and has a pretty rad fashion sense (if you look closely you'll notice he is rocking a side shave/ half hawk here). Putra is more talkative and is not camera shy at all (that's him striking a pose while rocking our JJ soaring eagle shoes).
They are both master wielders of our cutting tools, which are very specific to Indosole's tire upcycling process. In their area they love blasting music―everything from rock to pop to dangdut. If you don't know what dangdut is, it's a kind of Indonesian folk music named after the signature sound a kendang drum makes (here is a little taste of dangdut).
Fandi & Bandi - sole application
Pictured here flashing a peace sign and serving up some really good duck face are Fandi and Bandi (pronounced Fahn-dee and Bahn-dee―yes, their names rhyme!). Along with the other members of their team, Fandi and Bandi are responsible for applying the tire soles to the canvas uppers. They share a special bond, and it's not because they sit side by side. It's because they are...*drumroll*...father and son!
Fandi and Bandi have pretty calm demeanors but are very fun to chat with. Bandi speaks slowly and softly while his son can sometimes get silly, as seen here. When we asked if they ever got "bored" of each other, considering how much time in a day they spend together (at work and at home), they laughed. “We’re happy working together," Bandi said. "We can look after each other this way."
Rani - finishing/packaging
In the next room over you'll find Rani (pronounced Rah-nee), who is part of our “finishing touches” team. Rani inspects the shoes, trims flyaway threads, adds laces, and then packs up the product in our 100% recycled cardboard boxes.
Rani is a loving mother with a very sweet disposition. She told us that prior to working at the Indo workshop, she used to work at a large factory that operated 24 hours a day. During her eight hour shifts she was on her feet the entire time and had loud machinery ringing in her ears. She prefers the Indo workshop because she can sit down, chat with the people on her team (you can see them photobombing her above), and most importantly, she "can laugh and make jokes."
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