Old treasures at Cemal Cemil
Dian Kuswandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
| Sat, 03/07/2009 1:10 PM | Life
Here in the 21st century, where anything goes, there is a mishmash of so many different things – even pieces of the good old days.
Remember the days you walked home from school with friends, sucking on sweet sarsaparilla candies? Or played ketapel or bola bekel? Or read an old magazine with its delightfully quaint ads?
Those days might be gone forever, but those things you loved are not. Some places have dedicated themselves to restoring golden oldies for your purchasing pleasure.
Just peek into Cemal Cemil shop in Kemang, South Jakarta.
This one-of-a-kind shop offers you a chance to relive your childhood memories with a range of all the best old-fashioned snacks, candies and toys.
Remember permen cicak (lizard’s egg candy)? Or permen rokok (candy cigarettes)? In Cemal Cemil, these candies are waiting for you, along with other old treats such as coklat payung (chocolate umbrellas), New York peanut nougat, hopjes, Yosan bubble gum, sarsaparilla sweets and much more.
Even if the names themselves don’t ring a bell, once you see them, you will realize just how long it has been since you last had them.
| Sat, 03/07/2009 1:10 PM | Life
Here in the 21st century, where anything goes, there is a mishmash of so many different things – even pieces of the good old days.
Remember the days you walked home from school with friends, sucking on sweet sarsaparilla candies? Or played ketapel or bola bekel? Or read an old magazine with its delightfully quaint ads?
Those days might be gone forever, but those things you loved are not. Some places have dedicated themselves to restoring golden oldies for your purchasing pleasure.
Just peek into Cemal Cemil shop in Kemang, South Jakarta.
This one-of-a-kind shop offers you a chance to relive your childhood memories with a range of all the best old-fashioned snacks, candies and toys.
Remember permen cicak (lizard’s egg candy)? Or permen rokok (candy cigarettes)? In Cemal Cemil, these candies are waiting for you, along with other old treats such as coklat payung (chocolate umbrellas), New York peanut nougat, hopjes, Yosan bubble gum, sarsaparilla sweets and much more.
Even if the names themselves don’t ring a bell, once you see them, you will realize just how long it has been since you last had them.
“For many of us, childhood was such a fun time,” said 39-year-old Eby Karsono, one of Cemal Cemil’s owners. “Sometimes we wish we could go back to the good old days of our childhood.”
Eby’s own childhood memories inspired Cemal Cemil. One day in 2003, Eby and her friends Yeany Dahlan and Satyorini Purawan had a lunch with old-fashioned dishes in a kampung-style restaurant.
“We suddenly remembered our childhood, and thought if we could still find the old-fashioned dishes today, why not the snacks?” Eby, who works at an advertising agency, said.
Within two months, the idea had evolved into a small stall called Cemal Cemil, Indonesian for “snacks” .
“We went to many small villages across Java to rediscover the old-style delicacies and toys,” Eby said.
Surprisingly, she added, many people loved what Cemal Cemil offered. The stall is now also a shop with branches in several malls across Jakarta. Today it also offers old-fashioned toys and accessories.
When you step into the shop in Kemang, your eyes will be delighted by the small colorful jars of candies, cookies and chocolates.
Old-style toys such as tuk-tuk vessels, kitiran (paper windmill), congklak, bola bekel, tik tok and other colorful wooden and tin toys will have you yearning for your childhood.
“Traditional toys like congklak and bekel are more than just toys that offer fun,” Eby said.
“Congklak helps children learn mathematics, while bekel trains their motor skills.”
As most of Cemal Cemil’s customers are mothers who come with their children, Eby said, they expect that these kids of today will come to know and love these old-style toys and delicacies.
Another step back in time takes us to Kedai Tempo Doeloe, which offers old-style advertise- ments with their distinctive flavor of the past.
Vintage lovers who visit the shop in Tebet, South Jakarta, will fall in love with the many kinds of classic ads dating back to the 1920s, all printed on paper, enamel or wood.
“Many people come here because they want to create a classic ambience in their homes or offices using old-style ads,” Candra Kurniawan, the shop’s owner, said.
Some restaurant owners, Candra added, also hunted for old-style ads to decorate their venues.
“But of course, in this case, most of them purchased the reproduced ads, or the ones that are not original, and with lower prices,” Candra, an employee at a hotel, said.
Paper repro ads, he said, cost between Rp 50,000 (US$5) and Rp 150,000. Enamel ones are from around Rp 200,000 to Rp 1 million.
“But the authentic ads have no exact prices,” Candra said. “They will depend on how old and scarce they are, how hard it is for me to find them,” he added.
Candra’s business sprouted five years ago from his interest in vintage stuff. Initially he sold antique furniture and accessories, before shifting his focus to the ads.
“I thought stuff like furniture and memorabilia required space,” Candra said. “Plus, I just couldn’t get enough of them. I just wanted more,” he added, laughing.
In Candra’s eyes, classic ads are simple, yet arouse nostalgia.
“Two years ago, I started to collect classic ads from old magazines, catalogues and almanacs.”
He then creatively transforms the ads into functional contemporary goods such as notebooks, T-shirts, jars, postcards and stickers.
“The medium might be different, but still, they use the designs of the classic ads,” Candra said.
While these two shops allow you to see and taste the good old days, a shop in Cirendeu, South Jakarta, called Kedai Vintage offers you the chance to “drive” with the past – with antique Mercedes-Benz cars.
Home to dozens of classic Mercedes-Benzs from 1938 to the 1970s, Kedai Vintage indulges customers who just aren’t satisfied with their new modern cars.
“This is the funny thing with our people: When you have expensive antique cars, others think you were born in a rich family, that your father or grandfather could afford that car a long time ago and you inherited it,” Dharma Adsasmuda, the shop’s owner said with a chuckle.
Dharma, who opened his business in 1999, said that antique cars were timeless beauty and could serve as investment.
“The prices of new cars keep going down, but not the antique ones – they’re going up,” he said.
And when it comes to the classic Mercedes-Benz, “No one can compete with you in terms of the prestigious feeling you can get from driving it.”
Symbolizing the high status of its owner, Dharma says, classic Mercedes-Benz cars have become favorites among many wealthy businessmen and state officials.
“Many of my customers also come from as far as Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, the US and Italy,” Dharma, an assistant manager at a foreign bank, said.
The antique cars are also rented out for photo shoots and movies (Soe Hok Gie was one), with fees ranging from Rp 3 million to Rp 5 million for six hours.
According to Dharma, the hot picks among his collection are the Mercedes-Benz Mini (1971–1975) and Kentang (1955–1959).
The cars in his collection range in price from Rp 25 million for a Mini to about Rp 4 billion for a Mafia.
The high price of the 1951 Mercy Mafia, Dharma explained, is for good reason: “there’s only one Mercy Mafia in Indonesia”.
In 1951 alone, he added, only 100 Mercy Mafia cars were produced in the world. The one and only Mafia in Indonesia, however, has been waiting for years for the perfect buyer to drive him. But Dharma is in no hurry to sell it.
“Every antique thing has its own soul mate,” he said. “Maybe not today, but it will surely meet the right owner someday.”
Dharma might be right. Some people love to find their true spirit in the past.
Spots for golden oldies:
Cemal Cemil
Jl. Kemang Selatan I No. 20
South Jakarta
021-7198878
Kedai Tempo Doeloe
Jl. Palbatu IV No. 14,
Tebet, South Jakarta
021-98729927
Kedai Vintage
Jl. Cirendeu Raya No. 12
Ciputat, South Jakarta
021-98239762
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/03/07/the-old-curiosity-shops.html
Eby’s own childhood memories inspired Cemal Cemil. One day in 2003, Eby and her friends Yeany Dahlan and Satyorini Purawan had a lunch with old-fashioned dishes in a kampung-style restaurant.
“We suddenly remembered our childhood, and thought if we could still find the old-fashioned dishes today, why not the snacks?” Eby, who works at an advertising agency, said.
Within two months, the idea had evolved into a small stall called Cemal Cemil, Indonesian for “snacks” .
“We went to many small villages across Java to rediscover the old-style delicacies and toys,” Eby said.
Surprisingly, she added, many people loved what Cemal Cemil offered. The stall is now also a shop with branches in several malls across Jakarta. Today it also offers old-fashioned toys and accessories.
When you step into the shop in Kemang, your eyes will be delighted by the small colorful jars of candies, cookies and chocolates.
Old-style toys such as tuk-tuk vessels, kitiran (paper windmill), congklak, bola bekel, tik tok and other colorful wooden and tin toys will have you yearning for your childhood.
“Traditional toys like congklak and bekel are more than just toys that offer fun,” Eby said.
“Congklak helps children learn mathematics, while bekel trains their motor skills.”
As most of Cemal Cemil’s customers are mothers who come with their children, Eby said, they expect that these kids of today will come to know and love these old-style toys and delicacies.
Another step back in time takes us to Kedai Tempo Doeloe, which offers old-style advertise- ments with their distinctive flavor of the past.
Vintage lovers who visit the shop in Tebet, South Jakarta, will fall in love with the many kinds of classic ads dating back to the 1920s, all printed on paper, enamel or wood.
“Many people come here because they want to create a classic ambience in their homes or offices using old-style ads,” Candra Kurniawan, the shop’s owner, said.
Some restaurant owners, Candra added, also hunted for old-style ads to decorate their venues.
“But of course, in this case, most of them purchased the reproduced ads, or the ones that are not original, and with lower prices,” Candra, an employee at a hotel, said.
Paper repro ads, he said, cost between Rp 50,000 (US$5) and Rp 150,000. Enamel ones are from around Rp 200,000 to Rp 1 million.
“But the authentic ads have no exact prices,” Candra said. “They will depend on how old and scarce they are, how hard it is for me to find them,” he added.
Candra’s business sprouted five years ago from his interest in vintage stuff. Initially he sold antique furniture and accessories, before shifting his focus to the ads.
“I thought stuff like furniture and memorabilia required space,” Candra said. “Plus, I just couldn’t get enough of them. I just wanted more,” he added, laughing.
In Candra’s eyes, classic ads are simple, yet arouse nostalgia.
“Two years ago, I started to collect classic ads from old magazines, catalogues and almanacs.”
He then creatively transforms the ads into functional contemporary goods such as notebooks, T-shirts, jars, postcards and stickers.
“The medium might be different, but still, they use the designs of the classic ads,” Candra said.
While these two shops allow you to see and taste the good old days, a shop in Cirendeu, South Jakarta, called Kedai Vintage offers you the chance to “drive” with the past – with antique Mercedes-Benz cars.
Home to dozens of classic Mercedes-Benzs from 1938 to the 1970s, Kedai Vintage indulges customers who just aren’t satisfied with their new modern cars.
“This is the funny thing with our people: When you have expensive antique cars, others think you were born in a rich family, that your father or grandfather could afford that car a long time ago and you inherited it,” Dharma Adsasmuda, the shop’s owner said with a chuckle.
Dharma, who opened his business in 1999, said that antique cars were timeless beauty and could serve as investment.
“The prices of new cars keep going down, but not the antique ones – they’re going up,” he said.
And when it comes to the classic Mercedes-Benz, “No one can compete with you in terms of the prestigious feeling you can get from driving it.”
Symbolizing the high status of its owner, Dharma says, classic Mercedes-Benz cars have become favorites among many wealthy businessmen and state officials.
“Many of my customers also come from as far as Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, the US and Italy,” Dharma, an assistant manager at a foreign bank, said.
The antique cars are also rented out for photo shoots and movies (Soe Hok Gie was one), with fees ranging from Rp 3 million to Rp 5 million for six hours.
According to Dharma, the hot picks among his collection are the Mercedes-Benz Mini (1971–1975) and Kentang (1955–1959).
The cars in his collection range in price from Rp 25 million for a Mini to about Rp 4 billion for a Mafia.
The high price of the 1951 Mercy Mafia, Dharma explained, is for good reason: “there’s only one Mercy Mafia in Indonesia”.
In 1951 alone, he added, only 100 Mercy Mafia cars were produced in the world. The one and only Mafia in Indonesia, however, has been waiting for years for the perfect buyer to drive him. But Dharma is in no hurry to sell it.
“Every antique thing has its own soul mate,” he said. “Maybe not today, but it will surely meet the right owner someday.”
Dharma might be right. Some people love to find their true spirit in the past.
Spots for golden oldies:
Cemal Cemil
Jl. Kemang Selatan I No. 20
South Jakarta
021-7198878
Kedai Tempo Doeloe
Jl. Palbatu IV No. 14,
Tebet, South Jakarta
021-98729927
Kedai Vintage
Jl. Cirendeu Raya No. 12
Ciputat, South Jakarta
021-98239762
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/03/07/the-old-curiosity-shops.html
