We caught up with Malaysia-based entrepreneur Franki Turner, the founder of Frankitas to find out how her love for traditional textiles grew into a vibrant business that pays tribute to weavers around the world.
Tell us how Frankitas came about
It really came about with me being tired of the corporate life. Being obsessed with textiles, especially the ones that traditionally remind me of my childhood growing up in a Javanese village in Indonesia, I naturally gravitated towards something I know and love. Two years ago, I decided to make them into bags and clutches, which then progressed to bags, accessories and now home decor.
Franki works with traditional weavers from places near and far, including Indonesia, Uzbekistan and Africa for her collection of homeware and fashion accessories.
Where do you source for your textiles?
I used to travel a lot. I’ve visited many places and collected many kinds of fabrics along the way. Now my weavers come from mainly Malaysia, Indonesia, India, the nomads in Uzbekistan, Africa and soon, Thailand.
How do you choose the fabrics for Frankitas?
I’m not only drawn to the vibrant and incredible motifs in the textiles that I use. I’m also drawn to the ancient techniques that are still in practice in this insanely industralised world we live in. At Frankitas, we are storytellers, and our story is about traditional textiles and the heroes are the textile makers.
Expect to find home decor pieces like this eye-catching lamp with lampshades made out of Uzbek silk from Frankitas.
How do you evaluate the authenticity of traditional fabrics like ikat and songket?
The basic way is to look into the weave line in the ikat. Also look at the threads, as you will always find some imperfections like loose threads, knots and colourings.
To tell if an ikat print is authentic, Franki advises to look out for some imperfections like loose threads, knots and colourings.
What can we expect from Frankitas next?
I would really like for Frankitas to be accessible in most continents, which means we get to communicate to the world that tradition is still very much alive. In terms of the range of products, maybe shoes and an apparel line. Let’s wait and see.
This was adapted from an article originally written by Martin Teo published in the November 2016 issue of SquareRooms.
