A Sofa from the Edge of the World
Testing our new sofa, designed & created by our virual team
A year ago, the rooms were built but bare. We knew we needed a sofa, but furniture isn’t easy to find here. And good furniture — I’m talking about Salone Milan quality — simply doesn’t exist anywhere in Indonesia, much less in our remote beach location.
We had no workshop, no supply chain, and no delivery trucks were ever going to drop off a beautiful sofa for us. It was clear that if we wanted a quality piece of furniture for our guests, we’d have to make it ourselves.
Then one evening, while browsing online from Europe, a photograph appeared — a sofa with a quiet balance between classic and modern, simple yet welcoming. It looked like something that belonged at ipyum. The idea began there: if we couldn’t bring it in, maybe we could make it.
The design seemed simple enough to reverse-engineer. We measured, estimated, and sent sketches halfway around the world. Komaria coordinated from West Papua, working with our resident carpenter, who had only a few hand tools and a small table saw adapted from a circular saw. The wood we used was ironwood — dense, beautiful, and almost indestructible. Difficult to work with, but perfect for the tropics.
The frames were built and sat in the rooms for months while we focused on other parts of the project. Then we discovered that the heavy red dye hidden deep in the wood — which would ruin the classic white cushions — could be drawn out by leaving the pieces in the rain and sun for a while. So for months, they rested on the beach, weathering under the tropical light and sea air until the natural oils and pigments finally dissapated.
Meanwhile, in East Java, a small family sewing business — led by Komaria’s neighbor — began to grow into something new. No one there had ever made sofa cushions before, but with guidance, persistence, and plenty of trial and error, and some help from Komaria’s brother they mastered it. The cushions came together piece by piece, filled, stitched, and packed for their long journey east.
When everything finally met — the frames from Papua and the cushions from Java — the result was more than a piece of furniture. It was a collaboration between islands and people, between improvisation and craftsmanship.
This afternoon, the team sat down on the finished sofa for the first time. Someone smiled, someone laughed, and suddenly it all felt complete. The photo we took — together, relaxed and proud — says everything words can’t.
Soon, each piece will carry a small custom label that simply says ipyum. A quiet signature for something that took a year, a community, and a whole lot of heart to make — right here on the edge of the world.
