Bringing Indonesia the Local ‘Goods’

Leonard Theosabrata, the man behind The Goods Dept., explains why local is best, and where Indonesian brands go wrong.

Gilang Ardana
Sep 2, 2018 · 6 min read

Leonard Theosabrata is a well-known figure in the local creative industry. The 31-year-old’s passion for design, especially product design, flourished as he grew up around his father’s furniture business.

Leonard, who is now the president of the Indonesian Furniture Club, graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. He is also the co-founder of premium retailer The Goods Dept., the hip repository of Indonesia-made products and style and he is the driving force behind Brightspot Market, the annual platform for local and international brand retailers.

Prior to Goods Dept. and Brightspot Market, Leonard re-invented the family furniture company to include metal and plastic work, creating the Accupunto brand. Through Accupunto, he received numerous international design awards such as at the prestigious RedDot Design Award (2003), the only Indonesian and just the second Asian to receive this award; the Interior Innovation Award (2004) and the Well-Tech Technology for Wellness Award (2006). The accolades elevated his name as one of Asia’s top product and interior designers.

Inspired by Accupunto, and with the confidence that Indonesian brands can compete internationally he and a few others created Brightspot Market as a platform for local brands to showcase their products.

With the success of Brightspot Market, The Goods Dept. was established a year later with an eye on local products, a youthful market and a cool destination. It is now a familiar part of the local retail scene in Jakarta’s malls.

Leonard believes that the trend for local brands is rising, and the potential for local clothing retailers in particular is enormous, as many youngsters want to wear the “Made in Indonesia” label.

Leonard’s passion and creativity seem boundless, as I discovered when I met him to discuss his latest initiative, Indoestri Makerspace, his future plans and his view of local brand retailers and Indonesia’s creative economy.

Can you explain to us about Indoestri Makerspace?

Leonard Theosabrata: Indoestri Makerspace was opened in November 2014. It is a place where people can learn various workshop skills, starting from the basics of wood working and metal working to textile, leather and shoe design and shoe making. The concept itself came long ago when I was promoting the “Self-Made” [made in Indonesia] campaign. Indoestri Makerspace was inspired by the declining mentality of Indonesians to believe in the process and be passionate about it. That became the reason behind it.

I see also in the development of local brands in Indonesia that this declining mentality is happening.

There is a lack of innovation because many of them do not know the process and just follow others, and there are times when the leaders themselves cannot set a good example of how a good brand should be. For me, the word “entrepreneurship” today means a lot less than what it meant in the past. Most people do not understand the process thoroughly, therefore they will not last long. The brand will only peak once, but after that most people get confused on where to take the brand next. They only copy things without conscience. This is why I started Indoestri Makerspace, to know how something was made and to appreciate the process.

Why do you think it is important to know about process?

As a creative product maker, I am always seeking fine materials for my products. Leather, for instance. Indonesia has some of the best leather materials in the world. However, sometimes the domestic supply is not available. We do not know where to get materials or how to make most of the things that we need ourselves. Even sometimes if it is available the price is very expensive. Then I ask; “Why is it is so hard to get that?” They simply say; “We have packed most of our leather to be exported.” It is a big irony that we are so rich, yet we do not even have access to that richness.

It is good, actually, that local creative industry is booming at the moment. Six years after I started Brightspot Market we have seen thousands of brands emerging, but which one can go to the international level? Not that many and this is alarming.

From that, I understand that actually the domestic demand for our fine raw materials is low. That is why I think we need to focus on that. With a “Self-Made” mindset, we can appreciate the process and try to appreciate also fine raw materials. With that, I hope domestic demand can grow, and local brands can understand how to survive, and not only follow, if they want to sustain their brands.

For me, instead of just complaining, I decided to invest in education through Indoestri Makerspace. I believe that if Indonesians start demanding [the raw materials], then the richness will be available for us. I hope other local brands can follow.

Who are your targets to participate in your workshop?

For Indoestri Makerspace, I invest in middle-income individuals. Why? Because for me they are facing the biggest challenges at the moment. Their numbers are increasing and the government is not taking care of them, unlike low-income individuals. The middle-income people need to be equipped with the necessary skills, which will hopefully elevate them and low-income people will be affected too.

Also, I want to have a sustainable business. You can have passion and conscience, but if it is not rewarding, sooner or later those things will eventually fade away.

What is next for Indoestri Makerspace?

From our assessment, in the last five years most graduates from design studies are women, and that has become my next target. We will empower women. We are planning a “Long Haul Roster” program, which in the advertisements will portray woman fictional characters. It is a coaching program, like an incubator, for six weeks with 18 classes coached by competent people practitioners in their fields. By the end of the program, we will arrange for you to meet up with venture capital, funders, suppliers, developers and other stakeholders. With this program, hopefully the startup entrepreneur will be able to skip the many trial and error processes in starting a business. But to join this program, we will choose the people who have the right mindset, because when you have that it will be easier to shape you.

Why did your interest shift from Accupunto, to Brightspot Market and The Goods Dept. and finally starting Indoestri?

My theory is, rather than just stay in one field of study, I need to expand and get out of that field. The common thread in what I have done is still design, so I think I have not diversified much.

Why did you feel you needed to embrace local brands when you started The Goods Dept.?

We started from Brightspot Market. At that time we took the opportunity that came there being lots of independent local brands which did not have a platform to do and get more. Because, how do you develop the local industries when there are no customers? We were trying to change the mindset.

Nowadays, we may see in The Goods Dept. it tends to be overtaken by imported brands. Mainly because the local brands are not able to supply the goods to us; they are lacking in branding, quality, supply chain and other stuff that would affect the decision to purchase something. I hope Indoestri can help that.

As a person actively involved in the creative industry, do you think the government has given it enough support?

For me, they do support us, but they rarely make a long-term strategy. But we can understand why they do not have long-term thinking because of the five-year [administration] term. Because, after their term ends, they know the policy they made will be modified again; that is why they only think of what they can do best during their term.

What we commonly see, when it comes to the creative industry, is that the government tends to relate it to cultural heritage things, and the things that you do are not yet included in that framework. What do you think about this?

Well, that’s not really the case, they see the things we do here as part of the creative industry, too. But they also have this obligation to maintain our cultural heritage, as long as they do not overdo it. They must uphold their objectivity. Do not force cultural content if it is not effective. The Indonesian government is lacking in terms of looking at things objectively. I am not against heritage-related industry, but in my opinion it has to be proportionate.


Transcript from my interview with Leonard Theosabrata, the CEO of Indoestri Makerspace on August 25, 2015. First appeared in AmCham Indonesia Newsletter. Above version was edited from the original version.

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