The story of a couture wooden radio from Temanggung, Central Java
A wooden radio made of East Indian pine and rosewood looks distinctive inside a hip retail store in Jakarta. The letter “g” on the product demonstrates the brand Magno, which is now in high demand on the international market.
The wooden Magno radio is an Indonesian product that has won several international design awards, such as the Japan Good Design Award G-Mark 2008, the Design Plus Award 2009 in Ambiente-Frakfurt Germany, the Design for Asia Award 2008 by the Hong Kong Design Center, and the Product Design Category Winner at the Brit Insurance Design of the Year 2009 at the Design Museum, London.
Singgih Susilo Kartono is the man behind the humble design. He created the radio as his final project while studying at the Bandung Institute of Technology in 1995. The casing is 80 percent made from good quality wood.
It took him ten years to finally realize his dream, as he was waiting for the electronic kit vendor in Indonesia.
Now the wooden radio is manufactured by his own company, Piranti Works in Kandangan Village, Temanggung, Central Java.
The village, which is surrounded by a thick forest, is famous for its wood-craft. That is why the company employs 40 workers, all of them are locals.
To make the Magno, Piranti Works uses around 80 trees per year.
“I feel morally responsible for replacing the wood that we have used. I ensure that none of the manufacturing activities that we conduct harm nature. We do this by re-planting every single tree that we cut from the forest,” he said.
Singgih’s work with Magno has increased the value of local wooden products by selling them worldwide. For him, this radio is part of his dream to make Indonesian wood products recognized at a global level.
The unique design of the radio has successfully caught the eye of the international market. It has a vintage yet modern shape with a rustic wood finish.
Singgih said the design of the Magno was made not according to market research or demand. Its original and eye-catching shape, for example the IKoNO type, helped it to get worldwide attention when the product was launched on the Internet.
The radio began its international debut in Japan, with the help of his professor. He won the Japan Good Design Award in 2008.
The rest is history; the radio is now sold in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, several countries in Europe such as Germany, France, Denmark, England and Italy, and the United States.
“We got good publicity not only because of the shape, but also for the quality of the products,” Singgih said.
The sound of a Magno radio is very pure and resonant due to the digital radio receiver and the wood from which it is made. The East Indian rosewood used in the IKoNO type is the same material used by many musical instruments, such as flutes and guitars.
Besides the IKoNO, other designs from Magno are the KuBo, Spiko, MiKRO, Cube and ReKTO. Every design represents a one-of-a-kind piece and crafted by hand at the Magno workshop.
The radio sells for EUR 160.00.
Besides radios, Piranti Works is now producing other wooden products, such as wooden clocks, handcrafted desktop sets, a handcrafted compass and handcrafted loupe.
You can see the manufacturing process at the Magno Workshop at Krajan 1 RT2 RW7 Kandangan village, Temanggung, Central Java.
To visit the workshop, you have to make an appointment by email to info@magno-design.com.
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