Ulu Watu is owned and run by husband and wife business partners Ian and Jo who also do all the travelling to buy new stock. The shop opened in 1989 as the result of more than 15 years of our travel around the globe to different cultures in many different lands. In the beginning the shop offered a wide range of exotic handmade silver jewellery mostly from Tibet, Nepal and Sri Lanka which proved very popular. A couple of years later we introduced some wooden statues from various islands in Indonesia. Initially, these were just for decoration, but they sold so quickly that since then many different types and styles of carvings have been added to the range. About four years ago the shop moved into larger premises nearby. This enabled us to stock much larger wooden statues and wall panels. We have also been able to introduce various pieces of furniture such as small tables, stools, mirrors and screens.

Much of the time on our regular buying trips abroad is spent travelling by road, or on foot, to remote villages and small family-run workshops to seek out the more unusual items. We are keen to support small enterprises such as these rather than large wholesale sources. This means that we are personally able to select only good quality handicrafts made with materials from renewable resources. Buying directly from the people who make the items also means that we know they are getting a fair price for their work - this in turn helps to sustain their local village economy. Many of our suppliers are now our good friends and that in itself adds a special quality to doing business with them.

As we see only too often in our western culture, the skills of generations can quickly become lost in the modern age of mechanisation and technology. It is important for mankind to keep diverse age-old handicraft skills alive for they teach co-ordination and dexterity, and also give a feeling of self-confidence and independence in the maker once the article is completed. Creativity is a form of self-therapy after all.