John Hardy Concept Boutique
The John Hardy Seminyak boutique is an immersive community oasis, tucked away from the city’s bustling streets. It welcomes guests with a dynamic entryway, where cascading water symbolizing purification offers a cool, quiet respite and introduces guests to the sense of Balinese spirituality and community that infuses the space. Specifically, a traditional sanggah temple provides a place of offering and ceremony, and a bale kulkul, a traditional sounding bell, is used to gather visitors and drive action. Handmade Balinese brick and bamboo shingles, crafted in local villages using traditional techniques, underscore the John Hardy ethos and the brand’s deep reverence for the island’s natural elements and architectural nuances.
As they step into the luxury brand 4,800 sq2 boutique’s sprawling entry brought to life in a collaboration between Wield Creative and Studio Jenquel, visitors are greeted with cool towels scented with Sari, a bespoke floral fragrance inspired by Balinese offerings, and a refreshing welcome drink that recalls the cleansing purified water used in the island’s blessing ceremonies. The building’s airy design, arranged as a communal gathering space, further activates all five senses and invites guests to interact with a curated selection of handcrafted John Hardy jewelry, brand artifacts, and purchasable local artisan goods — ranging from textiles to ceramics to incense — that further bring Balinese culture to life.
Similar to all John Hardy boutiques, the Seminyak boutique celebrates artisanal techniques, evolving the model by introducing an exhibition space dedicated to emerging artists who interpret tradition in innovative ways. The store’s first installation includes an oversized, woven coconut-leaf sculpture by Make a Scene, a team of designers and expert weavers from Mengwi, that takes the storied craft to daring proportions. An additional installation is a Gamelatron, a bespoke sonic kinetic sculpture created by conceptual artist Aaron Taylor Kauffman, which transforms a thousand-year-old tradition Gamelan ensemble music tradition from Indonesia into a viscerally powerful, immersive experience that presents time-honored music in an exciting new format.