Sharon Lumbantobing is an avid collector of working baskets used for fishing, carrying, and storing everyday items. Her extensive collection of Indonesian baskets grew during the twenty-five years she lived in Indonesia, from 1990 to 2015, while working on forestry and marine conservation programs. She collaborated on an annual Meet the Makers event and co-founded a pop-up gallery in her home called The Artisans Table in Jakarta. These initiatives brought together master craftspeople throughout Indonesia working in textiles, basketry, ceramics, glass, wood, leather, and other media, and introduced them to new markets and audiences in Jakarta and the United States.

Sharon was awe-struck by the richness and variety of pattern, motifs, techniques, and processes behind each handmade item, but quickly became aware of how fragile these art forms are. Many makers are in their seventies and eighties and are the first generation with far fewer successors willing to learn and master these crafts, a trend that threatens the loss of both tangible and intangible cultural heritage — including the songs sung during weaving and dyeing, knowledge of which plants produce which dyes, and knowledge of patterns and techniques. She now lives and works in Olympia, Washington.

She misses spending time with master craftspeople in their homes and studios, engaged in conversation about their processes and personal connection to their craft — and, of course, the food. As a research associate at the Tracing Patterns Foundation, she stays connected to this community and contributes in a small way to researching, documenting, writing about, and engaging with others who are passionate about textiles and other handmade crafts.