Patches In a sea of blight

I've many times been told of the Scandinavian design wonder. The furniture, the product design and how famous we are for it. Myself, I did study product design engineering as well as some at art school back in Stockholm. It's quite  strange to say this, since I never really use any of those skills. They have been rusting for so long I'm not sure if the're still there. Well the computer aided part is. I dunno about the rest.
Anyway. So far I only heard about the nice traditional craftsmanship and artwork in Indonesia, the origin of Batik. But what I find more interesting are the little patches, containing explosions of design passion in a vast landscape of gray blight, that is Jakarta.

These patches of insight in a sea of blight are usually cafes or restaurants that someone put in more than a tad of effort in designing and decorating with artwork. I came to this realization after hanging out in a photo and printing area which was as dull as dishwater. Finding a cafe on the third floor that radiated with color and coziness made me realize that in Jakarta where restaurants, clubs and cafes pop up like weed and die out just as fast is a extremely interesting place for one who likes experiments in design and interior decorating. I think one could spend a lifetime here always finding new interesting places.

If you don't have too much time to spend wandering the odd streets in J-town you can actually get a quick look at some of the nice designs at the Malls otherwise not so appreciated by me. Well, except for the food which also comes in a nice variety.
A better way is to ask a local. But you need to ask someone of the middle class or up. Your general street thug won't give much insight here, sadly. You will however maybe get to chill out at the warkop (from Warung Kopi). A bicycle coffee stall containing a big thermos of coffee, in it's simplest version. Not a bad way to go all in all. The best way is to find some gay people. They will know what's up in this area.