With local culture and craftsmanship firmly embedded in its hybrid concept, Potato Head has carved out a unique position in Bali‘s hospitality landscape since opening in 2010. Not resting on its laurels, the venue continues to reinvent itself while further developing its format. Earlier this month, Potato Head has inaugurated the Good Times General Store on its premises, its first permanent retail space and craft centre. The building is a collaborative effort of Ade Herkarisma, architect and group head of architecture and development at Potato Head, and acclaimed Dutch architecture practice OMA, while the various indoor settings have been created in-house in collaboration with local artisans. And interestingly, Good Times General Store is a place built around making, and one where shoppers also come to create, explore, and last but not least, be part of something. In line with Potato Head upholding local culture, the architecture’s material palette comprises alang-alang thatch, rammed earth, bamboo, and reclaimed wood. Terrazzo floors, incorporating recycled bamboo offcuts, tie in all of the store’s sections.

Upon entering the store, shoppers navigate five interconnected bays that together map the lifecycle of materials and objects. The first bay introduces the Potato Head view through artisan souvenirs and lifestyle pieces that bring together wellness, food, music, and design. It’s followed by a bay presenting the Potato Head Collection inspired by Bali, an apparel line that injects travel, longevity, traceability and design into everyday life. The third bay is home to the Wasted collection by London-based designer Max Lamb, a collaboration that transforms the island’s abundance of discarded plastics and other waste streams into beautiful functional objects and furniture. The fourth bay is a working natural dye studio where pigments are produced from food and plant waste collected at Potato Head, and where public workshops teach natural dyeing, painting and patterning. The fifth and last bay is anchored by a dramatic wall of shredded HDPE plastic recovered from third party waste collectors and upcyclers from both Bali and Java. Mind you, it has hosted live plastic injection and moulding sessions from last July and evolving ateliers for weaving, upcycling and sewing coming next year. © superfuture