Celebrate Heritage! Hidden Retreat The Road ... - The Expat Group

penang people
In Their Own Words...
We came to Malaysia originally for John’s work and we lived in Melaka for two years in the
early years of the millenium. When we wanted to take early retirement and set up a business
here, we choose Penang. That was three years ago and we feel very much at home here.
We love Malaysia for its climate and ambience, the food and the friendly people, and the
relaxed lifestyle we enjoy here. As designers, nature is our greatest inspiration, and there is
nature in abundance in Penang.
Penang is a treasure house for designers; there’s so much inspiration here, it’s like a museum
just to walk the streets. The heritage buildings and art of George Town, the beach, and the
forests are fabulous. We love the fact that you have modern shopping centres but you can
also dip into nature so easily. It’s also so friendly and pretty safe too, as long as you take the
normal precautions you would take in any city, anywhere in the world. The only thing we’re
not so keen on is the haze, but we hope that will change one day.
When we walk on the beach, we look out for interesting things – piece of shell, flotsam, and
jetsam – that we can make into our artworks. When we walk in the forest, we find interesting
forms, twigs, leaves, and berries which we use in our designs. It’s never boring to look at
things in Penang.
John and Wilma Bunk
John and Wilma Bunk are a Dutch couple
who live in Batu Ferringhi, Penang with the
youngest of their four children. You can catch
up with them at various Penang
functions or fi nd them on the web at
www.jewelartistic.com.
Wilma does most of the fine design of our pendants and earrings while John creates the
incredibly fine filigree wire which supports them. Wilma often starts with a piece of shell of
mother-of-pearl onto which she glues her intricate designs. We strengthen the shell with a
laminate so that you can even drop it or shower in it and do no damage to the jewellery.
We are busy with many things but spend most of our time designing jewels, (under name
the Willemina) and you can buy them in the heritage center of George Town (Armenian
street), in several hotels in Batu Ferringhi, and now in Bran et Daguet in Straits Quay. The
jewellery is all one-of-a-kind, and all handmade. We hope they will be heirlooms of the
future; we’ve certainly made them to last!
We love the hawker stalls but we also enjoy our local cafés in Batu Ferringhi, such as Bora
Bora or Beach café which has good meals and nice coconuts, and a view over water sports.
We go to Five27, at Straits Quay, for a taste of delicious Nordic inspired food with no
MSG. We also love the Ferringhi Garden Restaurant (Batu Ferringhi) which has a chic and
luxurious ambience in a gorgeous garden atmosphere.
We don’t not own property here – we like to be free and we change houses every few years.
It is easier for us to rent, and now we live in an apartment in Batu Ferringhi.
Like most people, we have a mixture of expats and locals as friends. We consider ourselves
to be lucky to live in Penang but we do miss our children and family back home from time
to time.
12 Penang International