Located on Allen Street, Sasmita Batik is owned and operated by Novi Paluch.
Originally from Jakarta, Indonesia, Paluch’s home country is heavily incorporated into her store and designs which are created in Buffalo and made in Indonesia. There she employs a dozen people and routinely works with disabled, elderly, and homeless individuals. In fact, 10% of profit from store sales are sent back to Indonesia to help fund homeless children’s education.
Novi Paluch credits her love for fashion and design to multiple sources, including her mother who was a talented designer and who made her clothes when she was growing up.
She also mentions her background in finance as a reason for her interest in fashion. Before working as a designer, Paluch worked in finance as a stock trader. It was important to her to dress up for work, and she used her interest in fashion as a way to stand out. Paluch also went to school for journalism and has a masters degree in human resources.
When she first moved to Buffalo, people would often ask why she was dressed up, as our modern dress is decidedly more casual than what she had previously experienced.
However, Paluch says she has now adopted a more American style, but her store and personal style still reflects a more structured and formal way of dressing, she hopes this inspire people to try different styles of clothing. She also wants to make nice clothes more financially accessible.
In the Fall of 2022, Paluch had the opportunity to show her designs at New York Fashion Week. Paluch said that seeing her designs on the runway was “unbelievable.” She presented a colorful and meaningful set of designs down the runway, which were made with traditional material but with a modern aesthetic.
Paluch states that Buffalo culture is also incorporated into her designs. She likes to have more colorful designs during the summer, but doesn’t discourage the people of Buffalo to wear color in the winter. In fact, her store is a kaleidoscope of color all year round.
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