The Designer
Jean-Pierre Bobbaers
The Designer Who Transforms Stories into Objects
Belgian designer Jean-Pierre Bobbaers, known affectionately as J.P. in Ubud, is the visionary behind Mythical Figures of Bali™. With a career spanning more than four decades, he has consistently pushed the boundaries between technology and tradition, design and emotion, form and story.
As the founder of IMAGINIF, a Brussels- and Bali-based design agency, Jean-Pierre has led projects in interior, retail, and industrial design. His work has shaped flagship spaces, brand experiences, and immersive environments across Europe and Asia — including the indoor 3,000 sqm Houbii Urban Adventure Park in Jakarta, where storytelling and user interaction merged into spatial design.
But Mythical Figures of Bali™ is different.
It’s personal.
It’s spiritual.
It’s a return to the handmade, through the most modern of tools.
A Life Between Digital and Craft
Long before 3D modeling became mainstream, Jean-Pierre was among the first in Belgium to use CAD in architecture. He still recalls a professor scoffing at his digitally produced thesis:
“Bobbaers, you really think computers are going to make our drawings?”
They did.
And now, decades later, Jean-Pierre uses those same principles — digital sketching, 3D modeling, and high-precision fabrication — to create figures that honor Balinese mythology.
Discovering the Soul of Bali
Jean-Pierre first set foot in Ubud in 2016. What began as a side trip during a project in Jakarta quickly became a profound connection. He was drawn to the island's mythology, rituals, and people — but especially to the way Balinese stories are embedded in daily life, from temple gates to village offerings.
Figures like Barong, Hanoman, Dewi Sri, Dwarapala, and the Lion spoke to him not just as characters, but as symbolsof values the world needs more than ever: courage, protection, fertility, strength, and grace.
He saw them not as ornaments — but as wearable myths.
Creating the Mythical Figures of Bali™ Collection
The collection began with hand-drawn sketches, refined through CAD, and printed in high-definition brass by one of the world’s leading 3D facilities. The final silver figures were cast using the traditional lost-wax method in Celuk, the heart of Bali’s silverwork — then oxidized, engraved, and mounted on recycled leather straps with adjustable clasps.
It’s a hybrid process never before seen in Bali — fusing digital precision with ancestral hands.
Why It Matters
Jean-Pierre doesn’t see this collection as jewelry.
He sees it as a bridge — between Bali and the world, between old and new, between story and form.
Every piece is exclusive.
Not sold online.
Not mass-produced.
Only available in a curated selection of 4–5 star hotels in Ubud — places that, like the figures themselves, honor beauty, craft, and soul.
“Mythical Figures of Bali™ is not about decoration.
It’s about connection — to the island, its stories, and to yourself.”
— Jean-Pierre Bobbaers