On the street a man is painting a giant dolls house candy pink. A sight you don't expect seeing when you find yourself stuck in traffic. He continues painting with diligence and accurateness surrounded by honking cars and traffic fumes. After numerous times passing the same scene SD decided to take a look at these peculiar pieces of craftsmanship. Carissa ‘Barbie' Rumah Boneka the workshop is called, located on the busy Jalan BKR.

The dolls houses vary in size and price upon customers' wishes. The smallest model is about 50 cm high, while the biggest is almost 1,5 meters high and combines the functions of doll house with that of a spacious closet. All houses are hand made out of wood, complete with roof tiles and balconies. One thing for sure, they end up looking a lot more attractive than most of the houses Indonesians have to call home.

It takes about a week to build one of these houses from sawing timber until applying the paint. Prices start at Rp. 385,000 and run up to Rp. 1,500,000 for the biggest ones. Carissa also sells home made furniture to decorate your dolls house. Wooden dining tables, chairs, beds, everything ‘Barbie' ever wished for is there. There are also plastic, factory produced items for sale, ranging from swimming pools to wide screen TV's. The design and details of these items display a striking resemblance to the average Indonesian home décor in real life. Glass tables, kitsch vases and lace table cloths seem shrunken and plasticized to Barbie size.

There are 5 dolls house models to choose from, but personal design alterations are always welcome. This is the only shop in Bandung selling home made dolls houses, so it's a unique place to take a look at pink girlie-ness in the making. Ironically, it's not only dolls houses that Carissa manufactures. They are also specialized in canopies and railings for real houses. These can be ordered both in candy pink as in other colours.