Creative concepts: the design hubs you don't want to miss in Bali

Creative crafts make for great Bali tours.

Giant crabs jostle each other, their claws gnashing. Langoustine clatter about on ungainly stick legs. Hiding in the shadows, the tentacles of a dozen bulbous-headed octopuses threaten to tangle around my ankles.

This is not a sci-fi movie, or a scene from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. These creatures, rendered lifelike in the half-light, are some of the eccentric and bizarre (and a little creepy) brass creations crowding a darkened warehouse in the Bali neighbourhood of Kerobokan. Picture anything, anywhere, made of this showy metal - trinkets, ornaments, statues, artifacts - and you'll find it here in this huge cavernous space, an Aladdin's trove of shiny treasures.

I am not in the market for anything brass especially, but like a kid in a candy store or an archaeologist in a tomb, I can't help but fossick among dusty boxes spilling with tiny Ganesha statues, pointy beaked garden birds, stag heads, sea creatures, skulls, dragonflies, you name it. One crowded aisle is lined with hundreds of shut-eyed golden Buddha figurines, serene in their cross-legged meditative repose. Eventually, I find my keepsake, a small crustacean, weighty, brassy, with two front claws to help lever the top off of a bottle of beer. Perfect!

This hidden gem of a warehouse is one of the many illuminating stops on today's Krazy Kreative Kerobokan itinerary. Hosted by Interior Design Retreats, it is one of five new day tours styled for design-lovers and interiors-shoppers who want to take some of Bali creative inspiration home with them.

The tours dig deep on quirky old warehouses like this one but they also canvass the island's many and varied design hubs from boutique homeware shops and furniture showrooms to creative studios and trade workshops. Depending on the location, architecture and art galleries feature too.

The charismatic neighbourhood of Kerobokan makes headlines in Australia as the home of Bali's notorious prison, but on the ground it is better known as a homeware and interiors hub. Its "antique street", a thoroughfare between Denpasar and Canggu, is lined with open-fronted shops touting wooden furniture, old wares and cane artifacts, along with trade shops where you can have bespoke cushions measured up or furniture re-upholstered.

With so many shops, often selling similar items, it can be difficult for an outsider to navigate, which is what Interior Design Retreats founders Henne Mercer and Anna Powers recognised as a sweet spot for their business. Both are long-time Bali residents and interior designers by trade so their itineraries focus on offering visitors to Bali a short-cut to a real insider experience.

"Our tours attract interior design professionals wanting to get the low-down on Bali's design scene, amateurs who might be building a house, and tourists just wanting to get local," says Henne. "It's inspiration for all sorts of people from all corners of the world."

Meeting some of the island's artists and creatives is key to my experience. Before trawling for trinkets in the brass warehouse, we stopped by Ong Cen Kuang lighting studio to meet designer Budiman Ong, from Sumatra, who fuses artisanal craft with modern textiles and materials. His signature cloud-like Alur light collection, made from white zippers, can be spotted in some of the island's prestige resorts and restaurants. At Nyaman Gallery, Elissa Gjertson, artistic director of Lombok's Plastik Kembali, meets us to talk through the exhibition of intriguing sustainable designs her artist's collective is making from hand-twisted recycled 'tali' or rope. At another characteristic old warehouse, we are introduced to a Balinese family who deal in Indonesian-sourced petrified wood, and other-worldly obsidian, the glimmering natural turquoise glass resulting from fast-cooling volcanic lava.

I enjoyed the Krazy Kreative Kerobokan tour so much I sign up for the following week's Mysteries of Mas tour in an Ubud, a neighbourhood known for its artistic community. Like the Kerobokan tour, it is a deep-dive on creative diversity. We visit a master stoneworker whose family still ply their trade much as they have for centuries, and we inspect Bali's famed 'Flow House' a contemporary architectural marvel with a roofline that ripples like a wooden wave.

We are also introduced to well-known Balinese architect Tony Raka, whose eponymous art gallery and cafe has a striking collection of contemporary art by artists from both home and abroad. Tony and I chat about his architectural designs, how he aims to contrast Indonesian and Balinese artistry with contemporary creativity to inspire visitors. It occurs to me that this is exactly what Henne and Anna's tours do too.

'Secret Sexy Sanur' and 'Chillin' Canggu': you're next on my list.

Put these Bali design stops on your must-do list.

One of Bali's most loved resorts, the paradisiacal tropical setting of Bambu Indah features Javanese and bamboo architecture, including an extraordinary treehouse.

Explore more: bambuindah.com

A stunning range of handmade and painted ceramic tiles suitable for architecture, interior design and exterior landscape is showcased here.

Explore more: lakemanceramic.com

This eco-resort has incredible cocoon-shaped bamboo villas that either float on a lake or hang nine metres above the tropical garden.

Explore more: ulamanbali.com

This superbly stylish jewellery store, café and restaurant is housed in a building that draws on the island's traditional craft techniques and architectural nuances.

Explore more: www.johnhardy.com

Interior Design Retreats' day tours exploring Ubud, Kerobokan, Sanur and Canggu depart each week (usually Thursday) from 8am-6pm. Cost is IDR2.5 million ($255) a person including lunch and private driver. The next week-long design retreat will be held from October 15-21.

Explore more: interiordesignretreats.com

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