Heritage, ecology, fashion, furniture at Manila FAME

 HAPPY WEEKEND

Gina Dizon

(Especially invited by Soledad Valencia of Binnadang Ethnic Handicrafts of Baguio to Sagada Inabe which I chair, I’m delighted to share this story.)

PASAY CITY -- To all entrepreneurs doing crafts and arts, it’s an inspiration to get to join Manila Fame annually held at the World Trade Center in Pasay. Manila FAME is a national bi-annual exhibit showcasing varied products done by artisans from Bataan to Basilan organized by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), an attached agency of CITEM.    

Buyers from international and national markets come to attend the event and get to see potential products for their trade displayed last October 17-19. Manila Fame attracts local and international retailers and manufacturers, wholesalers, trading firms, architects interior designers, exporters, business support organizations, and designers.

Product categories are those of furniture and furnishings, home accents, gift items, festive season décor, fashion accessories and wearables, handwoven and converted items, interior and  architectural components, visual arts, health and  wellness and gourmet gifts.

From its website, Manila Fame is a “celebration of exquisite and world-renowned craftsmanship in product design, mastery over sustainable materials, and unique quality that catapulted the careers of Filipino product designers to the global scene.”

“The archives of Manila Fame exhibitors are brimming with talents and ideas—a goldmine of inspiration formed under the tectonic influence of Manila FAME’s stewardship. To commemorate over 30 years of cultural inheritance, the trade show unleashes the most iconic and forward-looking pieces from its collection and infuse them with the vision of the new—creating an exciting amalgamation that honors a legacy of design excellence.”

This year’s event is its highlight on environmental consciousness and heritage.

Products are made of ecologically sound materials as rattan, abaca, vines, bamboo, cotton, shells; pine needles, driftwood, and natural plant dyes. And this includes recycled paper, recycled plastics, wasted woven cloth rather than wasting or burning these are  recycled into something useful as bags and more bags.

Done by artisans and artists from the different places of the country, consciously- made creations ranged from bags to baskets, shirts, jackets, poncho, scarves, shawls, cushion covers, shoes, sandals, hats, soap, chandeliers, wall decors, frames, blankets, to visual arts like using sand and using a ketchup dispenser.

Creations of bar stools made of recycled cloth, recycled bags made of newspapers, bags and more baskets made of rattan vines, newspapers, and shells ae especially mesmerizing..

What is in fashion now is making the environment livable and reducing the effects of  global  warming. Enough of plastics and nylon and lead and synthetic  and cutting down trees. Bags and fashion and linen and furniture makes use of saving trees and nourishing the  forests and making clean rivers and an environment for clean air to breathe in.  

Wears such as ponchos, shirts, are especially made from woven materials making use of cotton. Cotton is getting to be in as the fabric is made from plant and not the synthetic petroleum-based polyester made from a carbon-intensive non-renewable resource.

Women  entrepreneurs were especially  featured. Mostly women are entrepreneurs doing weaving and related crafts.  . 

Among some of the products displayed, ManIla FAME featured the Great Women (GWEN)  Project - the Gender Responsive Economic Actions for the Transformation of Women (GREAT Women) Project 2 which aims to assist women micro enterprises  improve their competitiveness and sustainability by providing focused interventions to improve their business management, product development and innovation competencies. The GWEN project is specially a program of the Philippine Commission on Women in partnership with DTI, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Department of Agriculture (DA). The GWEN Project sponsored its enrolees' booths through DTI.

Some booths were especially sponsored by DTI and so by Local Government Units. Especially noticed the province of Iocos Sur and the Province of Basilan that sponsored the booths of their respective  entrepreneurs’ products.

Other booths like those of Region 10 and Davao were especially sponsored by their regional DTI. Booths of Katagowan Weaving and Binnadang ethnic Handicrafts of the Cordilleras were also specially supported by DTI.  

Which is good as sponsored registration fees help women entrepreneurs on travelling all the way from their provinces to Manila with all the expenses that one incurs in coming to the big city.

Heritage is the foundation and weaving is the way.

Woven products are made by adept hands of local women folk and indigenous peoples from the Igorots of the Cordillera- Bontoc of Mt Province, Ifugaos, Kalingas, Itnegs- to the traditional ‘abel’ among the Ilocanos of the Ilocos to the Iraya-Mangyans of Mindoro to the Yakans of Basilan, Mindanao.

From fabric apparel and home decors find weaving as the way to doing these. Bags and baskets are woven. And so with shirts and jackets accented with woven cloth. Blankets and linen sheets are woven. And so with furniture and home decors as chairs, tables, lamps and chandeliers.    

Weaving is a traditional livelihood especially from tribal communities with basket weaving made by men and products made of thread by women. Basketry is a beauty of sorts.

Basketry through weaving makes its way on bags, baskets, tables, chairs, chandeliers and lamps.

Displayed woven products from the Cordillera is especially made by Nards Enterprises, Leila’s loom weaving, Katagowan weaving, Shechem arts and crafts and Abra Indigo Cooperative of the Cordillera.

Narda’s Enterprises especially makes use of cotton and natural plant dyes. And so with Abra Indigo Cooperative has fine plant dyed weaves. 

Weaving is also found in bags made by Everything is Pine based in Baguio City. Its base material which are pine needles are used to make products as bags, pot holders and fruit trays.

use of abaca, rattan, bamboo and vines available from the forest. So this sends a message not to burn forests.

Weaving is also done to make chairs and bar stools out of used clothes. 

Woven cloth is made as accent on shirts, blouses and jackets, and a main material on sandals and shoes. This specially mentions PoiPoi, Coco and Tres, and WC of Manila where they incorporate woven cloth in their shirt and jacket creations. So with Baguio’s Abek Home and Culture making use of woven cloth and embroidery in her cotton shirts. 

Specially to mention Creative Definitions making use of woven material on their shoes.

Even recycled waste is woven into bags, fruit trays and baskets especially being made by Cordillera’s Binnadang ethnic handicrafts. Recycled chairs and cushions is especially made by indigenous local folks from Cebu popularized by Cebu Crafts. Cebu Crafts also make chandeliers and bar tables from drift wood. The owner of Cebu Crafts said they support the livelihood of locals.

Manila Fame also featured crafts made the Artisans Village in Manila that introduced local micro, small and medium enterprises and their crafts to the global market with the help of the DTI Regional Offices and LGUs in partnership with the Design Center of the Philippines.

Recycled shoes made from foil and named Lalapatos are made by Maco Custudio from Marikina.

Manila Fame’s eco-lifestyle section also introduced a special setting highlighted the country’s green and eco-sustainable sectors including those on furniture and home, fashion, gifts, and beauty and wellness.

The Design Commune is a curated exhibition space showcased products from Manila FAME’s merchandise development program.

Other products are painting and visual art organized by Dave’s Art Gallery and other art making use of local material such as sand.

Manila FAME in its website ‘promotes the Philippines as a reliable sourcing destination for high-quality and design-oriented home, fashion, holiday, architectural and interior products. It supports local small- and medium-scale enterprises and artisan communities by working with local designers to create new product collections and providing a professionally managed platform to present export products to the global market.”

Planning Officer of CITEM Diana Roldan specially said it is important that an exhibitor is ready with a catalogue of one’s products and a calling card one can readily give the potential buyer. Buyers also ask how many volumes of a product one can produce in a month. It is important to show that you are a serious businessperson, Roldan said.

CITEM’s mission says “we are committed to develop, nurture and promote globally competitive small and medium enterprises through an integrated approach to export promotions in partnership with private and government organizations”.