Statement Concept Piece: Requiron Necklace

"As a mother, I was never able to develop my artistic side because I had to take care of my family first. As a Palamuti artisan , I am now able to do both; designing and creating while earning income to support my family."- Tes

This necklace was made by Tes Dulce, a native of Bicol, Philippines. She is one of our trained mother- artisans who has been with us for four years.   

Our core technique, bead embroidery, is our greatest strength when it comes to handmade designs. It's best expressed in making concept pieces. As a designer translating concepts to reality is a challenge to creativity and knowledge of techniques and materials. My philosophy in crafting is being able to manage the client's expectations, and at the same time, making the final piece a reflection aesthetics for the client and myself. 

Throughout the years we have made quite a number of concept pieces. As a philosophy, we only make one of each design. This is primarily due to the difficult task of beading and hand stitching. Once these products are sold, we mark them for customization, and new clients can purchase these statement pieces on a made-to-order basis. 

The decision of making only a singular piece for each design concerns both the business aspect, and more importantly, the creative process for every artisan. Every handmade artisan should be bound into making quality pieces, rather than prioritizing quantity. We want our clients to respect and appreciate the process of making these wearable art pieces, so that every stitching of cut or seed beads into the felt cloth truly is a soulful experience both for the designer and the beader. 

The "Requiron" necklace was designed in 2012. We made two versions of this necklace, each time improving the techniques and use of materials. Thus no two pieces are ever the same. The core design of the original piece is there to influence, but fusing elements of techniques and material knowledge, changes the look of the design. 

After a year, we decided to make another one. By using new materials, we were able to improve the beauty of this necklace, whose story will continue to be passed on to the wearer of our ever-evolving handcrafted designs.