Smart & Casual

What I miss most in my time during with a corporate career was the possibility of dressing up in office attire. One of the things I really looked forward to everyday was expressing my individuality through fashion. I was lucky enough to be part of a company that allowed their employees to dress up. From  hardcore power dressing, to smart casual, I was able to enjoy the smart casual look, especially when I utilized denims to the full. For me, what really puts smart casual look together is the right choice of shoes and accessories. Add the classic pumps and jewelry accents over a plain blouse or polo shirt to complement your whole ensemble. As for the hairstyle, a slick pulled back look should do the trick. Anyway, here are some fashion styling photos from Kim Basa of Amaya and her team. 

" At most companies, however, the "smart casual" dress code is a step up from "business casual," but not as formal as "boardroom attire." It's neat and professional — but still informal. "

Read more:  http://www.businessinsider.com/what-smart-casual-dress-code-means-2014-8#ixzz3hj0qD8vx

Which of the above is your favorite smart casual look? :) 

Keeping it real.- PJV 

Teaching Beyond Walls

We believe in starting with something small so that we can make more meaningful changes along the way. Novie is our first in-house artisan and apprentice. Since coming to Manila from a rural community in the northern Philippines, she has already mastered most of our basic beading techniques. With every handmade piece of costume jewelry, she grows her skills in designing and beading. The best thing about teaching artisans such as her is that she is now capable of transferring the knowledge she gained by teaching other potential women artisans. For the past years, we have been invited to conduct small scale workshops, mostly for participants from poor communities, on how to make handmade accessories. As our chief apprentice she has played a significant role as an instructor for these workshops. The opportunity to teach others a skill in which they can use to help their livelihood, has helped her improve her skills as an artist. These workshops have also given us a sense of direction and fulfilment; that small scale efforts will someday amount to become relevant.

Our El Nido workshop for this year, was her most challenging livelihood training workshop. In this assignment, she was the main resource person who taught the participants. She was in charge of a group of women, ranging from teenage girls, mothers and grandmothers. After that, when we got back to Manila, our neighbour (who is also our current seamstress for our scarves) suggested that we teach her household help in beading, so that she can earn much needed extra income. Lyn-Lyn, who hails from Northern Samar, and has nine siblings she helps support financially, decided that her free time after household chores were best spent learning a new skill to help her earn money. Now, that we see Novie's maturity and equipped to handle an apprentice of her own, she started teaching Len-Len. She and Novie would spend entire afternoons, beading in our "kubo". On other days, Novie would be the one to go to Lyn's house and they would do their respective projects together there. The way Novie goes about to teach Len-Len is how I taught her all those years back. Teaching and learning should be a serious process, but without the absence of fun and positive reinforcement. In most of our blogs, we always reiterate that designing is more than being able to draw and sketch, it is to able to envision the process for the idea to take form. This however is not something that is done over a night or over a few courses. It is a lifetime commitment and devotion to your craft.  I continue to learn new techniques everyday, by allowing myself to work on several personal projects as part of my daily routine. 

We have always believed in the potential of communities to be able to help one another.  Caring for the people within  your immediate vicinity is always a good place to start, and we have tried to weave this into our advocacy. It is very hard to find women who will commit to a 6 month training of bead embroidery. In these hard times, opportunities to earn money are limited, especially to those who are experiencing life beneath the poverty line. I have always shared to my family and friends, even with our apprentice, Novie, that the end goal of what we are doing is not only to make money, but to empower and change the mindset of people when it comes to work. 

Beyond that, we want to place value in our craft, wherein our clients understand the process of making, creating and producing finished products. This ensures that hard work coupled with passion, are rewarded. 

Keeping it real.- PJV

Woman of Style and Substance: Tina Ortiz

Tina Ortiz, one of our valued clients and supporters, is someone we truly enjoy creating and making statement necklaces for.  Unique projects spring from her sophisticated fashion palate . Her concepts and ideas give us the freedom to tap our artistic side.  It's also a challenging venture to design for her; as a great deal of harmonizing knowledge in materials and fundamental techniques, to bring her visualized designs to life. For these reasons, we love it when she speaks her mind on what she wants aesthetically. I personally look forward to having clients with a refined sense of style and a unique personality.

Outfits inspired by the Tina Zitro Collection during an intimate dinner with colleagues in Sofitel (L-R: Lara, Tina, Kim)

As well as being a woman with great taste, she's also a person with a big heart. Her recently commissioned pieces are handmade by some of our most talented Filipino women artisans. The “Clustered Flowers” and “Butterfly” were hand embroidered by a mother we've trained from an urban poor community in Metro Manila. She has been beading for Palamuti for five years. With constant practice, and the desire to produce exquisite wearable art, she continues to expand her artistic abilities, while giving an additional source of income for her family. With the benevolence of people like Tina Ortiz, we are able to reach out to more women artisans with similar life situations.

Another piece that we designed for Tina is the “Under-the-Sea” concept necklace, which has proven to be a challenge for us in designing and crafting. As artisans, we've been thoroughly engaged with the process of creating this piece, constantly making adjustments on colors and shapes. This bead embroidered necklace is both a product of her unique ideas and our artisans' passion to execute the design, while meeting her expectations.

 "Lovely! Thank you PJ and Kim for this gorgeous necklace. "- Tina 

We are reminded of sea life as a play and harmony of colours and texture. As such, we've opted to elevate the use of materials by fusing it with our core technique; handmade bead embroidery. We used a variety of shells to capture the texture present in marine life. We used two icons to represent the concept: “Starfish” & “Sea Horse”.  By fusing different materials with seed and cut beads as the main components, we were able to reach a level of vibrancy for this concept piece. 

In honor of Tina's support for our artisans, we've decided to name our latest collection after her. The “Tina Zitro Collection” highlights all of the statement pieces we've made for the woman who inspired us to craft these handmade bead jewelry necklaces. 

Inspiring Stories: Meet Beng

Beng was part of the first group of mothers we trained from our chosen urban poor community. She became interested in making handmade accessories when another one of our beaders, Tess Dulce, started making accessories in her home. Whenever, she and the other mothers would call Tess for afternoon socializing, Tess would turn down the invitation because she was working on Palamuti Accessories. Beng, and other mothers became curious and asked Tess if they too can make handmade accessories during their spare time.

Thus, our relationship with Beng and the others based in Tess’ community began. We conducted a one-day training for this group of mothers and eventually assigned simple projects which they can make at home. We provided the materials for them to use in their projects and when the products are done, we pick and pay them upfront. Beng, as with most of the other mothers, is a full time housewife. She stays home to take care of her son, while her husband works 8-10 hours a day on a full time job. Palamuti became an opportunity to use up her idle time while providing additional income to her family. Her love for crafting made her a good candidate as a Palamutibeader. 

We took notice of Beng’s natural talent for crafting, and eventually started assigning her with more complicated assignments. She was best at making our Hiraya Scarf Necklaces, expertly producing them at great speed. She was especially helpful during the late Christmas rush of 2012, wherein we had a high demand for our handmade scarf necklaces. During that time, we only had a few beaders who were skilled enough to be able to make the embellished scarves. Beng was one of those beaders that you could count on.

With her earnings, she was able to put up her own "mini-grocery" in her community, which she manages along with her husband. We are very proud of Beng. She truly lives up to the “Hiraya” namesake, which means “hopes and dreams”. For us at Palamuti, we are glad to share these dreams and small successes with our beaders. It’s also a dream come true for us that our mission of spreading hope, beauty and empowerment, was able to make a difference with Beng.

   

Casual Chic Outfits for Valentine

Valentine Casual Date Outfit by palamuti-storytelling-jewels

For your special Valentine's Day date, be comfortable and chic at the same time! Here are our handpicked outfits for a casual Valentine's Day. Add flair to your ensemble by  accessorizing with a statement necklace. Find inspiration from these sets. Simply tweak them to suit your personal style. Work your magic on your attires and leave the rest to Cupid.  

 Handmade accessories go well with class and comfortable Valentine's Day Attire.

Avoid fashion disasters by going simple and stunning. A customized, handmade statement necklace offers elegance, variety, and a true work of art.

Valentine Sweet Deals

Our bead jewelry necklaces are the perfect accessories to wear on Valentine's Day. Their craftsmanship, intricacy, and artistic beauty makes them a great gift for the woman of your dreams. As a treat, we are selling the Bella and Queen of Thorns bead jewelry pieces on sale until February 12, 2014. You can order these pieces through our website's contact form.

Step out of the box and find alternative gifts apart from predictable roses and chocolates! Make this year's Valentine's Day a date to remember with  unique and artistic accessories handmade by Filipino women artisans, dedicated to the art of bead embroidery.

 QUEEN OF THORNS

USD: $60.00
VALENTINE SPECIAL SALE PRICE: $48.00

 QUEEN OF THORNS

USD: $60.00
VALENTINE SPECIAL SALE PRICE: $48.00

BELLA

 USD: $35.00
VALENTINE SPECIAL SALE PRICE: $28.00

What to Wear on a Valentine Date Night

Valentine Date Night by palamuti-storytelling-jewels 

Bella
palamutishop.com



It's  the month love once again! Last year, we had an opportunity to create a concept handmade jewelry piece based on a flower most commonly associated with Valentine's day, the rose. The single rose design is eye catching, despite it's simplicity, especially when paired  with plain tops and dresses.

In creating this customized piece, we were inspired by the romantic image of a woman. Veiled in mystery.  Beautiful and intelligent. A bit wild before the eyes of others, but a rare flower that blooms in her own time.

This Valentine's Day, whoever you're spending it with;  a date with the man of your dreams, your very best girlfriends, or with your family, always look your best by adding this concept piece to keep in theme with this month's fashion.

 

BEAD JEWELRY NECKLACE: BRINGING THE DOLLS

When clients ask me to design specific pieces  it gets me excited, especially when they give me the freedom to do as I see fit. The “Bringing the Dolls for Anya” is a customized piece commissioned as a gift to Filipina Poet, Professor Merlie  Alunan. 

The idea behind this piece was to interpret her best known poetry as costumejewelry, in this case a necklace. I ended up making this piece wherein I personally hand stitched the beads and stones. The freedom to exercise my creativity in pieces such as this give me an opportunity to share a part of me with the wearer. -PJV

You may request  custom made designs through our website. Share and inspire with your own style.