Seeds of Hope: Handmade Accessories Training Workshop

The “Sampaguita” inspired mother and daughter necklaces was made by a collaborative effort between two participants from Barangay Masagana: Lila and RJ. 

Lila, aged 10, is home schooled by her parents. She wanted to join the workshop, together with her mother, because she was eager to learn our style of handcrafting. We allowed her to join the group because we saw the excitement in her eyes upon seeing an array of colorful beads right in front of her. The “Sampaguita” necklace is her first project, and  although it took her a week to finish, she accomplished it with pride. The seeds of a new found interest in creating handmade art was also able to bloom. According to her mother, Lila continues to design new pieces inspired by the local flora in El Nido. Her latest design concepts are: “Wildflower” and “Basil Leaves”.

 

"BASILIA- Basil Leaves"

"I want to try new experiences. I enjoy beading because it fascinates me to visualize and create a beautiful handmade design from simple beads, thread, and fabrics"- Buwan Lila

RJ on the other hand, was the only male participant in our bead embroidery training workshop. He is an 18 year old out-of-school youth.  He accomplished the daughter part of “Sampaguita” necklace, which is his second beadwork project. And although he joined the workshop to pass the time, while awaiting summons from his employers in Aborlan, Palawan, he shows the potential to grow as an handmade artisan, if he is willing to devote himself to it.

After the 3 week training, we were able to come up with a short list of participants who had the right attitude, and exhibited the skills needed to continue training as bead embroidery artisans. To date, they continue to practice techniques and concepts they've learned from the training. Those who wanted to continue to learn more about handmade bead embroidery, have made designing and beading a part of their daily routine. 

Part of our plan is to go back to El Nido to provide further training for women we've selected from our first batch of participants. We hope that by further increasing their skills and knowledge, they will be able to handle the responsibilities of passing on their knowledge to new participants and the next generations of Filipino women artisans.

We hope that we can be able to continue these workshops by forming partnerships with local businesses.  Several souvenir shops have already offered to carry products made by the mothers we've trained in El Nido. In addition, we will also be selling their handmade creations on our website. As fruits of their labors, six of their designs from the training seminar will be showcased in trade shows in Louisville, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio this coming July and August, through our US partner. 

Through these channels, Palamuti hopes to provide an additional source of livelihood for more Filipino women, namely unemployed mothers,and out of school youth.  

Customized Pieces: Flowers & Butterflies

A client of ours, who loves to accessorize and collect original handmade jewellery, recently asked us to customize statement necklace for her. The design’s theme revolved around clustered flowers and butterflies. She also specified us to use, predominantly; the colors red, yellow, peach, and pink for the florwers while royal blue, magenta, fuchsia, yellow and apple green for the butterfly.  After several sketches, we were finally able to design two pieces:  

A challenge that we always face in bead embroidery design is how to give the piece texture. It’s an element of design that stops our creations from getting a “flat” look. Along with maintaining a proper balance between color combinations and texture; we always make sure that our pieces “come to life” in accordance with what our client wants.

To give the flower cluster piece texture, I decided to use flower brooches. First, I removed the pins from the original stock of brooches. I then used the flower part of the brooch to embellish the handmade statement necklace. This is a very tedious process, especially if you’re sewing the brooches, individually, by hand. However, we were very pleased with what came out:

For the butterfly-inspired statement pieces, we went back to the basics, in that we used simple craft beads as the main component for the necklace. The challenge in using craft beads meanwhile is how to make the piece glamorous, while using base materials. We achieved by subtly placing a few pieces of crystals to the entire piece. This slight addition greatly enhances the effect of the craft beads:

Lastly, we improved our finishing by using faux leather instead of the usual satin or suede/ felt cloth, to cover the back.

It’s a difficult task to envision and design a piece that’s supposed to adhere to another person’s aesthetics and style. It’s even more difficult to execute. Finding the right material, colors, and blending them together is a painful process in itself. Even with all that effort, at the end of the day, your client might even reject it. However, we view this entire process as a form of collaborating and learning. We believe that experience is life’s best teacher; and it’s always a soulful experience to see beauty through the eyes of another.

Keeping it real. - PJV 

Palamuti Travel Advisory: El Nido, Philippines

We recently wrote about our trip to El Nido, Palawan, Philippines. One of the main reasons on why we decided to visit was to be able to find talented women artisans willing to share in our vision of creating beautiful handmade pieces. After a three-week training period conducted by one of our in-house designers, the women of El Nido were able to come up with these pieces:

 Some of their handmade creations will be displayed this coming August 2014, at the grand opening of Islandfront's Souvenir Shop! Located at brgy. Corong-corong, El Nido, the resort features affordable beachfront rooms at one of the most beautiful beach locations in Southeast Asia.

For their next lesson, our artisans based in El Nido will be sent these sketches as a teaching guide for their next bead embroidered pieces:

International Opportunities for our Handmade Creations

Handmade Statement Necklace inspired by Autumn

Palamuti is a proud advocate of handmade accessories, made by rural Filipino women. It is our vision to share their talents to the world through people who believe in our efforts to dedicating ourselves in creating unique handcrafted pieces; with craftsmanship, dedication, and beauty, as guiding principles.

We are on a journey with our artisans, women who have been blessed with artistic talents, yet are unable to pursue this gift through life’s twists and turns. It is part of our mission to seek out these women and to help them nourish this  talent, and to help them grow as people.  We hope our products speak for themselves by their own merits and qualities on an aesthetic and emotional level; as we, the women of Palamuti, have given our hearts in crafting these handmade pieces.

We would also like to thank our partners, people who are willing to support our advocacy, through selling our handcrafted Filipino designs, on their local bazaars and tradeshows.

Firstly is our US business partner, Michelle Denisoff of Ohio,USA. More than a business partner, Michelle has made investments towards helping improve the lives of women artisans from her native Philippines. Her efforts are a big part in allowing us to continue moving forward. Her latest venture for Palamuti is the American Bead & Jewelry Shows to be held on July 12-13, in Louisville, Kentucky! The address for the venue of the tradeshow is located at the:

Ramada Plaza Hotel

9700 Blue Grass Parkway 

Louisville, KY 40299 

Please drop by if you are within the area to get a glimpse of our original handmade designs, and get a feel of  the artisans’ passion and dedication, which goes into the process of creating these wearable art pieces.   

Hiyas by Cindy Castell

As a stay-at-home mom who migrated to Brussels, Belgium, Cindy Castell has decided to invest in setting up her own line of accessories. “Hiyas” is a Filipino word for gem or jewel, meant to be worn as ornament; something precious or meaningful to the wearer. Though her pieces lack precious stones and gems, what they have in abundance is the devotion to skill, patience, and dedication poured into making handmade pieces. Cindy has an eye for fashion and a love for Philippine-made products, and has managed to harmonize these interests into a business venture,  which supports people from her home country, the Philippines. This past June 22, she participated in the 116^th Philippine Independence Day Celebration in Brugge, Belgium. This event featured Filipino culture through food, shows, and Philippine-made goods and products.

It is with the help of these women who believe and share in our mission, who inspire us to continue to pursue, improve, and ultimately to create, our handmade art. We believe that beautiful things should not be judged by just the worth of the materials used, but also its artistic merits, dedication to quality and craftsmanship, and a story that is passed on from one person to the next: a story of hope, passion, and beauty.  

Sustainable Fashion Accessories

The responsibility of preserving our planet's resources falls on each and everyone of us. In theme with sustainable fashion for a positive impact on the environment, we continue to use loose materials as an inspirational guide in creating freeform designs.The challenge in creating handmade pieces from loose materials is balancing elements of design, color combinations and achieving harmony with the materials available. The great thing about these necklaces is that we only have one of each! All designs are available and ready to ship. 

The Private Selling Experience

Here are some photos from one of our private selling events, hosted by one of our loyal clients,  Ms. Noemi Bautista. She invited her friends and colleagues, staying at Thunderbird Rizal Resort and Casino for a conference, to a night of shopping for exclusive Palamuti  handmade accessories! It was definitely an enjoyable experience at one of the most classiest mountain resorts you can find, just an hour outside Metro Manila! 

Events like these give us a chance to meet our clients in person. We love interacting and getting feedback from our loyal customers, specially about their preferred designs on future customized handmade jewelry and accessories. 

We hope to see you at a Palamuti Private Selling Event soon! Share your good finds by hosting a private selling event. For more information, please visit our website http://palamutishop.com.

Looking to book an event, conference, or a relaxing weekend getaway? Check out Thunderbird Rizal's website http://www.thunderbird-asia.com/resorts/rizal/

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Handmade Accessories and Costume Jewelry by Filipino Women Artisans

PALAMUTISHOP.COM LIVE!

PALAMUTISHOP.COM

Finally, you can now purchase Palamuti Accessories online! We have chosen the very best pieces among our designs and made them available on our website.  A key feature on our website is the customization option. You can use our designs, or your own, as inspirations for your next handmade piece! All you need it to fill out our product customization form. 

Please visit our website and share with your friends and family. Join us in our vision of creating handmade jewelry and making a difference in the lives of  women artisans! 

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