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.

   

NEW PALAMUTI SCARVES

The greatest gift our work gives us, is the chance to create with our own hands everyday. We're sharing with you our newest scarf necklace designs, something sure  to spice up your fall/ winter outfit. 

These scarves are now available on NIMLI.COM! 

You can shop for more designs on our website. Click here and shop now. 

Scarves from Davao

Scarves from Davao embellished with stones and mother of pearl.

  Our accessories evolve because of suggestions from clients. After releasing our Hiraya Scarf Necklaces, Tita Marichi, one of our biggest supporters, asked us to restyle her scarf by adding embellishments. She is frequently traveling, due to the nature of her work. During her last visit to Davao, she bought printed scarves which she suggested to have embellished to give them a new look. Here are some the scarves that we have embellished. We sold out on the first batch, and decided to make more. 

You don't have to wear your Hiraya (Davao) only over basic plain tops.

Apart from the basic loop, you can experiment on how to wear your Hiraya (Davao). See how a the scarf gave a plain top a new look?

Palamuti by PJ Valenciano

Palamuti by PJ Valenciano

You can make your ensemble look more sophisticated with the use of a scarf.

Palamuti by PJ Valenciano

Palamuti by PJ Valenciano

Scarf Necklaces

After a year, we finally had the time to make one. It has been in our list of things to do since a good friend from the US suggested Palamuti by PJ Valenciano to make scarves. Here it is, our Hiraya Scarf-Necklaces, which we released last Christmas. Since then, we developed the design and added some embellishments, to give our clients a wider selection. 

This is the first piece we made which we used as sample to show clients. One customer fell in love with this piece and insisted on buying it on the spot. 

 Our standard sized scarf-necklaces in summer colors. 

 At first we only made scarves using two yards of fabric, but some clients were requesting for longer ones, so we obliged. The thing with a long scarf-necklace is; you can wear it in many different ways.

Novie, one of our beaders, shows us how a long scarf-necklace can be turned into a belt. 

You can also wear it into a bolero. 

Use the long edges and tie it into a ribbon on the neckline making it into a 

statement neck piece.

Turn it into a cowl inspired necklace. 

At first we used semi-precious stones, acrylic crystals, and seed beads for the necklace design. After a while we started using mother of pearl shells and we also began adding seed bead tassels to the edges of the scarves. 

This scarf-necklace was commissioned by one of our loyal clients and her batchmates, to be given to their professor in Theater Arts.  

We made a scarf-necklace which matches the gracefulness of a dancer.

We were enjoying stitching tassels, we experimented different ways to do it. 

And here are some of the beautiful women in the real world loving our Hiraya Scarf-Necklaces.

 "Thank you so much for the scarves! I liked what you did with the gray one, it looks alive but not too striking. The red one is very mature and appropriate for the recipient, and my piece is just... wonderful!"

Maybelline Victor