FOR people who have talented hands in doing arts and crafts, boredom was never a problem during the quarantine. With the right materials and the time in their hands, they become productive. But more than fighting boredom during the quarantine, we met people online who turned their hobby into a small business and was appreciated by a lot of Dabawenyos.
1. Make Weave
With everyone wanting to revamp their bedrooms and certain parts of their houses, they turn to Pinterest and Instagram for inspiration. During quarantine, crochet and macrame products became a thing. Not only as dreamcatchers to be hung on the bedroom walls but also as plant hangers, mug coasters, and wall hangs among others.
Make Weave, with more than 2,000 followers on Facebook now, is receiving admiration and good feedback from people online with their unique designs and meticulously-made macrame and crochet products. For now, most of the orders are of feather wall hang and plant hangers for pothos and succulents as many of the Dabawenyos have suddenly become plantitas and plantitos during the quarantine. But Make Weave also makes crochet earrings, macrame pillowcases, wine/tumbler holders, and even bikini.
2. Modern Minimalist
What started out as an avenue to sell pre-loved clothes and thrift shop finds soon developed into a craft business during the quarantine. Because of movement restriction, ukay-ukay shopping is prohibited and so Modern Minimalist catering to plantitos and plantitas was born.
“During this period, plant enthusiasts and collectors became a trend. Since my mom is a plant collector, I told her that she can barter her plants online. This inspired me to make pretty pots that would complement her beautiful plants,” Modern Minimalist shared in an interview.
Eventually, this hobby became more fun for her. She learned to research online for designs and asked for suggestions from friends who took painting classes. She would post her pots online and people who loved it asked if it was for sale. From there, she would draw design inspirations online and sometimes clients would also ask her for personalized designs. Others even use the pots as pencil holders instead.
Hit designs for her pots include faceless portraits. Recently Modern Minimalist launched their booby pots.
3. Clayhouse
As with every business, Winnie Maranga’s Clayhouse was not an immediate success. She needed to go through bazaars and exhibits selling only a few pairs of earrings. But she loves what she’s doing so she pushed through. Winnie used to be a cake artist way back in 2011 but seven years later, the cake business became more challenging as she also needed to juggle her being a first-time mom with being a cake artist. She decided to turn to a less time-consuming and simpler craft as accessory-making using clay.
“One advantage of our chosen craft is that we can express our emotions into the pieces that we make. For me, it really is some sort of therapy. It is my escape from the stress encountered from day to day. Selling the pieces is just actually a good bonus,” Winnie shares. Her business really became more known when she decided to post her earrings on Davao Barter Community. While others wanted to barter their stuff with her, the others wanted to order and actually buy.
Winnie takes inspiration from fabrics of her favorite clothes, color schemes she would find anywhere, and online sources like Pinterest and Instagram.
