Sofa cushions of weaved abaca

The good news is that I will start the production of an order today. This order comes to us after almost two years without orders. This should be a blessing for us, and another chance to redeem what has been lost. I made sure that I started the production plan on the right foot by ordering my abaca materials two weeks in advance. I already talked with my weavers, and  right now I was supposed to deliver the moulders but it seems that my friend Carlos is busy right now. So I guess we will be going to the weavers’ place early morning tomorrow. These square-sized sofa cushions of weaved abaca are great additions to any sofa set. The cushions will be filled with foams I think, and zippers will be provided to seal the foams in. Hope I have my own digital camera so I can post what I am talking about. In this age of poor abaca handicraft performance, it is good to know that there are other orders coming to Albay even though stiff competition is offered by other provinces like Batangas.

Trade shows still drawing buyers

The nation’s premier exhibit design was a huge success, judging by the number of visitors and buyers that trooped to the show. Based on a report, around 2,000 buyers from all around the world visited the show held at SMX Convention Center. The event was held from October 16-19. This year the emphasis was on eco-tourism via new, specialized zone called as ‘BIO-Search Philippines’ that showcased not only the retirement villages in the country but also the product innovations for health and wellness. Again abaca materials and abaca materials were the center of the show, crafted into many unique functional materials and the use of recycled papers also took attention.

The one article that I read indicated that as with other FAME shows, some form of underground tensions are available and discernible on the floor, as competing participants take pictures of the designs of the other. Well I should know. I was fortunate enough to be involved in one FAME, in 1995 I think when I was still in highschool. It was the same CITEM sponsored at PTTC-World Trade Center. My friend was manning our display, and I end up cjecking out the displays and the designs of the other exhibitors. And I was not the only one doing that, as other competitors also lounge around, checking designs and getting hints from these designs. Foreigners, snapping pictures of Philippine designs so there is indeed a lot of movement on the floor during these design shows. Everyone wants to have a piece of the perfect star on the floor. I missed that experience now. At the end of that show, a manufacturer of porcelain exchanged goods with us, they gave us small and cute-looking flower pots while we gave away our abaca placemats and agas placemats.

Looking good; reggae takes centerstage

Finally a breakthrough. There is a strong chance that one good order will come in before the year ends. Hope this one pushes through. The order is in the inquiry process, and hope the buyer will push with the project and with this seagrass-handicrafts. If approved, we will be producing pillow and sofa cushions, square-shaped weaved from the abaca materials. The dried outer skin of the plant will be used, and not the fiber. The other item will be weaved from sea grass materials or agas materials. The last one  will be a mix, using both agas materials and bacbac (abaca).

I have a splitting headache right now, no thanks to a few bottles I downed last night. I was out last night, attended the meeting of the batch for the coming get-together party. Afterwards we decided to check out the Halloween party hosted by the local fraternity here. It was good, taking a respite from  writing and seeing familiar faces. We joined the fun with hard rock being performed, though we did’nt know the songs that are being played we knew that the songs were good. Our age is showing here, the crowd was young I think most of them are in their college, so early 20s and late teens dominated the crowd. Now I know, reggae seems to be the genre of choice of today’s college kids. So our group, group of ahem..late 20s huddled together on the front side and silently enjoyed the sets. Then reggae took over for the next two hours and we were left..drinking and not knowing the songs that are being played. This continued until the wee hours of the morning and I did’nt get to hear many songs that I know. Only one song was familiar to me, the one performed by Tropical Depression. Our age is showing. I enjoyed the company of my friends though.

Bikes.bikes.handicrafts

Finally got my pics here. I wanted to posts many pictures here but I still don’t have my own digital camera. Nothing to worry though since it’s number 2 on my list come December. The one thing that I would like for myself is a new mountain bike. I saw a good-looking one in the market a week ago. The bike looks good and from the way it was displayed I was sure that the two-wheeled drive (naks!) is pricey. The bike is hanging on the ceiling and when I asked the attendant how much that cost, she replied that the bike cost 35,000.00. Whoa. Retreat. Even if I have that kind of money for a bike, I still won’t get it. I checked out the other store and yes, their most valuable bike is hanged as well. At least the red one cost 8,000.00 and that’s within my budget. So thanks Rach for taking this picture. I will be using this one on my site’s header. Other pictures will follow, but before that I have to finish first my writing gigs. Seagrass handicraft and abaca handicraft can wait. I will focus first on my writing gigs. The pic on the left is just one of the many seagrass handicraft products that we produce here.More to come later.

All about abaca fiber

Abaca-based products are examples of the more popular products produced by Bicol Region. In fact abaca industry is Bicol’s comparative advantage over other regions in the country and many regions in other parts of the world. But it seems that abaca isn’t the savior of the region since up to this time the region is one of the poorest regions in the country.

Based on 2006 figures, two provinces in the region is part of the ten poorest provinces in the Philippines. The abaca plant thrives well in the fertile grounds of the region. By appearance, the plant looks like the regular banana plant. Though generally similar, the abaca plant’s leaves are upright, narrower and the leaves of the plant generally tapers off. The fiber is known in other parts of the world as the Manila hemp and the fiber is obtained from the leafsheath of the plant. Fiber is just one of the many products from the plant. In our area, the outer skin of the plant is peeled off thinly and the outer skin is then dried under the sun. When dried, the peeled skin from the plant turns brown, dark brown or black.

The darker the tone, the better and this is considered as the best material that can be used to weave functional baskets and hampers. But this isn’t the most popular product off the plant, of course it’s still the fiber of the plant. The fiber coming from abaca is considered as the strongest among the many natural fibers. The color of the fiber is traditionally ivory white and can assume a dark brown color as well. The whiter, the better well at least from the perspective who use these fibers in order to weave bags and other accents.