Designing, Writing and others

Even the most passionate needs breathing space from doing what they love doing, not only to refuel their creative energies but also to gain another perspective.

It has been sometime that I have been contemplating on taking a sabbatical, a personal hiatus from my day job - my main line of work which is designing fashion accessories, components, gifts, and home accents.

For me, this is not a case of “falling out of love” if such term is actually true, but my longing for this break is propelled by no other than to give way to my other passions. My other loves has been neglected for quite sometime now yet it continues to pulse deep within the recesses of my heart and mind. I think about it. I imagine working on it. Heck! I even dream about it. I guess that’s what passion is about. It simply invades and pervades your entire being.

I head up 2 important departments in our company: the first is Sales and Marketing and the second is Design and Product Development. When the world economy turned from bad to worse, these 2 departments had to work frantically in order to cope. Several of our clients, whose companies date back by as far as 50 years, closed. Suddenly buyers and designers are too timid, too unsure of what design and products to launch. Budget cuts are the most influential buzz words. A lot of buyers cancelled their travel to work with suppliers and manufacturers in Far East to lessen expense. It was a period that was immensely chaotic and truly uncertain.

The game has changed dramatically. The already competitive fashion industry became even more intense. No longer can even the most established manufacturers and designers sit idly and comfortably waiting for buyers to come. Even repeat buyers now needed prodding and reminding. Big snooty manufacturing companies who used to ignore small start up clients are now willing to work with small orders and at faster lead times.

Since none of the buyers and designers came to work on designs, to be on top of our game, our company had to be more creative not just with our designs but also in the way the orders would get through.

With 13 solid years backing me up, designing comes easy to me as breathing. And just like breathing, the business side of design---estimating cost, production lead time, aligning team and craftsmen, imagining the technicalities and equipment needed to run the order, comes naturally to me too. While I have never been one to sit on these laurels, the turn of the tides meant countless hours, even burning the midnight candle, researching and evaluating trends, design forecasts, reviewing past designs, and above all, understanding the core competencies of our company and what Philippines can uniquely offer to the world.

Our company has never joined the price war. In the first place, we are priced fairly and competitively. Unreasonably bringing down the cost further to bag the order just doesn’t make sense to us. To lower the selling price, one has to cut somewhere. In the end, something gets compromised. A lot of “enlightened” buyers demand certifications—fair trade, fair wages, no child labor etc. and yet the very same companies are haggling for unreasonably low prices. Manufacturers can only do so much to bring down the cost of materials. So if buyers want further discounts, there is a danger that the labor cost is the one that gets compromised, as simple as that.

Since price is not the place to look at, we had to focus our sight elsewhere; mainly, in the design, materials, production efficiency and service. We have also launched several new product categories—corporate giveaways, bespoke and thematic gifts, and even small furniture. All of these are still within our competencies and capabilities. Instead of heavily using imported components such as semi-precious stones and pearls, we have also turned to our roots, using more of the Philippine local materials such as wood, shells, seeds, and natural fibers. This change of material focus was very timely since a lot of Filipino manufacturing companies have closed and so there are fewer players in this product and material category. There certainly is opportunity in every situation no matter how bleak it may seem.

So, back to my epiphany, I am certainly passionate about designing and doing creative work. I love my day job. I love seeing my simple drawing on the sketch pad during my coffee break turned into a best selling item. I love the continuous learning process, the “eureka” moments of designing and manufacturing products. And yeah, I love writing too. I love, love, love, putting my thoughts into solid body of words. I am one with “to do” lists on sticky post-it papers. My bag is never without a journal so I can pen my thoughts as it comes. I am one who needs paper trails. Sometimes, I can write and design at the same time but sometimes, both passions battle each other in my head and definitely in my time table.

What do I love writing about? I love to write about fashion, the design process, possibly even manufacturing. I have also been thinking of writing a book; a compilation of anecdotes about my children which I have compiled through the years. I also like to write about issues that matter to me like natural and organic products, gardening, and my love for animals (our house is now home to 10 adopted feral cats) and who knows what else. I guess my spirit simply wants to soar with paper, pen and ink or in the modern world, tapping my computer keys, to set it free.