By KC Santos
SAN JOSE, TARLAC CITY – Nerren Cunanan aims to help a local community of artists here through her scarf business.
Established earlier this year, Skarp’ Pinoy Apparel is a social enterprise that promotes hand-painted scarves by local artists who have slowly lost their livelihood to digitized printing press operators.
“Painting is the only thing that they have learned and loved to do,” says Nerren, a former government employee and this year’s Go Negosyante ng Bayan awardee. In her own way, she wants these artists – some of them senior citizens – to continue their craft but using a different canvas.
With help from friends and a P35,000 in capital, Nerren was able to collate different kinds of cloth, which she would distribute to her artists for them to paint on. Her products aim to show Filipino nationalism through art.
Using rubberized paint, Nerren says the artists are given the chance to think and execute freely what for them captures the Filipinos’ love of country. The designs range from historical symbols down to Filipino traditions that have influenced how Filipinos, as a people, are perceived globally.
“Because they are free to subjectively execute their ideas, the result is that each design is unlike any other,” says Nerren adding this gives their works the individuality which a product needs to stand out.
Her painters include a warehouse worker and a senior artist who stations himself on the sidewalk for a living, and a mother of seven for a seamstress, she chose because they truthfully express the reality of the problems most Filipinos are facing today. Also, they just happen to be innately talented in painting.
“I am not an artist but truthfully, I don’t have to be one to say what I see. These people just love what they do so much that their works prove it,” says Nerren.
Apart from their rayon hand-painted scarves (P299 apiece), Nerren also markets other varieties of stylish scarves like the beaded and stretchable Miche scarves (P120), which are a hit among artists and models.
A considerable portion of the earnings go directly to the artists who, despite the lack of appreciation for hand-painted art in the country, maintain immense enthusiasm in their craft.
“Ideally, we aim to make hand-painted art more appealing to the general populace but since not everyone appreciates hand-painted apparel, we’re just going to have to wait it out and continue making art,” says Nerren.
In the long run, she hopes to double the number of painters to help out in the social enterprise. While the goal is to mass-produce, Nerren believes this next step will eventually benefit those who aren’t as fortunate to be schooled in arts but have enough talent.
Get more information about Skarp’ Pinoy Apparel
Related Stories:
Women entrepreneurs create health and beauty products from ‘malunggay’
Miriam College students learn entrepreneurship at an early age
Young entrepreneurs promote nationalism thru novelty soaps
Beauty and Hygiene Child Health and Growth Clothing Consumer Electronics Consumer Goods and Concerns Family Family Health Concerns Fashion Footwear Furniture Games and Hobbies Health issues Home Appliances Household Care and Cleanliness Household Products Internet Mobile Lifestyle Parenting Personal Finance Pets Physical Wellness Religion Spa and Massage Special Occasions Spiritual Wellness Technology Industry Toys
WP Cumulus Flash tag cloud by Roy Tanck and Luke Morton requires Flash Player 9 or better.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
