flower power - rosarette

for as long as i can remember, flowers have always been a passion and a constant source of inspiration. 

i have always been a lover of flowers. as a child, i would draw and paint them for hours on end. i would pick flowers from my mother’s garden and ‘cook’ them, when we play house.

i would also pick flowers and offer them to the blessed virgin, during a month-long festival called ‘flores de mayo’

as an adult, i marvel at their existence. growing and tending flowers is an important part of my daily life. 

as soon as i had my own space to garden, i immersed myself to not only picking flowers but also growing them. i read books about plants and flowers and earned my calluses from hands-on gardening. a flower in my garden draws from me a prayer of thanksgiving, awe for the creator and a sense of commitment to nature.

i am drawn to flowers because they are symbolic of the most powerful of human emotions: love, life, passion, also color and fragrance. i try to accomplish the same with my images. if one of these paintings can evoke an individual smile, tear or memory, then my body of work, comprised solely of flowers, has continued to blossom, 

in my rosarette line of handbags. made from upcycled fabrics, the rosettes are meticulously handsewn by the rural women of san juan and san nicolas, in my hometown, baao, camarines sur.

Yoyo Hand Bags

 

the yoyo quilt was a popular style of quilt making in America from the 1920s to the 1940s.  yoyo quilts are popular because women could carry the little circles of fabric with them and make yoyos whenever they had a free moment.

 

yoyo quilts are also associated with yoyo, the toy,  very popular in the 1930-1940s.  this wooden toy with a string looped around the center axis was developed here in the Philippines over 100 years ago, by Pedro Flores, who brought it to the US and sold the Filipino yoyo company in 1928.  In 1932, Donald Duncan, the businessman who bought the company, received a trademark for the word Yo-Yo.

  
the rural and traditional appeal of yoyos get center stage in this line of denim and canvass bags – The Yoyo Bags.  Definitely rural. . .
and fab.

Tootsie Purses, too!

just like the denim counterpart, the canvass Tootsie purses maintain the unique quality of being F.A.R.M, i.e., 

they are fabulous 

and are definitely rural-made in Baao, Camarines Sur, Philippines.  

Tootsie Purses

there is a happy note when i say that my bags really ran wild!  and i acknowledge the fact that the best sellers are those that really speak rural - the yoyos and the rosarettes. 

the new line of bags i recently launched is the Tootsie purses - 

denim bags that are lined and zipped 

  
and embellished with an assortment of handcrafted rosettes, yoyos and crocheted accents.  

what makes these purses interesting is that each has its own character 

and goes well with the classic F.A.R.M. accessories.

Tootsie purses are must haves for the season!

F.A.R.M. handbags galore

my bags are as wild as my imagination. . .

as colorful as my life. . .

 

 

 

 

each piece is tastefully 

handcrafted 

by the rural women of Baao, Cam Sur.

only for the woman who speaks her mind with her heart. . .

and wears her art 

and fashion not just because. . .

F.A.R.M. - a very personal way to be fab

women behind F.A.R.M.

i stay faithful to what F.A.R.M. stands for - Fabulously & Absolutely Rural-Made. aside from the fact that all my F.A.R.M. products are artistically conceptualized in my hometown, Baao, it is also a fact that they are sewn, embroidered and assembled by rural women of my hometown.

Marilyn is a mother of four and sews like no other. from shirts to pants, curtains and drapes to uniforms, she does so perfectly. when i asked her if she can sew my bags for me, without batting an eyelash, she said yes! and true enough, she sews my bags from patterns based on my crude drawings.

Francia is a mother of two young pre school kids. the husband being a tricycle driver, earnings are not just enough, the first sewing projects i gave her were the yoyo quilts, and now, she makes the best rosettes and my rosette-embellished bags are done by her.

Lalaine is a single mother of two young boys. eager to learn new skills, she started with making my F.A.R.M. bracelets and soon went to sewing. she brings fabrics home so she can make the fabric flowers, while watching her boys.

all three women are from San Juan, Baao, Cam Sur, Philippines.

buying something made by hand by someone we know makes wearing them personal. wear F.A.R.M.