Creativity, I must say, runs in the family. Mom is creative; when she was younger, I remember she use to weave baskets using thin strips of rattan . These are painted in colors of blue, red, yellow and white (the common colors used by Bidayuhs in their handiwork) and woven into baskets.
These are some of the baskets which Mom made but never used; why not? They are too pretty to be used on a daily basis.
I still remember than once upon a time, she taught me to weave these also and I was very good at it. But I lost touch when I left home for school. Maybe, just maybe, I still have the touch – albeit a bit rusty.
Babe, she can weave too. But now, she is more into jewelry making; she buys swarovski crystal beads and makes them into bracelets and rosaries. She has already quite a number and these are for sell. Rather cheaply too! But in her own words “ it is not the money but the thought of every Catholics owning a rosary…”
This is the picture of Babe's hand-made rosary; this she made for herself but there are others - also as beautiful - which she is selling. She can even make to order.
On top of that, every Saturday, she would go back to mom’s village with a bunch of flowers, ferns and flower stand. These, she would arrange into beautiful floral creations and ‘donate’ these to the village church for the alter décor. I do not remember how it all began but she has been doing this – for free – the last one-year or so.
Words of her creativity spread far and fast. One time, her nephew (bro-in-law’s side of the family), was getting married and it was Babe who decorated the hall where the reception was held. I remembered her working with balloons, streamers and lots of ribbons. She also got some very beautiful flowers such as orchids and carnations to make the corsage.
After several attempt, we finally managed to make this corsage out of ferns and orchids, for the groom. Orchids were used because it does nto wither fast in the humidity.
She even did the main floral arrangement for the head table. She was so busy the day of the reception, she asked me to help her wrap her wedding gifts for the couple. Which I did. And very creatively too.
I once remarked that with all the demands on her creativity, she should seriously think about charging for her services – especially when it comes to jobs that come from families. I mean, it costs money to purchase the items to create those beautiful stuffs. The very least is to get your money back.
So I took the opportunity to create a logo for her business...
I have not shown it to her yet but once she is ready to make some serious money, the logo is there, and waiting.
Any takers?
