02 April 2013

EASTER SUNDAY 2013



Nature's Legacy Foundation, Inc. celebrated the EASTER SUNDAY last March 31, 2013, held at Natures Legacy Family Park and Garden. The celebration is for the entire children, relatives, friends, neighbors.

The activity was intended to motivate and appreciate the essence of celebrating the Easter Sunday.   It was an exciting event because 76 children were attended. Most of them came from different places.

Aside from egg hunting, other highlights include Parlor Games and giving of gifts/toys to all of them.

Muni’s 7 Picks from Manila FAME


Muni on this:
What if more than styling your home and planning your wardrobe, you can use, wear or carry a story of our culture and/or an environmental statement?
Manila FAME is the biggest trade fair in the Philippines for sourcing design forward, high-quality products. Walking through the  halls of SMX last March 14-17 can make any Filipino’s heart swell with pride in the creativity and skill of our local designers and artisans.
Here, we’ll share our top picks for conscious consumption, showcasing things you can use on a regular basis – maximizing the resources put into making the product, and of course, the money you’ll be investing in it as well.
TEXTILE
Inabel Textiles from Ilocos by Balay Ni Atong

MNL FAME Inabel
These textiles from Balay ni Atong are finely, finely woven, and a lot of stories lie in the wefts and warps and motives of these tapestries, which while largely used as blankets can be used on anything for the home, from pillows, to headboards to wall hangings, and would be interesting applications on clothing and accessories as well. The more uses we find for these beautiful textiles, the more we can preserve this tradition.
CLOTHING
Embroidered Everyday Wear by Anne & Anna

MNL FAME Anne & Anna
Anne & Anna‘s beautifully embroidered kaftans and shirt dresses exemplify the rich tradition and skill of the artisans in Batangas & Laguna. Hopefully, by incorporating this art onto more everyday pieces instead of just barongs or piña for weddings or special occasions, this will help keep the art of hand embroidery alive.
BAGS
Upcycled Fabric Meets Indigenous Textiles by Rags2Riches

MNL FAME 3
Initially known for its use of excess fabric from factories, support for nanays in Payatas, and collaborations with high profile Filipino designers like Rajo Laurel and Amina Aranaz, Rags2Riches birthed its own in-house collection Newel, which is T’boli for “weave”. This new line interlaces R2R’s classic weave with indigenous t’nalak textiles from Mindanao, resulting in an array of vibrant, eye-catching bags for day & night.

ACCESSORIES Upcycled Forest Debris Beads by Floreia
Upcycled Paper Beads by Lumago Designs


We’re not so hot on jewelry in general, but when they’re as genius as this, we have to consider them! Especially when they don’t use shells (which are essentially what make up sand and provide nutrients for marine life)!
mnl floreia
Floreia‘s patented technique utilizes forest debris (random bark, twigs or branches that fall off trees) and turns them into beads. The technology can also be translated onto a host of other things for your home as well and creates a material that is fairly durable and surprisingly lightweight. MNL Lumago
Lumago Designs‘ technique may seem less sophisticated than Floreia’s but it employs a lot of creativity and heart. Using old magazine, pull tabs, and plastic containers from a Dumaguete dumpsite, and upcycled leather from ukay-ukays, Lumago ladies combine paper beads, colored only by the magazine pages’ actual color, with other materials to create one of a kind pieces.
FURNITURE & FIXTURES
A Fresh Take on Solihiya by Ito Kish
Repurposed Found Objects by Resurrection Furniture

MNL FAME Ito Kish Remember the woven rattan that usually accompanies your lola or lola‘s chairs? In case you didn’t know, that weaving tradition is called solihiya. And while it used to be a taken-for-granted addition to millenial Filipino homes, Ito Kish‘s rendition brings the sexy back to solihiya with his Basilisa Collection using various solihiya patterns applied on contemporary furniture design, preserving and elevating the status of this tradition in the eyes of Filipinos and foreigners alike.
mnl resurrection
Resurrection was featured as one of the “creative hotspots” outside the halls of Manila FAME. Their creations, albeit not as refined as the other pieces within the furniture hall, exhibit their vision and ingenuity in finding new, very wantable uses for otherwise old, very unwanted objects to be discarded in a landfill. Who would have thought that your old, outdated, bulky computer could look cool again?


http://www.muni.com.ph/munis-7-picks-from-manila-fame/#.UVuCFDcuLIV

Coolhunting in Frankfurt


MANILA, Philippines - One below-zero Sunday in Frankfurt, Germany, I sought relief from the bitter cold in a packed pavilion that was five train stops away from my hotel. Warm bodies lugging trolleys came by the hundreds, proving that even after so many years, this design and consumer goods fair that I came to Frankfurt for was still one of the most attended and most important in the world.

Ambiente 2013 is staged yearly at Messe Frankfurt’s 578,000-square-meter exhibition area –– a massive space with 10 halls and several quaint restaurants, one of which is called Veranda and it overlooked Frankfurt’s then-snow-capped roofscapes. This was where I gathered strength in between browsing through Ambiente’s many booths and consumed illegal portions of potato wedges and fizzy water.

The thing about Frankfurt is, without imagination, the city can be quite the “business district,” a palette of browns and grays with pops of terracotta and the occasional head of magenta hair. A colleague observed how every hallway, door and stairway at Messe looked like the other. But I liked this about the city, how it’s a kind of blank canvas that you can fashion as you like, safely, and with the guarantee that, in case you got lost, at least 10 people around you will understand when you ask, “How many stops till Frankfurt am Main?” –– regardless of your distinctly Asian accent.

One would understand immediately why Ambiente is such a big deal. It brings in tourists and businessmen from around the world, samples the imagination of different countries, and adds a welcome chaos to the flawlessly organized, hyper-functional city. With European, Asian, American and African design showcased on the same plain, being at the exhibit is almost like cross-country window-shopping. Holland in Hall 11 for beauty goods, check. Japan in Hall 11 for wacky but sensible designs, check. India in Hall 10 for hipster-ethnic curios, check. The Philippines for crafts made from various materials (and a “nosebleed” break) in Halls 9 and 10, check.

This year, our country debuted Design Philippines at Ambiente. Under this unified image, Filipino exporters presented their design-centric lifestyle products, with the assistance of the Center for Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) and Worldwide Exhibitions Linkage Services (We-Link) and Messe Frankfurt. We-Link flew us in to witness the exhibition, which featured Philippine-made products from companies like CSM Philippines, AeroStone, Ann Ong, Nature’s Legacy, 1968 Export Corporation, Island Accents, K.B. Arts and Crafts, Terra Cotta Art Works, Maze and MASAECO. Their products range from home décor and handicrafts to paper art, metal furniture and sustainable interiors, and jewelry.

When presented alongside products from Japan, Europe and the US, it becomes clear why our exporters have chosen to participate in Ambiente, some of them for decades now. Put simply, our products are a hit with the European, American and Middle Eastern market. They are unique and well-made. Also, while hanging out at different booths and talking to the business owners, I observed how accommodating and flexible Filipinos really are.
Lifestyle Feature ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

Pete Delantar of Nature’s Legacy, a Cebu-based company that produces sustainable materials and products (from all sorts of farm wastes like corn husks and mango seeds), shared how the late The Body Shop founder Anita Roddick herself asked them to design and produce the packaging for one of their most controversial and popular products, their hemp line. Today, Nature’s Legacy has four plants around Cebu and a showroom in Mandaue City.

Judith Manarang, owner and designer of Maze, manufacturer of ornate metal furniture, shared that she has found a niche in the Middle East, that particular market being partial to intricate designs that some might even consider over-the-top. In her 18 years in export and 21 years in manufacturing, the Kamapangan has designed and supplied for courtyards of kings and has perfected manipulating metal and turning it into works of art.

Similarly, jewelry designer Ann Ong and Wataru Sakuma of MASA Ecological Development, have each found their markets at Ambiente. Ann Ong designs and produces hand-made jewelry, while Japan-born art school graduate Wataru Sakuma creates decorative wall art from paper products and runs a plant in Tagaytay.

Although Juergen Werz, Messe Frankfurt area manager for Africa, Middle East and Asia shared that there has been a 50 percent decline in Filipino exhibitors this year due to the costs involved in joining a fair of Ambiente’s magnitude, the ones that chose to participate this year were happy about the excellent turnout and the new businesses they have acquired. Werz says Messe Frankfurt sees so much potential in Asia as well as Africa that a mini-Ambiente could soon be in the works for these regions.

Meanwhile, at the not-so-mini Ambiente held in Frankfurt, almost every part of the world relevant in the area of design was represented. Integrated into the trade fair was an exhibition featuring 22 products by 17 companies that have been selected for the Design Plus Award for outstanding product design and sustainable innovations, as well as a display of the winners of the German Design Award 2013.

Every booth had at least one design gem, but most had more. And with every design gem I had to ask, “Why didn’t I think of that?” I guess that’s what separates designers from us consumers –– they articulate our needs for us, things we didn’t know we even needed, through the smartest yet simplest of things. Lifestyle-changing stuff.

Before I left for Frankfurt, I was warned that the city could be quite uninspiring. The number of Instagram photos I took is a testament to the contrary. If you happen to be in the area this time next year, just follow the trail of warm bodies. They might just lead you to some place cool.

http://www.philstar.com/modern-living/2013/03/16/920098/coolhunting-frankfurt 

Firm finds success in going green


Firm finds success in going green

By Christine Emily L. Pantaleon


THEY started as a small furniture factory making rattan products in the early 90s.

Pedro "Pete" Herrera Delantar Jr., president and chief executive officer of Nature's Legacy Eximport Inc., said he and his wife, Cathy, started the business with a capital of P30,000 and two employees in Compostela town.

In 1996, the couple added home and garden accessories and started innovating using new materials such as recyclable waste from another company as a component in their products.

But it wasn't until 2000 when the couple decided to completely shift to manufacturing environment-friendly or green products.

The shift happened while the couple was implementing a clean and green program at their factory in Compostela.

They noticed that there were many weeds and twigs surrounding their factory. The couple instead of burning the weeds decided to recycle and found a way to use them as raw materials for their products.

"We realized these are raw materials na kita abundant kayo na wala lang nato gi tagad ba (We realized that we have the abundant raw materials but we took them for granted until the factory cleanup)," Pete said.

The couple experimented and came out with products made from agro-forestry waste which they launched as Naturecast in Germany in 2004.

Pete said they launched the product in 2004 because German consumers were already familiar with eco-friendly products.

AT THE GRAMMY'S

Since their launch in Germany, the Delantars haven't looked back. Their products are recognized worldwide, and in 2008, their Naturecast's furniture were among the pieces of furniture used at the Grammy Awards Celebrity lounge during the 50th Grammy Awards night. Celebrities like Andrea Bocelli and Foo Fighters lead vocalist Eric Grohl relaxed and sat at one of the Naturecast creations.
Delantar cited innovation as a factor in their success.

"You have to be innovative. Innovate your materials, your application and manufacturing process and create a new market demand," he said.

"Be resilient. In case there's a failure, move on. Be fast in reacting to crises and setbacks. Be quick to respond to failure," he said.

He also stressed the importance of having a good , dedicated team to adopt change in an honest and open environment.

He said another secret for the firm's success was reinvesting earnings back to the business.
"Unya naka mo enjoy kung tan-aw nimo naka stabilize naka. Tanawon jud nimo daan ang infrastructure. (You can only enjoy after the firm had stabilized. You should first look at the infrastructure first.)"

In Nature's Legacy, Pete reinvested his earnings by building and developing his factory.
"Capability first before opportunity. Kay kung capable ka, ang opportunity mo sud na kay naa na may kahibaw na kahibaw ka mohimo (Capability first before opportunity. If you're capable, the opportunity would come because if there are people you manufacture these things then others would eventually know about these) ," he said.

Nature's Legacy has now 120 workers in its factory. It also has 100 local gatherers who would provide it with raw materials.

According to Pete, they decided to put up their business in the countryside in order to support and develop a model of inclusive growth in the rural area.

It has been very important to Pete to generate employment in the countryside in order to give opportunities to those who are living in the province.

Some of the Nature's Legacy employees are graduates from Cebu Technological University (CTU). They also accept on-the-job-trainees and majority of their interns are students of Industrial Engineering, Industrial Technology, Drafting and Maintenance of CTU.

Most of the raw materials of Nature's Legacy are sourced locally.

Nature's Legacy is an international manufacturer of home, lawn and garden equipment, fashion accessories and packaging.

Locally, they also manufacture fashion accessories which are sold at Kultura, Rustans, Pro Foods Gallery and Echo store.

 
http://cebudailynews.ph/~cdn/enterprise/story/7640/firm-finds-success-in-going-green