In this fast-moving digital age, consumers around the world still desire the timeless aesthetic of handcrafted pieces. Recognizing the demand, Woven, a social enterprise that empowers artisan communities to build a livelihood from weaving and embroidery, curates a wide array of high-quality handicrafts made by Filipino craftswomen.
Inspired by the beautiful weaving tradition of Samar, the founders of Woven are driven to bring the exceptional craftsmanship of Filipinos to the rest of the world. Woven co-founder and CEO, Trish Lim, shares the company’s journey in helping Filipina artisans thrive.
After typhoon Haiyan struck Leyte and Samar in 2013, Lim and her husband realized the hardships of the marginalized communities in these provinces and decided to help them by starting an enterprise. Woven was then launched in 2017.
They discovered the banigor mat weavers of Samar and decided to partner with the community’s weavers.
Woven was initially called “Basey” after the town but eventually given its present name to connect the different weaving groups in the country. “Our idea was to link them to a greater market, and provide more opportunities for their livelihood,” said Lim.Woven’s products are carefully handcrafted by women weavers of Samar aged 50 to 55 years old.
To help the weavers whose low income caused them to discourage their children from practicing the craft, Lim decided to expand Woven’s reach and include other communities outside Samar.
Today, Woven offers handwoven textile from Benguet, placemats from Basilan, and blankets by hablon weavers from Iloilo.
To keep the enterprise going despite the sharp decline of tourism and with it, the business, Lim continued selling their products online through their website and social media accounts.
Woven’s products also evolved to keep up with the trends of modern fashion, especially among the youth. New products were introduced such as laptop sleeves, bags, and work-from-home essentials to cater to a younger age group and support their modern, mobile lifestyle.
With FedEx as her logistics provider, Lim was also able to easily reach markets in South Korea, Taiwan, the United States, and Europe. Through FedEx, her team was able to efficiently send Banig weaving kits to her customers in New York and Canada.
“We realized that going global entails strong logistics support to ensure that our products will be shipped on time and in good condition… We’ve had a good experience with FedEx so far as we’ve had a lot of support from the team and experienced a boost in our sales,” continued Lim.
