T-Shirt Mania!

Earlier this year, we held a competition amongst the residents of Smokey Mountain to design a logo to go on a t-shirt. The logo was to reflect the theme of the community of Smokey Mountain.

We had 40 entries from around the community and the winning entry was chosen by a panel of 3 judges. Aurelio Garcileno won with his colourful and simple design, winning the first prize of 1,000 pesos (A$25).


Winner with the 3 judges.

The logo was digitised by the generous folks at Sagric and then printed on to t-shirts (we would also like to acknowledge the generous donation of printing and at-cost t-shirts by Crimson).

The idea is to have t-shirts to sell to our many visitors that we have come through the community, as well as the people who wish to support the co-operative. All proceeds from the t-shirt sales goes towards supporting the livelihood programs of the co-op.


The winning entry.

So, if you want to be like Reggie (below), cool and concerned, contact us at smokeyfashion@gmail.com. We have 4 sizes - S, M, L and XL (mens sizes only). They retail for 300 pesos in the Philippines or A$10 for Australians (including handling to Melbourne). UPDATE - Size SMALL currently sold out.


Reggie modelling the t-shirt.

Pinoys and Pinays!

Please email us on smokeyfashion@gmail.com to get a pricelist for the Philippines.

We also make these garments in standard Filipino sizes, so you can request a size without having to send in your measurements.

We can post finished garments to you or deliver depending on where you live.

Media Celebrities!

We've had an exciting few days - not only are our machines finally reconditioned to working order, but we have had some television coverage.

A local channel - Channel 23 - filmed a story on our project Friday last week and it was screened on Newscentral last night. They very kindly posted the web address and email at the end of the story, so if you are here because of that story - welcome!

For those of you who missed the story or were not able to watch due to not living in this country - here is a brief overview.

They first filmed at House of Laurel (Rajo Laurel's shop in Rockwell), showing our skirts for sale there as well as interviewing me and one of our customers - Sally.


Me showing off the Danielle skirt for the cameras.

They also interviewed the store manager - Yoya, who discussed our upcoming work with Rajo that will be using remnant fabrics in Japanese inspired patchwork garments. They will be great!


My interview!

We then moved on to Manila to interview Mia, another one of our customers.


Mia showing off her Emily pants.

From Manila, we headed to Smokey Mountain and filmed the sewers at work as well as the surroundings. They interviewed Mila, one of our sewers.


Mila being interviewed at Smokey Mountain.

It was a very positive story and we are looking forward to seeing what kind of a response we get from the public.

Now that our machines are in working order, we are going to be developing the capacity of our sewers to meet our overseas orders as well as building their patchworking skills to soon be sewing Rajo Laurel's designs - stay tuned!

What Is Going On Now?

We've been quite busy in the last few weeks. Our two ladies are still at Golden Hands Fashion School, completing their training and every time we speak to them, they are growing more confident with their skills.


Chriscencia at dressmaking school

We have also fitted out our new workshop and moved 7 machines and an overlocker into the room. All the machines have not been used for several years, so they require a lot of new parts and a bit of work. Of course, this eats away at what little capital we have, but we figure the most important thing is to get people sewing!


Our potential sewers inspect the new workshop and machines.

We also had a our first meeting yesterday with some of the women who are interested in sewing with us. Some of them don't feel very confident at sewing our garments yet, so as soon as the machines are ready, we will open our doors and they can come in and practice until they reach our high quality standards.


During our meeting with the women interested in sewing.

We also have started on a very exciting new partnership, with one of the Philippines most prominent fashion designers - Rajo Laurel. He has agreed to design a range for us, give us all his remnant fabrics , stock us in his shops and promote us wherever possible. This is a fantastic opportunity to break into the local market and we will be working with the women to ensure their skills are ready for the challenge.

We met with Rajo through Mark Dvorak-Little, an American who is in the Philippines as a Henry Luce Foundation Scholar. Mark leads Business Development and Communications, working his network of business and media contacts to get us publicity and much needed funds!


Rajo, Natalie and Mark in Rajo's shop - House of Laurel in Rockwell, Manila.

Stay tuned for more updates on the exciting new range of Rajo Laurel designed Smokey garments.