Cambio & Co. + R2R
Images from Cambio & Co. + R2R
Images from Cambio & Co. + R2R
I got an email in my inbox that sounded intriguing. I signed up to receive updates from a Filipina entrepreneur and her husband based in Toronto who have exquisite collections from Filipino artisans. When I saw that JOYFUL RESILIENCE would be the topic of conversation, I was delighted to sign up to learn more. As it turned out, with the blur of modern life, I didn’t Google Translate the Filipino word KWENTUHAN at the top of the email. (Which always then leads to me grappling with, just how “Filipino” am I?! Sigh…working on this!) The night of the webinar as people were patching in, I looked at the percolating participation side bar and was again delighted to see 20-25+ Filipina business owners looking back at me.
“I have never in my entire life been in a business setting where the speaker, moderator, and 99% of the panel participants were ‘Other Brown Girls’
just like me….”
It took me a moment to take it all in. Looking at the brown Zoom face, flat noses, jet black hair and Filipina scrolling last names, I felt like everyone could have been my cousin or relative or sister. (With the exception of the nice, Irish-looking gift card winner at the end of the webinar from the East Coast. I was so glad she was there to learn about Filipino culture, customs, artisans and social impact, too. Just like me.)
Images from Cambio & Co. + R2R
It was comforting to hear the Filipino accents and see the warm friendly smiles. Welcoming us all in half English and half Tagalog, Reese Fernandez-Ruiz, the featured speaker was having her ice brewed coffee from Manila, patching in from half way around the world while her young boys were getting ready for home school. I couldn’t wait to hear how she designed using up-cycled textiles to colorfully weave joyful stories. It felt like a sisterhood of solidarity. It moved me beyond words that the mighty internet (and frankly the pandemic) created such a magical digital moment on my MacBook Pro, connecting me with complete strangers who strangely felt like close-knit (or joyfully woven!) family from the Philippines, Canada, U.S. and beyond.
“I realized that ‘KWENTUHAN’ was actually Filipino for ‘storytelling’ – I was in the right place and definitely had found ‘my people’ in more ways than one…”
If you’re not aware of them, Cambio & Co. and R2R are incredible companies leading the conversation around Filipino artisans and giving back. I love how the leaders, Gelaine Santiago, her co-founding husband Jérôme Gagnon-Voyer, with their creative team member Nicole Bautista, along with R2R’s Reese Hernandez-Ruiz are giving back while doing so much good for their communities in North America and in the Philippines. Here’s a bit about their wonderful, human-centered, mission-drive work in their own words:
ABOUT Cambio & Co / @cambio_co
Cambio & Co. is on a mission to change how business is done and how people shop. We showcase contemporary, conscious fashion made with Filipino soul - all designed and handcrafted in the Philippines by talented Filipino artisans.
By connecting you to our community of entrepreneurs and artisans, we allow them to finally access a global market, and you an opportunity to make an impact through how you purchase. Together, we’re building a community of conscious consumers passionate about making business better and sharing the Filipino story.
ABOUT R2R / @rags2richesinc
We are a fashion and design house empowering community artisans. We make things that matter and weave joy into every story. In a world where fashion and design are often seen as excess, R2R is proof that style and sustainability can coexist.
We partner with local artisans across the Philippines to create eco-ethical fashion and home accessories out of up-cycled, overstock cloth and indigenous fabrics.
Images from Cambio & Co. + R2R
I truly enjoyed the webinar and look forward to learning more about my heritage and the artisans that inspire Filipina entrepreneurs and enterprises like Cambio & Co. and R2R. Here are key highlights that continue to resonate with me. Enjoy, happy reading + making! And most of all, here’s to everyday acts of joyful resilience + resistance.
“What do you choose to put on your body? Be proud of your culture + where you come from.”
Practice Culture Every Day
Grateful rituals
Actual practices
Values are enduring
Images from Cambio & Co. + R2R
Build Community
Look back on challenges + hard years with kindness
Use muscle memory for better decisions
Communicate compassionately + clearly
Grit is more important than talent
Build resilience through acts of resistance (joy)
Choose + have conviction
Vulnerability is strength
Create a map of asking vs. answers
“Joyful resilience is an ongoing practice + process. Joy as an act of resistance…”
Images from Cambio & Co. + R2R
Meet + Do Thankfulness Rounds
Share same principles
Create a “Culture Code”
Deepen social impact
“Hope takes courage. See the light + synthesize it + share it with others…”
Images from Cambio & Co. + R2R + Stephanie Acedillo
Diversify Moving Forward
Evolve + think about pivots
Plan rapid response + design face masks
Expand to lounge wear / new bags / multi-wear wrap tops
“We will pounce in a kind way…”
Images from Cambio & Co. + R2R