Specifically, ‘tassel’ came from the word ‘tassau’ which means “to a clasp at the neck of a garment”. Before, these served as symbols of power, especially by ancient priests. Tassels were believed to ward off evil spirits.
Today, the tides have turned and these tassels were not only seen in our homes and on graduation caps. These leather fringes, colored beads, and embroidered threads became a trend that paved way to an income generating opportunity for a young designer, Lira Princess Cadorna.
Lira is a graduate of Bachelor of Fine Arts Major in Product Design from the University of the Philippines Cebu. During her college days, she was also fond of making clothes. According to her, this hobby was her way to practice creativity and a way to relax. But she was also fond of making her own accessories.
Lira also makes clothes, bracelets, and pouches.
Tassel earrings were really a trend that started last year. “I’m not usually one to follow trends but as I inspected the items that other stores had, I thought to myself that I could make the same thing and sell it for a much cheaper price,” Lira says.
Lira started with Php 180 as her capital. With that, she was able to buy three balls of string, a few pairs of fishhook earrings, and a pack of jump rings.
As a start-up business, Lira manages her expenses carefully. “What I do is keep the profit and use the capital I gained back to buy more supplies and a percentage of the profit for expansion,” she adds.
Her fan-shaped tassel earrings range from Php 100 to Php 180 only.
From making jewelries for herself, she followed the trend and started up her own business that eventually clicked. “I got a few messages from some of my schoolmates. Next thing I know is that their friends wanted to order too,” Lira says.
Her tassel earrings range from Php 100 to Php 180 only. “I do ship locally but the buyer shoulders the shipping fee. For bulk orders, I usually tell them that I would need one to two weeks to finish their orders depending on the volume. If they’re okay with the waiting time, then it’s a go,” Lira shares.
But juggling her start-up business in college was a roller coaster ride. She makes all the earrings herself while doing school works at the same time. “It was also hard to find the supplies that would pass my standards in quality and price so I had to keep finding sources that would best suit the business until I was satisfied,” Lira says.
Her hobby in making pieces of jewelry also challenged her creativity and designed more shapes.
Her time management was tested. “There was no time to slack off so I had to make sure I didn’t do things that were unnecessary so that nothing would be compromised. When it came to the supplies, I had to exert more effort to get what I wanted to achieve the product quality that I want,” Lira shares.
This trend is not yet over, Lira adds. As for her, she tries to study more of the trend and see what it can offer that will eventually challenge her creativity.
The tides have turned and the trend’s flow allows creativity to flow as well. “Find something you think you like and you’re good at. If you don’t think you’re good enough, practice, practice, practice,” Lira advices.
As a young designer, Lira’s journey in the industry is a long way to go but according to her confidence is the key. “Sometimes, what hinders people from sharing and selling their works is that they’re not confident enough. When you’re happy with your output, put on that confidence coat, go out there, and sell your product to the world,” she says.
]]>She aims to stay true to her heritage in each of her striking pieces, which she deems fit for women who are not afraid to make a statement and most importantly, stand out.
Playing with confident colors and geometric shapes, designed and handcrafted to be “effortlessly versatile and impeccably fashioned”, as Susanne describes it, her modern and mindful twist on shell jewelry and accessories gives the brand a classic yet youthful aesthetic.
Established in the year 2015, SUSANNE VERALLO has been partnering with local independent artisans to support their livelihood and to showcase the unique beauty of Philippine artistry.
With Cebu’s abundant and diverse natural resources, it is very much why the Queen City of the South became home to the country’s shell-craft industry. As crafting things out of puka shells began in the year 1980’s, handcrafted sea shells species came into the picture to produce exquisite designs that flood the pages of magazines in today’s modern world.
Susanne is very much lucky to find this exquisite resource in her homeland for her equally exquisite designs, and all the while staying true to her advocacy of sustainability. Altogether with her brand, they maintain an effort to counter such problems of pollution and exploitation of resources by making use of shell offcuts and overruns salvaged from other shell-craft companies. With this, she hopes to raise environmental awareness and enhance the value of this precious yet limited natural resource.
Mainly, the designer finds a lot of inspiration from culture. “My first collection of clutches was inspired by the Pop Art movement of the 60’s, and my second upcoming jewelry collection takes inspiration from the tribal traditions of the ancient Visayans”, she shares.
Working closely with artisans and patronizing local craftsmanship has given her the opportunity to fully observe and explore the various possibilities of the craft. Without any formal training in fashion or jewelry design, and now treading into that path, Susanne heeds to her furniture and product design experiences and studies, applying the same meticulous attention to detail in research and execution with each piece.
For artists like Susanne, she believes in giving meaning to each of her pieces, which she hopes would in turn gives them intrinsic value that others can appreciate. Inspired by different jewelry brands that made use of indigenous materials and techniques, giving birth to mostly chunky, matronly, and typically tropical sorts, she stressed that these elements made her clients love her pieces more, as they are versatile and modern, yet still proudly Cebuano.
Despite finishing her masters degree in Milan and having explored European designs, Susanne chose Cebu as a home for her art. “I believe our own traditional crafts coupled with our unique indigenous materials are more than capable of competing on a global scale”, shares Susanne.
Since her first collection release in the year 2016, she has generated interest from the international market with her handmade jewelry. Despite the influx and popularity of this generation’s fast fashion, a growing era of slow fashion – handmade and sustainable designer pieces– has put her collections in the spotlight.
Showing her designs and the beauty of local craftsmanship to a large international audience has been, by far, the greatest achievement for her brand.
From her early childhood creativity and drive, she always ambitioned to become a fashion designer. But when this took the backseat as she pursued a more serious career of interior and furniture design, she confesses that the dream never really left her thoughts, as it is realized in today’s present time.
Her dream to be able to combine both her passion for the arts and earn from it as a living was finally an opportunity afforded to her, and with that, she made it all come true. “What draws me to fashion is that it’s a very personal way of expressing one’s self, even more so with accessories. You can say a lot with your outfit, but I believe it’s the jewelry that punctuates it”.
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