The Long and Winding Road to Products

(looking up at the northern mountain hills we have yet to cross from the Marcos Highway)

Literally, we travel far and wide to search for products to grace the shelves of our store. Not only do we look for stuff that are unique in no touristy sort of way, but also evocative of the creativity, imagination and ingenuity of the Filipinos. To cut the middle-man costs, we travel directly to the source and crafts men and women of our products.

(a fine specimen of the root of a fallen tree that will become stools, tables, and vases among other things.)

The travel is never easy. Usually, these places are in the remotest parts of the Philippines were roads are - to put it more poetically - less traversed but most rough. The people we deal with live in ramshackle houses along the roads and the good finds are tough to find beneath old dust and dirt.

(a shyly-smiling tot at one of the vendor's stall)

(a view behind one of the stalls off the highway)

Along the way, you come upon breathtaking sights and awesome people that leave you humbled and blessed.