FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS

First of Many

With the release of RICH Tribe’s first soft collection, the enthusiastic response from friends and family inspired us to do more — a lot more. For our next collection, we aimed to elevate our designs by drawing directly from our Philippine heritage, both in art and in textiles. After months of planning and conceptualizing a few designs, we packed our bags and headed to the motherland.

Once we settled into our place in Makati and recovered from jetlag, our first priority was reaching out to vendors and manufacturers. Neither of us is fluent in Tagalog, so we anticipated challenges, but Taglish proved just enough to get us by.

We had never fully experienced the textile industry in the Philippines. One of our first sourcing trips took us to Divisoria, a recommendation from a friend familiar with the area. For those unfamiliar, imagine a vast, bustling market stretching across streets, with cars and motorcycles weaving between tents and crowds of people — a swap-meet-like chaos in the middle of the road. Amid the heat and madness, we didn’t find fabrics suitable for our designs, but we did make valuable connections to personalize our packaging.

Our next sourcing trip proved to be the most impactful. We had been in contact with a weaving tribe via Facebook, and they invited us to visit their village. Excited by the opportunity to meet them and explore another part of the Philippines, we gladly accepted.

On the morning of the trip, we woke at 5 a.m. to catch a 13-hour bus ride north of Manila to the province of Abra. As we left the bustling city of Makati behind, we entered a quieter, more peaceful way of life. The air was fresh, and the landscape unfolded into rolling green rice terraces and lush tropical forests.

After settling into our Airbnb — which proved tricky to find — and getting a full night’s rest, we had the privilege of visiting our first weaving village.

We were shown around their production facility and working stations. Witnessing the handweaving process from start to finish and the remarkable skill required to operate wooden looms was truly inspiring.

Although visiting the weaving village was an unforgettable experience, we knew we needed to connect with more tribes, and more quickly. The following year, we attended our first tradeshow, Manila Fame, as retailers. There, we collected swatches and met weaving tribes from across the Philippines, many of whom invited us to visit their villages.

The tradeshow further exposed us to the depth of Filipino craftsmanship, connecting us with artisans specializing in everything from food and clothing to home furnishings, accessories, art, and more. With a strong network of textile suppliers and partners, the creative possibilities and growth for RICH Tribe feel limitless, and we are eager to return to the drawing board to evolve our designs to their full potential.

As first-generation Filipina-Americans, this journey has deepened our connection to our heritage and inspired us to create designs that our RICH Tribe Fam from around the world can wear, appreciate, and integrate into their everyday lives.