Hinahangad Entree.Pinays, isang grupo ng mga Pilipinang negosyante sa Melbourne na mailagay sa entablado ang pagkaing Pinoy, ang kanilang kultura at komunidad sa pamamagitan ng mga malilikhaing kaganapan.
Grace Guinto: The.Entree Pinays and Sweet Cora
"For me, women supporting other women has always been important because if you don't have someone who looks or sounds like you in a place of power, you won't think [that's] possible for you."
Kasama ng kanyang kapwa Entree.Pinays, hinahangad ni Grace Guinto na mahanap ng ibang Pilipina ang posible. Ang isang paraan kung papaano ginagawa ito ng grupo ay sa kanilang Sari-Sari Sisterhood initiative.
"The Sari-Sari Sisterhood came to life as a platform to help us connect and celebrate the diversity of talents that we have come across in Filipinas, women of colour and other entrepreneurial individuals here in Australia. In a similar way that our own mothers found their network in their kumares (female friends) when they first moved to Australia, we can also celebrate the sisterhood that we formed so we can become strong and determined entrepreneurs in our own journeys."
The Entree.Pinays Source: The Entree.Pinays
Dahil sa kanyang pagiging may-ari ng Sweet Cora, nakakilala si Grace ng mga kagaya nyang determinadong negosyante gaya ni Marie De Vera. isang freelance creative consultant at dating may-ari ng The Style Co., at Darlene Ladio, may-ari ng Green Empire Street. Pareho ng bahagi ng Sari-Sari Sisterhood ang dalawa.
Ayon kay Grace, matagal na niyang kaibigan si Marie.
Marie [left] and Grace [right] have been friends since high school. Source: Grace Guinto
"Marie is one of my high school friends and somewhat related to me as a cousin-in-law. When I got married, I leveraged on Marie's skill set to help me create my invitations. I was her second client. Since then, she's used that as a starting point to evolve her business as well."
Habang matagal ng magkaibigan sina Grace at Marie, nagkakilala naman sina Grace at Darlene habang nagbebenta silang dalawa sa Footscray market. Nagbebenta si Darlene noon ng pots at indoor plants, habang nagbebenta naman ng baked goods si Grace.
"All I was hearing was this lovely woman passing by saying [about my baked goods] 'Oh my God! Are those really calamansi tarts?' Grace laughs, adding, "That became a catalyst for us to share our stories, business and [our drive] to promote our culture in a creative way. Darlene through her plants and me through my sweets...Since then, Darlene has been helping green-up our events with her curated pots and plants."
The Entree.Pinays at Green Empire St. Source: The Entree.Pinays
Darlene Ladio: Green Empire St.
Ayon kay Darlene, "unexpected" ang kanyang negosyo.
"Before starting Green Empire St., I was just your crazy plant lady collecting plants. Later on, there was a little bit too much so I would [put them in wicker baskets] and sell them on Facebook marketplace. I was so excited. I [loved] the feeling of someone [putting[ the wicker basket that I found and the plant that I had in their home. Over time, there was a lot of [buyers] coming in and out of my apartment which looked a little suss," tawa niya.
Sumali siya sa kauna-unahang market niya sa Kensington.
"I signed up for my first market, which was at Kensington, with a commodore. We had to do so many trips to get the plants into the market space." Source: Darlene Ladio
"We [used a] commodore, so we had to do so many trips to get the plants into the market space. We [didn't realise] there would be so many people interested in the plants. We were so overwhelmed we didn't have bags or change. I couldn't keep up and the market managers had to help me. It was crazy."
Nagpatuloy si Darlene na magbenta ng kanyang mga produkto sa mga market; ngunit, nang hindi na magkasya ang kanyang stock sa garahe ng kanyang hipag, pinagdesisyunan niya na kailangan na niya ng sarili niyang tindahan. Dahil dito, nabuo ang Green Empire St. sa Sunshine North.
"Initially the business wasn't the plan that i had envisioned but, it sort of evolved naturally. It presented itself to me," she shares, adding, "[I think my passion] was a longing for nature. [I grew up] in Pangasinan, which is a farming province....growing our own ampalaya from seeds and watering the fields...discovering that I could have plants - most of which are tropical - inside my home, it reminded me of that."
"I was just your crazy plant lady going to markets and nurseries to find plants to add to my collection." Source: Darlene Ladio
Marie De Vera: The Style Co. and creative consultancy
Ang pananaw ni Marie De Vera ukol sa creativity ay buhat din ng karanasan ng kanyang sariling pamilya.
"Growing up, my dad and my aunties told me that my grandma used to always create something out of nothing. She did things differently so she can make more money for the family. I always questioned that - maybe I can make money in other [unconventional] ways, so I did."
Nag-umpisang maghanap ng creative ventures si Marie sampung taon ng nakakalipas, noong mayroon pa siyang full-time corporate job. At habang aminado siya na tinahak niya ang tradisyunal na ruta na pagpasok sa paaralan, pag-aasawa at pagkatapos ay paghahanap ng corporate job, saad niya "I was always looking for something different and outside of the corporate world, and constant inspiration in creating new things".
Marie [2nd to the left] and The Style Co. team in the MasterChef launch, one of their high-profile events. Source: Marie De Vera
Dahil sa kagustuhan niyang ito, pinasok ni Marie ang jewelry making and fashion, invitations at events styling.
"It wasn't really until I got married that I realised how traditional and rigid weddings could be. I was never really one of those girls who dreamed about my wedding. I just wasn't into flowers or anything like that; so when it came to this big thing that you could be creative with and design, I was asked 'Why don't you want roses? Why don't u want the sash that goes onto the chair? I just didn't want any of it."
Ang ninais ni Marie ay gumawa ng isang kompanyang gagawa ng mga events na umiikot sa storytelling at nagbibigay ng kakaibang karanasan sa mga kliyente. Dahil sa kanyang kagustuhan, binuo niya ang The Style Co., ang isa sa pinaka-in-demand na event design studios sa Australya.
Marie De Vera with The Style Co. team Source: Marie De Vera
Habang kilala na ang The Style Co. sa Australya at sa ibang bahagi ng mundo, ang pinakanaalalang event ni Marie ay ang isang maliit na kasal na ginawa sa gitna ng bukid sa regional Victorian town ng Traralgon.
"It was the most difficult event I had to do but also my favourite. The couple wanted to get married in their property. We realised that they had another property across the road, but it was completely bare and it had goats running around and grass up to your shoulders - probably even snakes. In the middle of that field, I thought 'Let's just build it from the ground up'.
Mula sa wala, gumawa ng isang venue sina Marie na may bar at restaurant, dance floor at teepee tents.
Feast in the Field by The Style Co. Source: The Style Co.
"It was successful and it went viral on social media. It just proved our idea to other people with a visual representation of what we can do with events. Half of the pitch is about allowing clients to visualise the journey more than it is about the physical pieces coming together. It's about storytelling."
Sari-Sari Sisterhood: The launch and 'Chismis and Chikahan'
Hindi rin nawawala ang kahalagahan ng storytelling sa ibang miyembro ng Sari-Sari Sisterhood. Kasama ng Entree.Pinays at ibang negosyante na bahagi ng grupo, malaki ang paniwala nila na ang pagbabahagi ng kani-kanilang mga kwento ay makakabigay ng inspirasyon at lakas sa iba.
Ayon kay Darlene, "In terms of being confident and believing in myself to just go and do what I love...to have them as a support network is incredible. It's great to have a sisterhood to with on a cultural level, being driven and being migrants in this country."
Malaki rin ang epekto ng pagiging isang migrante sa Australya kay Grace na naniniwala na ang kanilang initiative ay "homage back to us being daughters of immigrants and that the strength we [have] has really drawn from the strength that we saw from our own mothers, titas (aunts) and lolas (grandmothers) when they first migrated here to Australia."
A sisterhood of creatives, entrepreneurs and mums Source: Marie De Vera / Darlene Ladio / Grace Guinto
At sa lakas na naipasa sa kanila, saad naman ni Marie, "The work ethic we've been taught, we do ourselves and pass on to our kids. Meeting these [women] has been really exciting because I haven't seen a lot of women who look like me and has had the similar challenges that I've had. To see them pushing through and showing people what they can do - it's really exciting seeing how things are coming together."
The Ang launch ng Sari-Sari Sisterhood ay sa pinakauna-unahang “Chismis & Chikahan” session, na dadaluhan nina Darlene Ladio of Green Empire St.; Kimberly Cruz of The Potter x The Clay and; Marie De Vera of The Style Co.
Sari-Sari Sisterhood presents “Chismis & Chikahan” session on “Pots and Plants - Blooming into an entrepreneurial life” Source: The Entree.Pinays
Ang event, na may pangalang 'Pots and Plants - Blooming into an entrepreneurial life', ay tatanghalin sa Nobyembre 9.
BASAHIN / PAKINGGAN DIN
