Cebu craft store supports local artists, promotes entrepreneurship

Craft Story Cebu is located at the Crossroads in Cebu City. Photos: Bernadette Parco

An entrepreneurial project in Cebu City promotes small-scale craft manufacturers and gives them an opportunity to weave stories through their handmade products.

Craft Story Cebu is a venue for mostly Cebuano artists such as Happy Garaje, Papersandtschai and The Story Machine.

Co-founder and marketing manager Verne Alexander Ahyong told GMA News Online the project started with P700,000 capital and a list of artists and crafters carefully chosen by him and his business partner.

A requirement for artists who wish to "occupy" a shelf in the store is that their products should be handmade.

Indeed, each product undergoes meticulous workmanship.

Minimalist Cinema's in-demand mini book bookmarks and paperclips

Fairy Tale Park Studio's pearlescent watercolor kit

Three favorite music boxes from Happy Garaje

Hand-painted with unique designs are bookmarks, enamel pins, stationery, notebooks, scented soy candles, stickers and macramé fashion accessories.

Also available are adorable memory bears by Crafted Trails, Peregrina's postcards and glass dome necklaces, and miniature versions of popular books such as J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series and J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth novels mounted on medium-sized paper clips by the artist behind Minimalist Cinema.

Ahyong said that customers who visit the store, which is located at the Crossroads mall in Barangay Kasambagan in Cebu City, even want to purchase the store's mini-baskets.

Ahyong himself is behind Curiosity Killed the Craft, which produces bookmarks made from old illustrated dictionaries and book pages.

After one year, Ahyong said the store is doing well and the list of craft makers is growing so much that the shelves have to be refilled often. — BM, GMA News