Fil-Am Looks to Jumpstart PH Small Business Movement

Steve Angeles, ABS-CBN North America News Bureau

LOS ANGELES – One Filipina-American entrepreneur is hoping to spark a movement where everyone buys Philippine products.

After 15 years in marketing, Filipino-American Kristine Surla is hoping to use her experience to empower small Philippine businesses through her movement, Artisan Made PH.

“The artisans from our motherland are amazing, so it’s a chance for us to really showcase that for people to really see the beauty of it and hopefully for people to see made in the Philippines means amazing beautiful things,” said Surla.

Through Artisan Made PH, Surla finds Philippine-based small businesses and introduces them to an American audience. While the products may be eye catching, useful and one of a kind, there is another catch.

Each of the brands that are part of the artisan made capsule collection are working with different groups in the Philippines to make and improve their lives to support them in what they’re doing.

A 2005 trip to the Philippines inspired Surla to begin this project, long before the term social entrepreneurship became common.

“Social entrepreneurship has been a passion of mine so I’ve been following a lot of these brands for many years and I actually went back to the Philippines many years ago to try to see what’s going on,” she said.

Aside from holding pop-up type events that serve as fashion shows and bazaars, Surla will also host many of the businesses online on www.artisanmadeph.com, a chance for people, no matter where they are, to support social causes.

(Source: ABS-CBN.com)