"Scale Up" is presented by Maya Business, in partnership with Shopify and PLDT Home Biz.
Maui Mirasol spends her days conjuring art from the earth. She believed in the magic of soil, finding solace in working with clay as a medium. She started to produce functional ceramic wares, translating lithography on Batangas terracotta, molding Babaylan vases on pottery wheels, and even producing plates lined with illustrations of Filipino mythology.
"I believe that interacting with the earth through pottery is a grounding and healing experience. I always feel calm and meditative when I work with clay and I wanted to share this magical experience with other people," Maui says.
‘From the earth, for the earth’
It was through establishing Ili Likhaan Ceramics that she further realized her vision as an artist. "From the earth, for the earth," became a mantra she carried as she took the leap and started her own business. Instead of just producing ceramic ware, a relatively saturated and established market, Maui wanted to be a game changer, aiming to introduce a holistic experience through pottery.
Ili Likhaan, a mobile pottery and ceramic arts playground, is an ode to the Philippines, its mythology, and its history. Believing that Filipino culture must be preserved, Maui has created a sustainable business model that not only sets her apart from the usual competitors, but also establishes a creative community of pottery enthusiasts that continues to grow every single day.
An inventive workshop that Ili Likhaan has introduced is clay meditation, an apt answer to the growing mental health woes experienced by many during the pandemic lockdowns. Through pottery, it aims to "create a world of harmony," where connections are forged with the world around us.
"We seek to highlight mindfulness and remind ourselves of our cultural roots through our art pieces and workshops," she adds, noting that pottery has always been molded into Philippine culture with museums boasting of different artifacts made of clay, preserving most of its history.
Uplifting local culture, tradition
Producing art through clay is one thing, but focusing on holistic growth through pottery has allowed Maui to establish Ili Likhaan not just as a startup business but as a social enterprise on a mission to help preserve Philippine art.
Ili Likhaan aims to uplift local culture and tradition, not just with its products, but with its bespoke pottery workshops. This unique service has allowed it to build a network and reputation in the contemporary Philippine art scene.
Besides selling its wares and service, the brand has also initiated research on its source material, local clay. Aiming to keep to its promise of sustainability, Ili Likhaan uses locally sourced clay to create its stoneware, as of the moment, the brand uses terracotta from Batangas.
Through community building and a strong focus on the Philippine heritage of pottery, Ili Likhaan is able to "create a creative space for well-being, cultural identity, and community building," establishing itself as an innovator in the Philippine pottery scene.
Bringing Filipino culture to the global stage
Ili Likhaan, at its core, is community driven. The brand not only aims to create art, but also to produce artists. Promoting meditation and reflection through art remains Maui's greatest advocacy, and she believes that through pottery, more Filipinos would be able to highlight their own culture and artistry.
"Through our works and services we would like to communicate and highlight cultural identity, mindfulness, indigenous wisdom, the virtue of the earth—giving and accommodating, women empowerment, and sustainability. We believe that using pottery as a tool to honor all of these is what makes Ili Likhaan special." she says.
As such, Ili Likhaan dreams of taking Filipino pottery to the global stage in the future.
Art as a business
To further build Ili Likhaan's community, the brand joins exhibits, promotes on social media, and websites. But Maui dreams of having their own space–transitioning from a mobile workshop to an established local business.
To gain more insight on running a business, Maui joined Maya Business' newest series "Scale Up: The Show," where she competed with 15 other Pinoy entrepreneurs for seed capital worth P150,000, and a grand prize of P500,000 in the finals.
The vision of Ili Likhaan made a mark on the three business mentors: Maya Chief Marketing Officer Pepe Torres, Tiny Buds co-founder Lorin Tan, and Boozy PH CEO Miguel Guerrero.
"Scale Up was very instrumental in making us realize that there is so much to learn from other businesses and that we should not limit ourselves to our artistic standards," Maui says.