Amid the earthquakes, floods, and corruption scandals, it was a relief to visit the 73rd edition of MANILA FAME at the World Trade Center. This event—the vital link between local artisans and international markets—offered some good news to tell. Its theme, “Objects of Nature,” showcased the best in Filipino artistry in home, fashion, and wares.

Some of these SMEs have success stories that move the spirit. Years ago, Marie Oamil had a day job, took an MBA (Master’s in Business Administration) at De La Salle University, and sold small items on the side to make ends meet. Tragedy struck when her five-day-old child was diagnosed with three holes in her heart, requiring an operation. A compassionate doctor agreed to perform the operation on the first hole on an installment basis. The next one was scheduled for seven years later.

Even with this burden, Marie's creative side prompted her to tinker with fashion accessories using available local wood. She was advised to explore basing in Cebu, where the fashion accessory rage was heating up with more materials to use, such as shells.

Her husband, Melecio, was prophesied to become a “mighty designer” and led the creative crew that attracted many foreign buyers. When the Lehman Brothers-led financial crisis hit the USA, the peso appreciated tremendously, enabling Marie to ride on the foreign exchange windfall from her exports. Marie was able to have the second hole of her daughter’s heart operated on the 10th year, not the 7th as originally planned.

It was her entry into the avant-garde bag business that brought fortune to Marie, who now calls her globally successful bag, basket, and fashion accessory lines MELLE + MARIE. The “+”sign signifies the cross and her firm belief in the role of Jesus in her entrepreneurial triumph and the full recovery of her daughter, Hannah. Her other daughter, Rome, is now chief designer and second-generation owner. (“Melle” stands for Melecio and “Marie” for Rosemarie Oamil).

Faith-filled, Marie continues her daily devotional. Her bags, now found in plush stores in Paris, New York, and Milan (where they hold annual shows), are looked upon by fashion enthusiasts with the same eye they view Louis Vuitton and Chanel bags. The products have been featured in elite magazines like Vogue. Her bags normally go for $500, with the top of the line at $20,000, which includes embellishments of very precious metals.

Vying for the next level, Marie plans to team up with an investor/partner who has intense global fashion sense to elevate her brand, “The House of Melle + Marie,” to the same stage as the world's best.

In 1992, an Australian couple, Ben and Joy Alderson, were so impressed by the Filipinos' artistry and discipline that they sold all their properties in Australia, bought world-class machines, and built a factory for soft toys and baby articles here. After close to a decade, the couple decided to go back home due to old age. Since none of the children wanted to inherit the business, they gave all their shares of stock to the original workers of the company they founded, which is now known as BenJoy Toys.

The lucky Filipino owners now run a factory in New Manila and use a few subcontractors, churning out 30,000 soft toys every month. They sell them to France, the USA, Australia, and Japan, using mostly imported materials. The firm is already 35 years old, according to Product Development Head Susan Makahia. It sells 10 percent of its goods to local patrons like Richmonde Hotel, The Enchanted Kingdom, the Mind Museum, Medical City Clinic, and soon Makati Medical Center. Other independent clients order them for corporate giveaways with logos.

Meanwhile, Narda Capuyan was named by Ernst & Young in 2013 as “Young Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year,” the most prestigious global award for small entrepreneurs. This was due to her success in moving the idle Cordillera mothers away from “being busy making babies” to being productive by learning the trade of handwoven products. In 1972, Narda and her husband Wilson started Narda Handwoven Products based in La Trinidad, Benguet, by weaving blankets from recycled acrylic yarns.

The Cordillera indigenous women were taught hand-knitting skills and revived the Ikat tradition, designing and dyeing threads “in vibrant colors to suit contemporary taste.” Placemats, shawls, and bags became a hit with foreign buyers. Exclusively designed carpets are regularly shipped to elite resorts and hotels. Lately, Narda has branched into attractive, few-of-a-kind men's and ladies' apparel.

On the other hand, “to pursue a life rooted in purpose and bring joy to others who buy the products they make” was a personal commitment that became a wedding vow. This prompted Robin and Rose Salazar to leave their corporate jobs for entrepreneurship with a heart. Based in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, the couple established “KrigKrafts,” specializing in native craft-like personalized items such as notebooks, travel maps, tourism knickknacks, designed magnets for refrigerator doors, and novelty items.

The difference lies in the fact that their factory base is among women detained in the Bureau of Jail and Management Penology (BJMP) in Sta. Rosa and the men in Dasmariñas BJMP, plus the SBL community of indigent folks. They assist in the cutting, sandpapering, coloring, and assembling the pieces, earning between ₱4 to ₱75 per piece and more for more complicated novelty items.

That is purposeful living. Meantime, Karen Giberson, a major buyer along West 30th Street in New York City, offered tips to those eager to break into the American market. One key tip is to tour stores and shopping districts to view the style in vogue and the price of products, and thus evaluate the competition. Trade shows are not as hot as before, so contemporary marketing involves investing heavily in social media, armed with well-photographed products.

Products have to be available within America to seize opportunities when they present themselves. Furthermore, companies must establish core competency in design capabilities and adequate production capacities.

Giberson also pointed to veiled opportunities with the recent tariff shakeup imposed by America on major economies. For instance, while the Philippines is slapped with only a 19 percent US tariff, countries like China and India have higher rates at 34 percent and 50 percent, respectively.

Price differentials of 15 percent (USA) and 31 percent (India) could create price opportunities for Philippine products as entry points into the humongous US market.

Indeed, gracing the fair was a whiff of fresh air for a mind fogged by the spate of bad news here in the country.