As one of the country’s longest-standing and most trusted news institutions, Manila Bulletin has been a platform for empowering local talents and brands. In the middle of the 2020 pandemic, it featured a young artist who turned isolation into invention. Through her online brand QuiverSmiths, Iana Cris Forbes crafted and sold handmade art materials, quietly building a following rooted in patience, skill, and sincerity.

Five years later, Iana is still making art. Only now, the canvas is wider.

“I’m doing great and still making art,” she shares. “I’m now practicing with more mediums and on more platforms.” While much has changed since her first feature, art remains the constant thread running through her life.

Looking back, Iana describes the Manila Bulletin feature as something that went beyond exposure. “More than a feature, it has given me validation that in anything that you do, any discipline, you’ll be seen by the right people,” she says. At the time, she had already spent years in a corporate setup that offered stability but left her creatively unfulfilled. “Though it gave me a good life, I had to choose a career that feeds my artistry.”

During the pandemic, returning to QuiverSmiths became a turning point. Through crafting and creating again, people got to know her on a personal level. “I was recognized not from my corporate identity, but from an identity authentic to my core,” she says. That recognition became fuel. “To be seen and to be recognized on your own right to be is such a reward, and has propelled me to do more of these things that have brought me where I am today.”

That momentum eventually led Iana beyond QuiverSmiths and into the wider creative industry. About a year ago, she co-founded 1032 Lab with friends Louis, Alan, Karlo, and Garren. “It houses artists on their own discipline, and together, we create creative campaigns,” she explains. The collective works on creative direction for campaigns and produces music launches, music videos, advertisements, and events.

Juggling this new venture with her original brand was not without challenges. “Honestly, at first I had to stop QuiverSmiths’ shop last year since we are building a portfolio,” she admits. But the pause did not last forever. “Come last holiday break, I was able to go back to creating books, doing pottery, jewelry, and it reminded me again why I started it in the first place.”

For Iana, traditional and digital practices are deeply connected. “Doing traditional art has always fueled me in my digital campaign pursuits,” she says, while acknowledging the practical side of her work. “Without my campaigns, I won’t be able to sustain the life that I have.”

This balance between craft and commerce has shaped the lessons she carries as both an entrepreneur and a creative. “Somehow, in reality, even though I want to just be home, paint, garden, fish-keep, and create with my hands, the half feeds the other half, and it keeps me strong on both fronts,” she says.

Working on a larger scale has also brought a heightened sense of responsibility. “When you’re creating on a larger scale, you have to have a sense of responsibility for what you put out there,” she says. She emphasizes the importance of integrity and quality, knowing that creative work reaches many people. “Whether you like it or not, people will have something to say, and you cannot please everybody. You have to have a strong heart and embrace your core.”

Beyond her career, Iana speaks openly about the many roles she carries. “As a breadwinner, as a partner, as an artist, as a woman, you have to keep showing up for each factor of your life,” she says. Balancing them, she adds, comes with more sacrifices than most expect.

Still, fulfillment remains at the center of her story. “I can proudly say that I am happy. And it’s because I chose myself every day,” she says. For Iana, art is a daily commitment rather than a fixed label. “I just simply do art every day. Art comes in many ways and you’re the only one who can call the shots on defining what kind of artist you want to become.”

She names her many identities with clarity and confidence. “I am a creative director, I am a potter, a silversmith, a painter, an entrepreneur, a sculptor, and most of all, a quiversmith,” she says. “And with every arrow in my quiver, I create. I make the world a little more beautiful every day.”