Basic HTML Version
58
{ }
P I N A Y S T Y L E
PHOTO
ANTON SHEKER
A shoemaker’s
sole mate
Until recently, economics professor Stella
Quimbo, 42, was known more for her
social health insurance publications than
her shoe designs. But after the launch of
her brand, Lupe Saenz, at Bonne Bouche
in swanky Greenbelt 5, we predict she’ll
be gaining more fans for her all-leather
flats and heels.
Her two careers may seem worlds
apart, but for the new entrepreneur, her
awareness of the Philippine economy
somehow inspired her new business.
“The Marikina shoe industry’s declining
exports and increasing imports began
in the late 1980s, when cheap imported
synthetic leather shoes from China started
to flood the domestic market,” shares
Stella. Filipino shoemakers abandoned
the production of these excellent leather
shoes and opted to churn out synthetic
ones instead. “Many lost their skill and
failed to pass on their know-how.”
Then last year, fashion designer Michi
Calica Sotto and jewelry designer Elena
Bautista approached Stella, who is
married to Marikina Representative Miro
Quimbo, for help. “They thought that,
through my husband’s Marikina network,
I could help them find a shoe supplier for
their shop, Bonne Bouche.” She came up
with a few leads, but no one seemed to
match the discerning duo’s standards. And
then the unexpected happened. “Michi
and Elena asked me to give it a shot,”
recalls Stella. With guts and a few private
lessons in technical drawing, she got to
work filling a niche in the Philippine shoe
market: handmade all-leather shoes.
In between teaching college classes,
she made lunch-break trips to Marikina
and worked on her shoe designs at
night. But beyond creating footwear,
Stella wanted to create opportunities for
seasoned shoemakers like Mang Biyo,
her factory supervisor, and Ate Merly,
a 50-year-old woman who had been
making shoes since she was 17. “I wanted
to help revive a skill that was in danger
of becoming extinct,” she says. But since
these shoemakers were no longer used
to making leather shoes, it took a while
before Stella could get her prototypes
approved for Bonne Bouche. So she sat
down with the shoemakers and showed
them exactly what she wanted. “They
realized I would not go away and that the
best way to deal with me was to actually
deal with me!” Months later, Lupe Saenz
— which is named after her daughter
Lupe and her mother-in-law — was born.
So how has her business affected the
shoemaking industry? “I don’t know yet,”
says Stella. “But I think hope and vigor for
the industry are just around the corner.”
Lupe Saenz is available at Bonne Bouche,
2/F Greenbelt 5, Makati City, tel: +63 (2)
729 0486.