“A fresh start with Humabi”
Sun.Star Davao, Jan. 3, 2014
In welcoming the new year,
Dr. Richard Mata and wife Erika Soriano-Mata greeted their Facebook friends
with a stunning family photo and one of their favorite verses from Joshua
24:15, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”.
Aside from being an
in-demand pediatrician, Dr. Richard has saved many lives through his top dengue
website, www.solving-dengue-fever.com and made doctors’ prescriptions more
patient-friendly through his innovative website, www.easyclinicsoftware.com.
On the other hand, Erika, a
hands-on mom to three charming children, Patricia, Amanda and Richardo, has
used her passion for fashion in making people feel better about themselves through
her numerous speaking engagements which celebrate her audience’s God-given
beauty inside and out.
Last December, this much-admired
family who has been an ardent supporter of the Philippine Science High School’s
scholarship program launched their own line of bags to further support the
cause.
Know more about the Matas’ must-have
accessory and why it’s making waves with bag lovers in this interview with
Erika.
*How
did you start supporting the scholars of Philippine Science High School?
About two years ago, our
good friend, Dr. Charina Dioso, who was the head of the Parents-Teachers
Association (PTA) of Philippine Science High School, asked us if we can support
some students who are really gifted but are just simply less fortunate when it
comes to finances. We responded affirmatively on the level that we can afford.
We saw that helping
dedicated students is a good investment because we know it won’t go into waste.
These are serious students and some of them can become great leaders of this
nation thus our help can multiply as we may help produce brilliant citizens who
can touch more people.
*What
made you think about creating bags for the scholarship fund?
Richard and I are believers
of education. We believe that anybody can get out of poverty if they will
invest first in educating themselves. We wished to continue and help more
students in PhilSci. That’s when the idea of having a business that can
help these students came in.
We are inspired by the
business model of the popular shoes, Tom’s; that every time you buy a pair of
shoes, Tom’s will be giving another pair for free to the poor children of
Africa.
I am a lover of fashion by
nature. I love bags too and very meticulous of the design and the linings, the
zippers, the color, etc. So the idea came. And, we do believe it’s
divine.
What if we can sell bags of
my design for this purpose? I will enjoy it at the same time! So we
searched for sources of locally made bags but somehow wasn’t successful at the
start. But we continued our search and finally I found myself inside the
Women’s Correctional Institution.
Not that I did something
illegal, but I found that I can have my designs produced there by expert tie box
bag weavers. These weavers were also happy because it will really help
them in their livelihood program. Talking with them and learning their
stories on why they were there is truly heartbreaking. Most of them are
mothers with students who also needed support.
*
Who will be the beneficiaries of the proceeds from Humabi?
For every purchase of a Humabi,
bag lovers will be helping two groups of people: the bag weavers of the
correctional institution and some chosen scholars at the Philippine Science
High school.
*Why
did you choose the name Humabi as your bag’s brand?
At first I thought of
another name. It was supposed to be “Sisidlan”, one of the Tagalog terms for
bags but when we did an Internet search, “Sisidlan” already existed so we need
to think of another name. It took some time and then Richard said, “What’s the
Tagalog term for weave?” We searched our brains first but nothing really
came out, so we shifted our search to Google and there it was: “Humabi”.
We looked at each other and then a light bulb appeared! We searched
for Humabi bags in the net but there was none. We went to DTI and they
said it was available and so we registered it as the official name for our
brand of bags! Thank God!
*How
did you come up with the designs with your daughters?
I have 2 daughters: Patricia,
13 years old and Amanda, 9 years old. When we discuss about designs, they
usually pull out their old favorite bags and we start from there and just
innovate some more.
*What
were the challenges you encountered while planning for the Humabi brand?
Well there are many
challenges but I love all of it. Mostly it’s in the availability of my
stocks as I am just starting out. Just like when I launched it on my
Instagram and Facebook accounts and showed my gorgeous ambassadors, I received
orders immediately and even had one person order 30 pieces for her company’s
Christmas give-aways! I did not expect that to happen immediately but somehow I
was able to comply.
*What
makes your tie box bags different from the other previously produced tie box
bags in the market?
Well there are many ways Humabi
is different. To start with, it is my design.
I first asked myself, “Will
I be proud to carry this kind of bag design if I go to a mall or a party?”, if
my answer is yes, then I do believe it will work also for my friends and the
rest of the women out there.
The quality of each bag passes through me. Each lining is properly
examined. They know I’m very meticulous so the quality is very high or
else I will bring it back to them. I also provided a dust bag with the Humabi
logo which added some elegance in the packaging.
Aside from the design and quality, what made it also different is that we
placed a lot of effort in building some class to the Humabi brand with the help
of our brand ambassadors who are respected mompreneurs of the city like Marga
Montermayor-Nograles, Mimi Vergara-Tupas, Kaye Gempesaw and Bianca Baretto-Uy.
We also have a surprise line-up of Celebrity Ambassadors from Manila
which I will soon reveal. We also have released our website www.Humabi-bags.com
to receive orders nationwide and internationally.
We believe Humabi tie box
bags have a wide market because they are unique, attractive, strong and
affordable. It also has a good story that will entice people to buy as they
know they will also be helping. We were also able to tie-up with great
stores such as Soul in Abreeza and Martish beside Villa Margarita Hotel.
In other words, Humabi bags are packaged and promoted to be world-class.
*
How many colors are available and what are the different names of the designs?
Can you please explain their respective features?
FAITH BAG: It’s a square-shaped handbag with wave
stitch design.
HOPE BAGS: It’s a rectangular-shaped handbag
with a corn stitch design.
LOVE SHOULDER/SUMMER BAGS: It’s a tote bag with a
bigger size fit for outings.
KINDNESS SLING BAGS: It has a peacock
stitch design perfect for teens.
PEACE KIDS BACK-PACKS: Circular in shape
with either butterflies or flowers as accent. Fit for little princesses.
All of the above comes in 10
different colors--black, brown, red, white, blue, orange, yellow, green, pink
and purple.
*So
far, how is the response of people to Humabi?
All I got are always praises
for the bags! Usually when the package comes to their homes, they get
surprised the moment they see it. It starts from the dust bag which women
really love and when they open it, they can’t believe that it was all made out
of tie box twines.
They admire the
craftsmanship and the dedication given to it by the weavers. I also
realized that people really have a helping heart. Knowing that they are helping
both the women in the correctional and worthy students of PhilSci gives them
great joy that they supported Humabi!
*
What are you future plans for Humabi?
We are all excited.
The future is really online. My husband is my partner and actually
my IT guy. He immediately made the website for me all by himself without
the need of me hiring a website developer.
From there, we will link an
ad about my website, so his thousands of readers can easily see my link and
perhaps become resellers of our unique colorful bags. We believe there’s
a niche for these kinds of bags even in the first world countries especially if
they will know it’s for a good cause. I am also going to introduce another
design by January and Facebook and Instagram are of big help.
But more than anything, the
future that we are looking forward to is actually to see the weavers with their
children still able to finish schooling even if they are still serving their
sentences and also see our Humabi scholars in PhilSci to walk on stage with
flying colors during their graduation ceremony.
E-mail the author at mom.about.town.dvo@gmail.com. Visit
www.momabouttowndavao.blogspot.com.
