The year 2021 has been another rollercoaster ride for all of us! There were highs where we felt that anything was possible, and lows where we felt like giving up. Despite facing obstacles and challenges, you have constantly shown us the shining silver lining. Here we are. Looks like we made it again!
We kickstart the year with grateful hearts and carry on the abundance you bring by sharing with you our favorite moments and the lessons collectively gathered throughout the year.
1. LEARNING SPACE
ANTHILL continues to become a learning space as we largely utilized our digital platforms as a safe space for inquiry, discourse, and learning for our community. Through this, we also learned to accept our mistakes and that there is always room for learning and growth. You are our greatest teachers!
In the same manner that we are committed to continuous learning, we also value consumer education. Transparency Thursdays allowed us to have meaningful conversations grounded in authenticity and vulnerability.
A learning space allowed us to foster compassionate dialogue and collaborate on solutions to address common goals of protecting our living traditions and livelihood.
2. CIRCULAR PRODUCTS
We also experimented and created new things using our fabric scraps. You loved and supported many of our products innovations and collaborations that promote our culture and circularity.
3. OUR LAST READY TO WEAR COLLECTIONS
We also launched our last ready to wear collections that were designed with you in mind. Our UGAT Collection features multi-wear pieces that represent our transformation. We are interconnected with shared stories of childhood, trauma, traditions and liberation.
While our SAYA Collection marries the old and the new as we thread through the time, honoring the past but moving away from the colonial mentality.
4. GROWTH OF TEXTILE COLLABORATORS
We were thrilled for our fabrics to be showcased all over Jollibee Europe and gained more collaborations in the US among brands like Bago, Tepilane, and For Harper in Australia. Our fabrics have also been used in furnishings for several interior projects and furniture upholstery.
5. CUSTOM ORDERS
Your custom order and pre orders have kept our Sewing Chamber busy and alive. We are so thrilled to weave your ideas to life!
6. FABRIC COMMUNITY STORE
This year has been exciting for us as we launched the very first fabric community store in the Philippines! We showcased the beautiful weaves of 13 of our textile partners to support their desire in weaving tradition and technology together.
7. A WHOLE NEW COMMUNITY
The launch of a separate fabric store also paved the way for the growth of another community elevating our weaves all over the world—our Proud Weave Crafters!
8. YOUR PRESENCE
After 11 years of creating pieces for everyday weave wearing, we made the difficult decision to let go of our ready to wear line. You rallied behind us and showered us with so much love and stories of pride. The solidarity you’ve shown kept us strong and steadfast in our way forward.
9. LEARNING CIRCLES
In ANTHILL, we practice coaching culture and advocate for continuous education. We are so grateful to have the opportunity to be part of a fellowship program that provides mentorship and support in honing our skills and competencies so we can better serve our partner communities.
10. YOUR GENUINE SUPPORT
In difficult times, we turned to you and you all never failed to show up for us through all of your donations and fundraising efforts. The abundance you share has literally kept our team and our partner weavers alive.
We weave forward to another year of uncertainties with courageous presence knowing that you will continue journeying and learning with us. All thanks to all of you in this community for keeping our ecosystem and our work alive. We only wish for a better and brighter 2022 for everyone.
Let’s keep weaving dreams!
