This company below lives up to our expectations and makes some of our favorite items including our Petit Sunburst Mirror, our Mexican Retablos, our Native American Chief Weather Vane, and our Handcarved Carousel Horse.
Family-oriented, this company is run by a mother, her daughter, and her son. They promote the careers of both current and former employees. It supports continuing education and helps employees pursue their career dreams.
Another interesting aspect of the company is the scholarship program, open for all employees’ children. In order to provide the best possible education for all employees’ children, the owner set up the scholarship program to provide full tuition for children ranging in age from pre-kindergarten to college. The program’s first scholar is currently in her third year of graduate school studying veterinary sciences.
This company was founded in Manila, a city in the Pampanga province in the Philippines. The Pampanga province was the first province established by the Spaniards in 1571, and because of this, it is one of the richest, both culturally and fiscally. It is known for its culinary industry, with well-known and exotic foods originating from this area. Also, this region hosts the Giant Lantern Festival each December on the Saturday before Christmas Eve, the Philippine International Hot-Air Balloon Festival in February, and a re-enactment of the crucifixion of Jesus each Good Friday in the capital city of San Fernando, making it a popular tourist destination.
Our Quite Celestial Mirror and our Book Boxes
This company has a growing number of artisans creating beautiful accessories. Meet some of their employees:
Ferdinand is the head of the handpainting and finishing division. He was born in Nueva Ecija, Philippines and is 40 years old.
Ferdinand began working with this company in 1992 and joined the company full-time in 1999. In 2003, he moved into the Product Development Department as a prototype painter/finisher. He was promoted to head of the handpainting and finishing division in 2007. Painting for over 20 years, he began painting in school and has developed his skills further through his professional career.
When asked about what he enjoys most about working for this company, he said, “This is my dream job; I love to paint! Plus, I really enjoy the challenge of developing new finishing techniques for our projects and collections.”
Frederick is head of the carving division and is the master carver. He was born in Baguio City, Philippines and is 34 years old.
He has have been working with this company for over 12 years, but has been carving for over 20 years.
Frederick started carving when he was 12 years old. He was taught by his father, who had him start with very simple items. When he was about 15 years old, he began to practice carving figures and faces on his own. One day, his father challenged him to carve a santo figure from a photograph. When he produced the figure exactly, he was proud to realize that he had achieved a certain level of skill as a carver. It was then that he decided to make carving his craft and profession.
What he enjoys most about working for this company is that they always have new and different items to work on, and he enjoys learning or developing new techniques. He also appreciates the emphasis the design group places on getting details right.
Roland is head of the tinsmith division and is the tin prototype maker. He was born in Palawan, Philippines and is 34 years old.
Roland has been working for this company for 7 years, but began working with tin about 10 years ago. He was fortunate enough to develop his skills through his work experience, including an apprenticeship under master tinsmiths at this company.
Roland loves his work. He says he enjoys seeing prototypes develop from the time they handmake the jig to when the finished product is displayed in the Wisteria catalog. He says, “It’s very satisfying to be part of the process.”