Events
THE WEAVING STORIES & DREAMS TOUR
Just in time for AAPI Heritage Month, handmade indigenous fashion and home accessories from the Philippines will enjoy a rare spotlight when Los Angeles-based brand KINdom presents the Weaving Stories & Dreams Tour, coming to Los Angeles May 10-14, 2024.
Indigenous Filipina artisans will be demonstrating their traditional crafts at all the tour’s events. These gifted makers will be offering an alternative in a market dominated by fast fashion and major brands. Specifically, the ancient craft of weaving on backstrap looms is being celebrated after being disparaged for a long time, with origin stories & ancient folk tales to be shared. Appearing on the tour are Evelinda Otong-Hamja, a fourth-generation Master Weaver from the Yakan indigenous community who studied from a National Artist Weaver since she was seven years old; Myrna Pula, also known as Nanay (“Mother”) Myrna or Bebing, Culture Bearer Storyteller of the Tboli people and composer of the indigenous song “Lemlunay", used and sampled in many tracks by contemporary artists; and Virgie Nicodemus, cultural worker & advocate of Philippine indigenous groups and crafts. The two aforementioned Nanay (Mother) artisans, Nanay Evelinda & Nanay Myrna, were recently featured in the April 2024 issue of Vogue Philippines.
KINdom designs the Tboli, Yakan, and other indigenous textiles plus age-old embellishment techniques into contemporary silhouettes. “We’re making ancient craftwork new. We’re taking traditions of creating clothes that the Tboli, the Yakan and other indigenous communities have been using for hundreds of years, and infusing it into something relevant for today,” Powers said. “Indigenous people - being stewards of the Earth for generations and taking care of 80% of the planet’s biodiversity - have an intimate connection with their craft that machinery and mass production do not have. With the Weaving Stories & Dreams Tour, I want to show and develop a direct connection between the maker, the product and you, the consumer. As a Filipina, I don’t want these indigenous craftsmanship to disappear, as they are currently threatened with new a generation that would rather assimilate into modern society instead of learning & preserving these ancient techniques. I want my child and future generations to see and feel these ancestral works, that they are alive and well, and not just in a museum. The Weaving Stories & Dreams tour is honoring our past through cultural appreciation & awareness.”
There are one-of-a-kind and limited edition handwoven, hand-embellished, and upcycled pieces from KINdom and the Tboli and Yakan artisans including apparel, jewelry, textiles, and home wares, which will be shown at the Los Angeles events and available at the e-commerce boutique KINdomshop.com.
After stops in Hawaii, the San Francisco Bay Area, and San Diego, Weaving Stories & Dreams' successful run will end in the Los Angeles area. It will make a stop the Vegan Women's Summit at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood on May 10, and the Unique Markets at the California Market Center in downtown Los Angeles on May 11 to 12. There will be an additional intimate gathering for the artisans at the Meraki Creative Lounge in Eagle Rock on May 14.
Spearheaded by KINdom, Rag Royalty, and CulturAid, the Weaving Stories and Dreams Tour is a labor of love co-sponsored by the Vegan Women Summit, House of Gongs, Karayan, PASACAT, Kularts, and Malaya Filipino-American Dance Arts.
