Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Ideas from the box
By Nancy R. Cudis
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
SOMEONE once said that a gift is as good as the package it comes in with; but not many people have the talent to turn gift wrapping into an art.
Realizing this, couple Gloria, 50, and Antonio Sevilla, 49, began making handcrafted gift and file boxes that became the foundation of their business.
Their company, Gloanse Boxes n’ Things, also offers gift-wrapping services, customized boxes and bags, premium gift boxes and other handcrafted packaging ideas.
The Sevillas established Gloanse Boxes n’ Things in 1990 with only about P5,000 as capital. Today, they deliver various handcrafted products—Gloanse now makes scrapbooks, “magic wallets” and frames in addition to boxes—to Manila, Morocco and Hawaii.
“In the first three years of our operation, we experienced losses and various problems, including buyers who wouldn’t pay.
Once, our products were rejected by exporters because of their quality. Since then, we have always been careful in ensuring the quality of our products,” Antonio said in Cebuano.
While he and his wife have remained as “owners, managers and production personnel” of Gloanse, they now have a number of skilled people in their employ. The couple also hires additional people on a per-job basis to cope with large orders.
Expo
To expand its local market, Gloanse participated in the Obra Negosyo–Countryside Enterprise and Business Upliftment (One Cebu) expo last week. Being hands-on entrepreneurs, the Sevillas attended to the booth and handled sales and inquiries.
The couple reported that they sold about P30,000 during the week-long expo held at the Cebu International Convention Center.
Gloanse’s production office and showroom is located in Barangay Talamban, Cebu City.
The couple sells handcrafted hampers (P1,200 each), three-set file boxes (P1,200), magazine racks (P600) and hanging frames (P200-P400, depending on size), among others.
Gloanse earns an average of P30,000 a month but gets more than P50,000 during the industry’s peak season from September to December.
Antonio said that over the years, he and his wife have learned to study their market, get feedback from their customers, research on other types of raw materials that can be used for packaging, and experiment on other designs to continually improve Gloanse’s products.
“In this kind of business, one needs patience because there is no machine involved. All products are handcrafted. If we haven’t been patient, we would have given up on this a long time ago. Through this business, my wife and I have earned and saved,” he said.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (August 19, 2008 issue)
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