A COLORFUL New Year to all! For this New Year 2021, I want to focus on the many ways art can touch our lives.
In this episode of the inARTey, we will be meeting the people behind Azatri designs. Many thanks to the entrepreneur couple Ricky and Arlene Infante of Azatri for sharing with us their inspiration and aspirations.
I have been good friends with both Ricky and Arlene. From a photography workshop by Jay Abello many years ago to the "tauges" or long bean sprouts from their Farmtory, we have shared an idea or two and some laughs along the way. And from my long chats with Manang Arlene, I thought of featuring their art process in making some of their souvenirs.
I saw their resin miniatures and I am amazed at how delicate and beautiful they are. She made these miniature versions of Negrense favorites like our Chicken Inasal, Piaya, Pinasugbo, and even our sugarcane! So cool!
Arlene also mentioned that these resin magnets were targeted for tourists but because of the pandemic, I am personally campaigning for locals to get at least one of them. Hey, we buy ref magnets from other places, so why not have one Chicken Inasal magnet for your ref, huh? Head on to Lazada and Shopee and all designs are available. Add to cart now!
In this way, you can help our local businesses thrive and support their workers too. They can also do trophies and other artworks that can be 3D printed and replicated. Also, it is good to know that they have an all-women team helping them reproduce all their souvenir items from resin magnets to t-shirts.
For the first step of the process, Arlene draws the initial layout and then uploads it to the computer where she designs it for their 3D printer.
Wondering where she learned 3D printing? Here is what she said: "I bought a 3D printer and that was about it! No instructions included and surprisingly, no course to take to teach you how to use it. I reached out to a college classmate who was now the dean at the art college I went to and there was none! So YouTube University it is! But seriously, the 3D printer was a gamechanger for our products."
Before the 3D printer, they have to look for sub-contractors for molding and replicating these molds. It came out differently from what they wanted because there were compromising with some materials used. But now that they have their own production line, which helped them improve on their old products and make new ones.
I am looking forward to new designs from Azatri. How about you? Take your pick!
Follow me on Instagram: @tey.sev and visit my travel and art blog: www.thefatgoddess.com for more stories. Thank you everyone!