The Handmade Gallery is a very special gift and handicraft shop in Bacolod City. It is the local gift shop of Anaware Ceramics, a manufacturer that was established in the 1970’s.
Anaware Ceramics (now renamed Artisana Island Crafts) has won numerous industry awards for its high quality ceramics and handicrafts that are exported all over the world.
We visited The Handmade Gallery’s new showroom on #3, Daniel Ramos Street, Bacolod City! Read on to see more of this beautiful store!
The entrance to The Handmade gallery is simple. Once inside the gate, you are greeted with lots of plants and ceramic tiles on the walls and around the doors.
The main entrance of The Handmade Gallery is gorgeous! All of these tiles and ceramic shells are made by workers at Artisana Island Crafts. This gives the entrance a nice Greek or nautical look
Once inside, you will see the beautiful showroom filled with export-quality handicrafts and goods made from natural fibers, plants and shells. Everything is so pretty! The showroom structure dates from the 70’s when it used to be the Anaware Ceramics Factory.
Everything is well arranged. There are little nooks that highlight a particular color or theme. Everything you see here is made in-house along with the ceramics.
The showroom is just a small part of The Handmade Gallery. We took a look at the back area where Artisana Island crafts has their factory. Artisana Island crafts employs women from rural communities to weave the bags, mats, trays and handicrafts.
The women weave pandan leaves harvested from Kanlaon mountain. Among the baskets, they weave the distinctive ceramic tiles.
During the pandemic, The Handmade Gallery and Artisana Island Crafts remained open. The workers were allowed to weave from their houses to protect them from getting sick.
The women who work here are of all ages. The oldest worker is 69 years old!
These women come from depressed rural communities and some have been working for the company for a very long time. The speed at which they weave the baskets is amazing.
The baskets are then bordered with ceramic tiles. These tiles are a signature look of Artisana Island Crafts. Instantly recognizable.
The skilled workers can make all sorts of things like these stars made with woven pandan leaves. The detail and intricacy is superb.
Why settle for a star when you can have a whole Christmas tree ? This work in progress is amazing!
We returned to The Handmade Gallery showroom to look at more of the goodies that they had for sale. Artisana Island Crafts has been a ceramic manufacturer since the 1970’s and the quality and variety of their work is amazing.
Artisana Island Crafts employs local artists to design and create its whimsical ceramics.
The blue ceramics are nautical themed. Fish, shells and water ceramics adorn the central display of the showroom.
If you’re looking for shells to decorate your house, The Handmade Gallery has beautiful, natural shells from the local seaside communities.
Handicrafts made from capiz or windowpane oysters can also be found in The Handmade Gallery. You can find all sorts of designs, including a whole Christmas tree kit!
What are windowpane oysters? These oysters are a special type of oyster that have very flat shells. When processed, the shells become translucent and pearly. The shells are then used as a glass subsitute and placed in windows. They are numerous around the Capiz province in the Visayas region of the Philippines.
There are also numerous handicrafts made from wood in the handmade gallery. There’s wooden bowls… dining sets…
…coasters, candy dishes and spoons..
These little coasters made of coconut shells are so cute!
The Handmade Gallery also has candles and textiles made by local weavers.
There’s a wide variety of designs available.
After all that shopping, we chatted with the owner Mary Ann Feria Colmenares who told us more about the history of The Handmade Gallery and Artisana Island Crafts.
It was Mrs Colmenares’ mother, Anita Feria who first started Anaware Ceramics in the 1970’s. They have won multiple awards but the very first award that they won was the Panday Pira award in 1978.
The Panday Pira awards are awards given out by the Philippine government in recognition of significant contributions to the development and promotion of cottage industry.
Fun Fact: Panday Pira is a famous Filipino blacksmith that created cannons for Raja Sulayman and later on the Spanish.
Mrs Colmenares is now the second generation owner and carries on her mothers legacy of creating premium, export quality handicrafts that can be enjoyed by all.
The Handmade Gallery also has something very interesting for all you gift-loving people. They offer premium gift wrapping services.
It’s not just any ordinary gift wrap that’s available at The Handmade Gallery. They use handmade paper to wrap your gifts!
Just bring your present to The handmade Gallery and they will wrap it for you. They have rolls of different colored handmade papers and paper ribbons.
Instead of just tying the ribbon in place, you can opt to use Artisana Island Crafts ceramic ribbon holders in the shape of a poinsettia
Gorgeous! And super classy! If you want to have your gifts wrapped, head on down to The Handmade Gallery.
The Handmade Gallery is located on #3, Daniel Ramos Street, Bacolod City
Opening Hours – Monday to Saturday 10am to 7:00pm
Telephone number: (034) 435 3843 / 09228709453.
The Bacolod Food Hunters did not accept any freebies, incentives or money for this article. We paid for our own food. We practice ethical blogging.
The Bacolod Food Hunters 
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