Anyo Swal: Beads with a Difference
Walking the stretch of White Beach is serious exercise. I swear I saw my stomach shrink the first two times we walked the length from Diniwid Beach to Station 2 (and we haven’t reached Station 3 yet…can you imagine what my waistline would look after a week of doing that? Goodbye diet pills!).
What made the walk particularly interesting was looking at the wares displayed on mats along the beach, in stands and small stores. Rows upon rows of two of my favorite things: blings and clothes. I think I would have lost more pounds if I didn’t stop every few meters to look at what’s on sale. Who wouldn’t be drawn to these stuff: so colorful, so many, and cheap too. When I decided to be a wiser spender, I was quite happy looking at bracelets and beads (never mind the cute filmy dresses you throw over your bikini – at Php 700 up, it can put a dent in my vacation splurge money). Until I came upon a stand near D’Mall where the beads are of better quality and the designs are unique. I simply had to stop and take a closer look, then try on a few pieces, and finally bought not one, not two, but three unique accessories made from some of the most unusual materials.
Anyo Swal, a play on the English word “Unusual” is the word that describe the creations of local artists Melvin Olivera, JB Herrera and Noriel Herrera. Each one of them handcrafts bracelets, necklaces and anklets from snake bones, boar’s fang, sharks’ tooth, deer horn, crocodile teeth, carabao bone. These out- of-the-ordinary materials are mixed with semi-precious stones like jade, coral, amethyst, garnet, tiger’s eye, onyx and murano glass and even clay. Some are ingeniously wrapped in nito or fisherman’s net for a distinctive local yet sophisticated feel. Most of the materials are sourced from Palawan and is strictly one-of-a-kind. They explained that they cannot duplicate the design of one piece so buyers are assured that they are purchasing the only one of its kind. The pieces cater to both men and women. I noticed some men looking at exotic necklaces in nito with crocodile tooth pendants. It looks much better than it sounds. Prices start at Php 300 while some of the most intricate ones go for Php1,500.
So yes, I exercised my butt off in Boracay and ended up buying some of the most unusual and good-looking pieces I’ve ever seen. Did I tell you that most of the pieces I liked cost 350 and I was able to shave off 100 pesos? Not bad, my bling bling baul is now better stocked.
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Rose is editor and content manager of activephilippines.com. Get valuable information on what’s hot and hip in the metro, from dining and recreation to the best places to visit. In addition, activephilippines.com promotes e-commerce and provides small to medium business entrepreneurs with a venue to sell and advertise online. To top it all, registered members of the site have the option to subscribe to a complete business software package that allows them to do every step of their daily operations – inventory, accounting, auditing, purchase, payroll — completely online.
