Gorgeous Hand-Woven Table Runners from Balay ni Atong

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Mrs. MM and I were at the “Maarte Fair” at the Rockwell tent over the weekend, and I was thrilled to find so many beautifully made local products. The fair, arranged by the Museum Foundation of the Philippines was a charitable event, and part of the proceeds of all sales were given to the sponsors… so one had to spend to help. Gotta like that once in a while at least… I managed to find several small ceramic bowls and this wonderful woven table runner from Balay ni Atong, which is a native Ilocano weaving process called inabel.

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We got another of their table runners before last Christmas, here, and loved it, so acquiring this one, in what appears to be a really modern pattern, but is in fact a very traditional pattern that is just magnified several times, was a no brainer. It was more expensive at this fair, but that’s the cost of funding a worthy cause.

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The pattern on this one is somewhat mesmerizing, or is it hypnotizing? It appears to move when your eye wanders over it, but I think once several platters of food are laid on top, it doesn’t risk distracting from the food… It’s bazaar or fair season coming up in full force, and I hope more and more folks focus on locally sourced materials and products like this one.

Curious? For more information, visit Balay ni Atong’s website, here.

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11 Responses

  1. Absolutely ingenious way of removing the monotony of what would otherwise be plain checks.

  2. Beautiful! Maybe someday we will learn how best to market our handicrafts & local products and captivate buyers beyond our shores in a more sustainable manner.

  3. that visual phenom is called the Moiré effect. httpss://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moir%C3%A9_pattern

  4. With the Ber months starting today, there would be more fairs across the metro. I just heard my first Christmas song on the radio this morning!

  5. I was there Saturday morning to check on my sister’s booth. I eventually went around and spent time at the Balay ni Atong booth. His products are beautiful and tastefully done; and it is really interesting talking to him, too! The Maarte Fair has select vendors, and I like that it benefits the MFP.

  6. Great find! Is it washable MM? I love Philippine handicrafts but think twice about purchasing when I think about how good it stands up to maintenance.

  7. These kind of textiles were traditionally made by the Bontoc and called “binakol (owes)”. Simply put that word into google search – pictures and you will see various types. There is also a very good book about Philippine (tribal) textiles “sinaunang habi by Marian Pastor-Roces about Philippine Ancestral weaves; 1991”

    Unfortunately the website is a bit hard to manage and doesn´t work propery (for me) as i would love to buy a bunch of these tablerunners and else for my shop…

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