Calaisio

About the Brand

“Our designs are inspired by nature. Looking to the future, we envision a revival of a generation-old basket weaving tradition that emphasizes distinctive, hand-crafted, environmentally friendly, durable, and aesthetically pleasing functional designs.

We aim to achieve this while protecting the environment, giving back to the communities of our craftsmen who make them, and focusing on excellent workmanship in the comfort of their homes situated in small villages.

We use forest vines that grow swiftly and are thus immediately renewable to create our eco-friendly baskets and tabletop items. These naturally occurring, organic, and biodegradable invasive climbing plants can be found in large forests in the Philippine tropics that have reached maturity. They are collected by hand and allowed to dry before being woven.

Its slender and strong vine structure, which is about 3 millimeters thick, which is roughly one-fourth as thick as ordinary rattan, requires 1 to 5 days to hand weave into a final design, producing a substantial, robust, heat-resistant, and attractive product.

This flexible vine can be woven into a variety of shapes and patterns to create decorative items that have useful properties utilized in daily life. The earth pigment present in the tan vine gives it a brownish-yellow hue, which develops into a caramel brown and woody tone as the woven basket ages. It is sturdy enough to withstand getting completely wet without breaking or warping.“