No retirement for 80-year-old

At 80 years old, Inez Claudio is still creating works of art with her beautiful quilts. And she’s not showing any signs of retiring, no sir, not while she can help it.

A graduate of BS Architecture from the University of Santo Tomas, Inez has always been artistically inclined. She loves painting, especially portraits of her children.

Her house is surrounded by rows of bonsai trees and flowers, which are also the subjects of her art. And most of all, she loves making quilts.

Quilts are bedcovers made of padding enclosed between layers of fabric and kept in place by lines of stitching. But Inez’s creations are so exquisite, they are worthy of being displayed for exhibit.

It was in 1989 when Inez thought of taking lessons on sewing and quilting. She has long retired from being an architect and has decided to pursue other venues for her artistry. Having an eye for beauty, and with her architecture background, she understands color and composition. Soon, she was creating vibrant, lifelike designs for her quilts.

“My son called this my ‘entertainment,’ something to keep me occupied. I am not a businesswoman, but I enjoy doing this, so ‘entertainment’ is a very good description,” Inez shares.

When she decided to start her quilting business, Inez had two things in mind: to earn from something she enjoys, and to help people especially mothers and wives.

With the help of her eldest daughter, Yolanda, she set up a seminar on sewing and quilting at the balcony of Yolanda’s house in Montalban. They taught the women from the area how to make quilts which could help in their livelihood. Those who showed interest and talent in sewing were hired as sewers.

“I wanted to help mothers who cannot go to factories, so they could just quilt at home,” she says.

After three years of teaching and training, Inez finally became confident to start her company, the Inez Quilts. Aside from the factory in Montalban, she also converted a part of the family compound in San Juan as the main factory.

Around the same time, she was introduced to a Japanese exporter from Hawaii who took a liking to her quilts. They started a business partnership that lasted for almost two decades. This also paved the way for more exporters to notice the intricate craftsmanship of Inez’s creations.

“This Japanese exporter, she was very nice and guided me on the business of exporting. She understood that the quilts cannot be rushed, and we were afraid of not finishing on time, so she initially ordered only one Hawaiian quilt. But after one month, she ordered more,” she says.

All of Inez’s quilts are handmade, every stitch done meticulously, which means it can take three weeks to three months to finish one quilt, depending on the design and the size. This also guarantees the quality of their works.

“We have some customers who come here to have their quilts repaired, quilts that are already 10 years old,” Inez shares.

Inez’s daughter-in-law, Amy, shares how Inez would notice beautiful sceneries while travelling and ask them to snap a picture for her. She would then replicate these sceneries for her quilts. The results are amazing, lifelike pieces of art.

Business with the exporters was doing well until 2009, when the US economic setback forced Inez’s partners to stop exporting to Hawaii. She had no choice but to retrench most of her staff and retain only a few of the more reliable ones.

With the loss of her business partners, Inez focused on the local market and produced patchwork quilts, baby blankets, Christmas tree skirts, table runners, bed covers, lap quilts, throw pillows, and the “wall hanging,” or framed appliqué quilts for display.

Most of their buyers were local customers from way back when Inez Quilts was just starting, people who understand and appreciate the art and craftsmanship involved in making quilts.

Quilt industry is not big in the Philippines, so Inez Quilts is having a hard time marketing their products. Inez’s grandchildren came to the rescue and helped her with the use of social media. Some of Inez’s children took pictures of the quilts, and the grandchildren uploaded them on Facebook. Amy’s daughter, Stella, set up the website which Amy maintains. Inez also started joining bazaars, but she was not very keen on participating often because of space constraints which prevent them from displaying their works.

Most of her materials were bought in the United States, sent by her daughter, also named Amy. Another daughter, Trina, does the quality control of the quilts. And most of her children and grandchildren spread the word about Inez Quilts through word-of-mouth.

“It has become a family recreation,” Inez shares.

She recounts how her grandchildren would spend their summer vacations in the factory when they were young, helping around and earning daily salaries along with the other workers.

With only a few but capable staff, Inez Quilts continues making intricate quilts. They value quality more than quantity, so Inez avoids being strict to her staff with the time frame in making the handmade quilts. The staff requires minimal supervision anyway, because they were taught everything, from cutting, sewing, to doing computer works.

The quilted bed covers are their current bestsellers. The wall-hangings, on the other hand, are kept by their customers as heirlooms.

“Sometimes my children tell me that the prices for my quilts are too cheap, but actually I just want to sell them to people who appreciate them,” she shares.

More than proving herself as a businesswoman, Inez is happy that her art can be translated to quilts and in turn is appreciated by people who understand the work involved in creating them.

“I am thankful to still be working at my age. Everyday when I wake up, I take it as sign that I should continue working, not just for me but also for my workers, who have become like a family to me,” Inez concludes.