VESTI Conversations: Filipino Dreamagineer Prim Paypon on local creativity, products and ingenuity

by VESTI

The name — Prim Paypon would immediately ring a bell from the fashion to the arts scene. He is a truest testament on living life grand with strong emphasis on local products. Emerging from his massive followers, he is the leader of the local brands, loved by so many. Vesti Conversations was lucky enough to get a quick interview with Prim, how he started his dreams and how he continues to shackle us up.

VC: You have been known to be the purveyor and mover of Philippine creativity and talent from creating The Dream Project PH and Curious Curator PH, could you tell us more about the ‘whys and hows’ since you started these and the greatest achievement you believe you have so far?

Prim: The foundation of @TheDreamProjectPH started in 2004 when, out of personal curiosity, I started gathering, understanding and sorting out impact stories of Filipino innovators across regions. After being fully inspired by their grit, passion and innovations, this social consciousness strongly influenced me to create a hybrid non-government organization that works on various collective Filipino dreams by imagining great possibilities from nothingness and engineering the most superior but accessible strategies to address their identified poverty with zero to inferior resources. The uniqueness of such development framework led me to create the term Filipino Dreamagineer to describe the work that we do for the past six years and counting.

Under the growing networks of The Dream Project PH, I was blessed to work with key players and stakeholders from the creative industry, from social entrepreneurs, to community artisans, to artists. Working with this particular community strongly rekindled my personal interest for the visual arts—a love affair which started in early 2000 when I met a Lasallian brother who told me that building an architecture (after he learned that I dream of creating an informal learning center for underprivileged young artists) is a lot easier than building an art collection. Years after putting up and sustaining The Dream Project PH, we created the @CuriousCuratorPH, an art incubator and accelerator to help young but talented artists from outside Metro Manila to have market and professional art gallery access in Metro Manila.

Both initiatives are non-funded and were purely motivated by social pains, and to be able to see them sustained by hardworking dream enablers across industries and continuously impacting their respective players, communities and stakeholders is a remarkable feat in itself.

VC: Now that you are the first Executive Director of the Asian Institute of Management-Dado Banatao Incubator (@TheIncubatorAtAIM), the country’s first incubator of its kind in a business school that helps emerging technology startups, what do you think is the biggest challenge that most Filipino enterprises face/have and how do they survive it?

Prim: Unlike the social and community-based enterprises that we enable at @TheDreamProjectPH, the local startups we incubate and accelerate at @TheIncubatorAtAIM offer new and emerging technologies. Since we opened last March 2018, currently, @TheIncubatorAtAIM has 20 local startups and share common challenges, despite targeting and working with varied industries, like getting the right early seed funding to market-run and exponentially grow their market reach; spreading brand awareness using cost-effective ways; creating progressive and sustainable business models and strategies; collaborating or working with like-minded institutions for scalability and partnership; hiring, paying and sustaining the right talents in the organization; while balancing progress and consistency in both quality (in all business aspects) and growth.

VC: How can a local artisan brand go beyond the state of luxury mentality and commercialism? Could you state homegrown brands that have captured your heart and you strongly believe in will be the next big thing?

Prim: Few years ago, it was a real struggle for us to encourage Filipinos to support and buy premium local artisan products because the general concept of being local is being cheap. Because communication is a tool in making the real and inspiring message of the brands heard, we positioned them as aspiration and inspirational brands, more than luxury brands.

To effectively do this, we capitalized on the truest impact stories of these brands to the communities of artisans they work with. Because these target Filipino market is consist of niche brand lovers who are well-informed, they always and positively gravitate towards that unique experience of owning a preeminent local brand that impacts society, celebrate culture, and preserve heritage. Together with their well-crafted stories, brands should live up, and even surpass, market niche expectations in taste sophistication, material innovation, aesthetic development, and design novelty.

Aside from well-loved pioneering brands like Filip + Inna and Zarah Juan, I committedly wear and passionately advocate for impact-driven local brands which are led by young visionaries like Tal de Guzman’s Risqué Designs and Stride Collective (shoes/Marikina City), Anya Lim’s ANTHILL Fabric Gallery (textile/Cebu City), Martha Rodriguez’s VESTI (luxury bag/Cagayan de Oro City), Wilson Limon’s Niñofranco (apparel/Davao City), Louie and Ann Poco’s Gouache Waxed Canvas (lifestyle bags/Marikina City), and Nico Moreno’s Ibarra Watches (watch/Manila).

VC: Since 2015, you have been very exposed to different social media channels, organizations, and groups, for example giving TEDx Talks twice, how does digitalization and accessibility play in your vision now? Since then, are there relevant highlights or moments that you paid gratitude to digitalization?

Prim: Social media outfits and other online platforms are great free marketing amenities and sales channels for all kinds of businesses. Startups and social enterprises benefit from them.

Because of these digital channels, brands from social and community-based enterprises under @TheDreamProjectPH are introduced to local and global markets; sustainable community projects of @TheDreamProjectPH are introduced to outstanding talents and collaborators, locally and internationally; visual artists discovered and mentored by @CuriousCuratorPH are introduced to new and emerging collectors, and top contemporary art galleries and international competitions; and startup founders and their innovative technologies at @TheIncubatorAtAIM are introduced to regional incubation programs outside the country, local and foreign investment groups, and more local and new regional markets.

VC: Lastly, describe Prim Paypon in one brief statement? And what will we watch out from you next?

Prim: Prim Paypon is and will always be a Filipino Dreamagineer who always dreams big for the Philippines.

For updates, news and trends, follow @TheDreamProjectPH for development-based projects and programs, @CuriousCuratorPH for art, and @TheIncubatorAtAIM for startup incubation and acceleration programs in Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

This year, I have two dedicated personal passion projects. Almost every month, @KarenderiaPH and I organize well-curated dining experience for select people to celebrate the beautiful blend of local ingredients and flavors, visual arts, and craftsmanship. This August 2019, I am also launching BITBIT via @MustBitBit to help artisan communities and brands push and challenge the creative boundaries of their handwoven textiles and other local materials.

Prim Paypon with his personalized ‘PFP’ Vesti Hunter Briefcase - Made with sturdy Calfskin leather, adjustable straps and top handle, you can easily grip and put it aside.

Shop our Vesti Signature Men Collection at www.vestifashion.com.