SIARGAO / FASHION / Jewelry
1. What got you started with this brand? What was your inspiration? What is the idea/concept behind it?
T U M A was created following our mutual desire to be more creative. Both of us are graphic designers and we met each other in Siargao during our early years on the island. This environment was like a new blank page: the best breeding ground for our creativity. It is in this paradisiacal setting that the magic operates, that love-at-first-sight turns into a lasting story, and where the T U M A brand was born in 2019. The dazzling beauty of Siargao Island, its wild nature, the ocean and its waves, its warm and smiling inhabitants–everything inspires us on this idyllic island. In the midst of this tropical life, we perceive a lot of poetry and reverie. The brand is young, but our desires are affirmed:
- push back the techniques of craftsmanship,
- develop imagination,
- mix styles and universes
With the strong belief that beauty surrounds us everywhere and that exotic memories can be treasured forever, we create pieces that can be taken anywhere.
2. What is your personal favorite product from your brand?
The Siargao Necklace. It’s the first piece we produced and it’s our most minimal piece. We wanted to name it “Siargao” as it all started with this necklace.
3. What do you want people to experience with your brand/product(s)?
T U M A’s trademark is to mix styles and materials. Our ideas and our techniques, we gleaned them through multiple explorations all over the world. Fascinated by the ocean and nature, we have chosen seashells and stones as key elements for our range of costume jewelry. We also offer 14k gold-plated earrings, necklaces, bracelets, anklets, rings, and custom pieces.
The brand’s positioning is simple: costume jewelry that is refined, accessible, and timeless.
The range is wide, but each piece is produced by hand and in a limited way.
For us, and through our pieces, the symbols are strong:
With T U M A jewelry, women can take their love for the Ocean with them everywhere,
The materials chosen are full of finesse, and the details explode as they come into contact with the skin,
Gold has the ability to reveal the sun’s energy which it then reflects through our creations.
4. What tips and advice can you give to entrepreneurs who are just starting out or are planning to start their own brand?
Don’t be afraid to try, fail, and learn from your mistakes. Believe in yourself and your dreams!
5. What’s next for your brand?
We started our brand two years ago. We sell our jewelry in 5 different shops around the island of Siargao and we now also have an online e-shop. What’s next… maybe bring our products to Manila soon?
6. What other additional information and details would you like to share?
All our jewelry is unique, as it is handcrafted in the brand’s workshop in Siargao. This is the place where time stands still for us designers. In the workshop, we explore an infinite number of avenues, combine materials, draw, test, and create models.
Each time, throughout the whole research process, we have this in mind:
Beauty must be subtly suggested with lightness; not imposed,
It is with the little details that women can be sublimated; not with objects that obscure the essence of their personalities,
A piece of jewelry can be timeless and can be matched with any everyday outfit,
The richness lies in the diversity and mixture of styles and materials.
There is an important part about our job: T U M A desires to guide our clients to explore creativity with “Dessine-moi un bijou.” Starting from an idea, and moving through several discussions, we design completely personalized and unique models. We use our know-how and creativity so that each piece of jewelry is the transcription of our own melody that every person can hum to in private. Wearing our jewelry is another way to enhance your beauty as a woman.
It is in our workshop where all T U M A jewelry is tested before being sold.
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LOVE, PHIL. 