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Jimmy Meligrito used to be a construction worker until he lost his job in 2001.
But he didn?t sulk.
Instead, he and his wife put up a small business that manufactures handicraft and fashion accessories.
Now, Jimmy and Antonia supply fashion accessories to a firm that exports fashion accessories.
The couple credited their success to perseverance and an openness to learning new things.
Jimmy said he started working as a construction worker at Cebu City Hall in 1996.
?He was a construction worker from the very start, accepting jobs with clients who wanted something fixed or enhanced at home or in the offices like making cabinets until he landed a job at the city hall in 1996 during the Garcia administration,? Antonia said.
They thought that his work at city hall would be enough to provide the needs and education of their three daughters ? Jenny Mae, Jelly Ann, and Joy Liza.
But Jimmy?s contract was terminated in December of 2001 when Cebu City Mayor Osmeña took over the helm of Cebu City Hall.
Jimmy, however, knew that he could use his carpentry skills that he acquired in the five years that he had been working in City Hall.
But it was not easy.
Jimmy had to search for clients and accept carpentry projects.
In 2002, he and his wife learned how to turn construction materials like wood and transform them into something creative like wooden beads and rings for accessories.
They landed a contract with a company that export accessories to Japan.
?Both of us then started to accept job-out orders from Wincom, which is a Japanese accessories company here in Cebu then,? Jimmy said.
From job-outs, the couple realized that they could make more money if they became suppliers of the company itself, which would let them create their own designs and choose their own materials.
?In 2004, we started being suppliers, and we got most of our raw materials just from around here. For our shells, which we use as accents to our woodcraft, we got them straight from our fish port in Pasil. And for the wood, we also got it from Inayawan. Same with other raw materials like carabao horns,? said Jimmy.
The couple started with a capital of P1,000.
They were earning as much as P120,000 in a month at the time when the industry did not yet suffer as a result of the global economic crisis.
?Before we really earn much and we were even able to renovate our house using the earnings we have. But now, we find ourselves just earning on the average P1,000 every week, which is still better than earning nothing at all,? Antonia said.
They were able to buy their own machines from their profits.
These machines were used in cutting and shaping as well as treating the raw materials for the accessory products.
Then the global economic crisis hit and with it the slowing down of the international market ? the market of the firms that the couple were supplying materials from.
To survive the crisis, the couple shifted to the local market while waiting for the international market to recover.
?We are now supplying accessories for local retailers who display the products in the malls, which gives us another way to earn,? Jimmy said.
To augment the couple's income, Jimmy also accepts carpentry projects especially with the real estate industry boom in Cebu.
?As of the moment we still have orders for export despite Wincom closing its operations. We have tapped another company, ABS International, which also exports accessories abroad but not as much orders as before,? Jimmy said.
Antonia, who believed that the industry would recover soon, said that they were continuously developing new designs for their customers and were always alert for new ideas and techniques, which is a necessity in their industry.
The couple, who use their home as their workshop, also plans to rent a space where they can display their products.
?We plan to look for a permanent space where we can display our products and not only rely on the purchasing officers of different accessory companies, who usually choose the products of their friends and acquaintances even if we have the best design presented,? Antonia said.
