For a friend abroad, a guest visiting Manila, or the balikbayan box: something made here, by hand, that gets used.
The short answer. A handmade stoneware mug or cup, thrown and fired by Filipino ceramic artists, from ₱650. It is small enough to pack, used every day, and it reminds them of the Philippines each time they reach for it.
The Philippines has made pottery for thousands of years, from the palayok in the kitchen to the burnay jars of Ilocos. The makers we work with carry that on in stoneware, fired higher and denser, for the cup on the table rather than the pot on the fire.
Four of the house pieces, made by hand in Northern Mindanao. Juan has no handle, so it packs most easily.
For someone who collects: pieces by named artists from the AWIS gallery. Price on enquiry.
Keep the piece in its kraft paper. Put a sock or a rolled shirt inside the cup, then wrap it in clothes and pack it in the middle of the suitcase, away from the sides and the wheels. Carry-on is safer than checked luggage. For a balikbayan box, pack it at the centre with soft things all around it.
We ship anywhere in the Philippines. For a gift that needs to go abroad, write to hello@awis.ph with the country and the pieces, and the team will tell you what is possible.
Most souvenirs are made to be looked at. A cup is made to be used, and a handmade one carries the marks of the person who made it: the glaze breaks differently over every rim, so no two are the same. Read more in Why No Two Are the Same and see where the clay and the pieces come from on Origin.
Every piece is wrapped in kraft paper and sent in a kraft paper bag, at no charge. For a gift, ask for our gift box: boxed and tied with a ribbon, ready to give, ₱150 a box. One box holds one mug or cup, or a pair for one person. Two people, two boxes.
We ship anywhere in the Philippines, from ₱300 in Luzon, Metro Manila included, and from ₱400 to Visayas and Mindanao, or you can collect for free in Pasig. Pieces are prepared within three to five business days after payment. If a piece we ship arrives broken, we replace it or refund it. For Christmas, reserve early.
To order, message @awis.ph on Instagram or write to hello@awis.ph with the pieces and glazes. You can also add pieces to a reservation and send it when you are ready.
Something made here by hand that they will use at home. A handmade stoneware mug by Filipino ceramic artists is one: small enough to pack, used every day, and a reminder of where it came from each time. At AWIS, from ₱650.
Dried mangoes and snacks are eaten in a week. Pottery stays. A handmade mug or cup packs into a suitcase wrapped in clothes, and a piece by a named Filipino ceramic artist goes further for someone who collects.
Not as a standard service yet. Write to hello@awis.ph with the country and the pieces, and the team will tell you what is possible. Within the Philippines we ship anywhere.
Keep it in its kraft paper, put a sock or a rolled shirt inside the cup, and wrap it in clothes in the middle of the suitcase, away from the sides. Carry-on is safer than checked luggage. The gift box adds a layer.
Filipino ceramic artists. The house line is thrown, glazed and fired by hand in Northern Mindanao. The gallery shows pieces by named artists, among them Vicente Gudiño, Joey de Castro and Siegrid Bangyay.
Yes. They are high fired stoneware. The one thing to avoid is a sudden change in temperature, such as boiling water into a cold cup.
