CRAF TERPRENE U R i n ter v i ew b y Gel i B a l cr u z
“Hello! I’m Femi Cachola and I create cute and quirky plush toys and accessories at Gawani Femi.” A DAY IN THE LIFE OF FEMI Up by 6am on weekdays. Heavy breakfast (rice is a must!) while watching morning tv shows. Shower. Get dressed. Go to my 9am to 7pm office day job. After work, I go to the mall or have dinner with my boyfriend and then go home. Throughout the day, I try to squeeze in craft breaks. I doodle. I write my ideas. I eat. I stitch. I research. I window-shop. I eat. I play video games. I usually watch a movie to put me to sleep. It’s a different story on weekends. I stay at home as much as possible and create anything. I just love the word “create”. I work on my sewing projects while I listen to good music. I prepare the deliveries. I take photographs of my works. I do some gardening. I cook. I clean my studio. I arrange flowers.
28 | S HO W & TELL
THE BIRTH OF GAWANIFEMI I’m a sucker for cute things. Being surrounded by them makes me happy. It makes me even happier when I am able to create adorable knick-knacks. Around 2009, I made some small quirky monsters. They had silly faces that made me smile. I made some plush pins and gave it to friends as gifts. They liked it, so I made more. I tried selling them and got surprised how quickly they sold. I love working with felt. They have a beautiful soft texture and can come in so many different colors. It is not susceptible to pilling or “himulmol” which allows me to create different shapes with the smallest of details. The first batch of felt that I used when I was just starting was not so good. It was too soft. It couldn’t hold the intricate shapes that I wanted to achieve. So I did some research and found felt that was of good quality. I was very keen from then on.