We underestimated things quite a bit on our end, we always see our brand to be still so young and uhm, fragile.We are still a starting and struggling start-up and most decisions are crucial, risky and must be well-thought of;  Having learned from our previous bazaar, we did our research beforehand -

None of us (the team) are into these things - shopping, shopping and/or window shopping. We kind of opted for literary festivals, comic cons and the like because you know..#nerds , but we saw to it as an excuse to launch our Harry Potter line to the public and to be on the real world once again.

As per usual, we hyped about it on social media, panic posting yet being steady on the production - producing what we think is fair and enough for the 2-day event.

DAY 1


Setting up had been a breeze, and we brought in new friends
- say hello to lamp!

The moment we finished setting up; And in a just a matter of breathing in the PDB air, we had people looking into our products and shelfing them out.

We can't even begin to explain how overwhelmed, excited and thankful we were. Seeing faces in awe and taking so much interest, having second looks and stopping by and actually looking for our booth saying it was their primary purpose (because thank you internet!), taking photos, fan-girl screaming, coming back again and again...and again *breathes for a bit* and all those other emotions.

Our shop became close to empty at around 4pm, people who passed by us the time after that probably didn't knew what we really are about. We felt so bad for people who wanted to buy but stocks were no longer available.


Day 1 gave us a lot of good problems that we wished we had a real time turner or something.

We began packing at around 6pm - with hearts both glad and heavy as we didn't want to leave too early. But we had to immediately buy raw supplies and make new sets for the next day.

It was both motivational and saddening to see messages pop out from strangers asking where we were that Saturday night.
We were cutting papers, stitching papers and semi-crying truth be told.


Day 2 was no different except that we came in so late - like around 3pm late. But this time we get to converse and connect with a lot of people. We still even saw the same faces from yesterday - this time along with more companions.


It was nice to finally meet Pami who had really cool character drawings on our notebooks and the owner of the shop we used to stalk so much, you guys should also check Witch Engine out.

From experience, we have always been taught to be prepared for worst case scenarios but not for best case scenarios like this. #humblebrag.

We only wish we could do more.

Thank you Pop District Bazaar who thought of everything - from the pre-event hype to the event itself; And for putting into mind the handcrafted start-ups.

To say that Pop District Bazaar was a success would be an understatement.
10/10 would sell there again!

We know this post is sooo out-of-date, but have you guys seen Heneral Luna?! And *SPOILERS* that Spoliarium scene?? Guuuuuh my heart. It aches.

The more I thought about it, the more appropriate I thought it would be that we officially launched our SUPERHEROES theme that month as the movie really shows how human our "national heroes" really are and that they didn't only live their lives as printed in the black and white. Obviously we couldn't make our blogpost in time for our launch of the theme via social media but better late than never, lol.


For this theme, we decided to partner with renowned graphic designer, Sknny. He's a talent, let us tell you, and a good friend. What we wanted to do with this collaboration was to see if artists, their fanbase, and ours, would appreciate the partnership and, if proven successful, will help us plan more opportunities for both suw(h)at and the local talents in the community.


In light of National Heroe's Day, we chose Sknny's Project Sirkol set to transform into notebooks this month. Each notebook has a hundred pages and fifty sheets, the same size and materials as our Game of Thrones sets. We're hoping to get good feedback on this partnership and we hope Sknny will like how we're handling his designs!

So tell us about how your month has been. For those that have bought the SUPERHERO sets, how are you liking them? What do you all think about the design? And, most important of all, have you gone to see Heneral Luna? :D

Okay so the first time I saw the venue I pissed myself a little. I guess the first lesson I learned during the initial setup was to research what the tone of the bazaar would be. meaning where it was held, who organized it, and most importantly, who the possible customers were.

The hall was HUGE with an impressive triangular centerpiece on the ceiling. Another notable source of intimidation was also the neighboring booths around us. There were big names and big brands, most from well renowned jewelry craft stores or furniture companies. To say that we stopped breathing for a bit when we came in was an understatement.

1. Research about who the possible customers will be, who the organizers are, and where the bazaar will be held.
2. Bring food. Check with the venue first though as some do not allow you to eat at the booth. You'll be sitting there for a while, so bring some munchies!
3. Bring business cards and network. If you're going to sit there all day, might as well get to know the people around you, and if you can, include your customers in the loop as well. Business cards are a must!

Thanks again and long live notebooks!

Suw(h)at has just ended it's first monthly special. The latest season of Game of Thrones has left us all in tears and confusion as it wrapped up it's season finale episodes. Being one to have read the books, I've also been left distraught so I highly recommend reading (and watching) this series. SUFFER WITH US.

Ahem. Anyway, we're thrilled to have been received by you so warmly and that we've been working very hard to improve both our products and our brand. We just wrapped up our first bazaar and are now developing our July-August theme.

Pushing for this wasn't an easy task, but getting to meet a lot of you in person and in meetups, and scrolling through the #suwhatna tag, it's made all those sleepless nights of sewing worth it.

More announcements will be made in the future on the new theme as we partnered with a talented artist for the main design line that'll hopefully open new doors for us and for you. So stay tuned and long live notebooks!

I am hyperventilating right now, guys, thanks so much for this opportunity!

I know I have a ton of blog posts to catch up on to keep you updated but this just zoomed up the priority list for me. It's happening tomorrow and this is so real, I can smell sound. Granted, we only have a small 3ft x 4ft spot at the back of the room but still, this is so amazing and we've barely reached two months of operation and everything is happening so fast and all I want to say is just THANK YOU, MY LORDS AND LADIES for trusting suw(h)at and opening so many doors for us.

We'll be releasing three new lines tomorrow to celebrate our first ever Maker's Market. You can browse around our facebook and instagram profiles to see some of them but I'll be posting the new designs here on the blog later tomorrow.

The first design set will be SUPERHEROES, giving tribute to DC and MARVEL characters and even splashing in a little bit of other pop culture sigils while we're there. They're printed on suw(h)at's newly discovered signature design, which will also be featuring our new line of suw(h)at originals by slapping on a few of our favorite quotes and some of our own on the covers.

The third design will be due to popular demand: the Back to School series. You've seen me post a few shots of them back at our instagram page and I honestly didn't expect orders of them but I was proven wrong! Pleasantly so!

With all that said, I'll say THANK YOU again. Without you, this wouldn't have been possible so a big bow for us to you. We'll be posting updates on the new products and some announcements tomorrow so stay tuned, and we're excited to see you there!

We may have over-said this, but we'd like to say it again - thank you so much for the support - be it from purchasing our products or simply giving us your digital remarks on them.

Aside from that, we've received so many requests and we simply can't find it in our hearts to refuse (also because we can't risk being flayed or burnt alive). We've created and released new designs on our GoT line.

For a short period of time (until June 30), you may order a set of 5 with the Houses of your choice for 500php. Inidvidual design orders ar still worth 120php/piece.

You may choose from our 10available designs - Stark, Targaryen, Lannister, Martell, Tyrell,  The Night's watch, Arryn, Bolton, Baratheon and Greyjoy. Simply specify them upon ordering on our ORDER FORM. 

May this serve as a simple reminder to everyone that we may not always get to choose our battles, but we can always choose who/what to fight them with.

With less than a month of operation, I can truly say suw(h)at has grown into something that neither of us, the founders, expected. It was and still is a great learning experience for us; coated with layers of apprehension, and doubt. The initial decision of creating a business out of something I simply considered a passing hobby was nerve-wracking. It was scary, very much so, and we all needed a lot of cajoling from each other to put ourselves out there.

Now, with more than thirty notebooks out of the workshop, scars and paper cuts, and some arguing here and there, the company and it's vision has evolved. Our process, although still very primitive and most definitely "handmade", has improved - the orders leading us into further developing our technique both in production and in business.

It was more odd than anything to see our notebooks in our customer's hands. The feeling of both shame and pride in actually exchanging our product with a currency that has value; it makes you wonder if what they received is worth the money at all with the product's many flaws. I'm naturally hard on myself, as you can see. I always hold this strict criticism with all the products I produce. I take to heart every comment, insult, and any form of feedback (and a little bit of praise wouldn't hurt every now and then).

But something I found a very important part of the whole process was having the right team. A team that supports you, encourages you, and just naturally brings the best out of you. I can definitely say I have the best one, as far as our experience is concerned. We push each other to think, to get better, and to do what's best for the business, and I think it's that's what makes our team so special (counting the long mid-morning and late-night chats on pop culture, writing, and, of course, production).

It was the combination of the two, my heavy criticism of my own work, and the just as heavy nagging from my team, that I created my own technique that made the notebooks what they are today. Certainly not the best, but are now considerably better version of what they were back when we first started out. Now, we're thinking of new designs, new sizes, heck, even a new product when it comes down to it.

It makes me so excited to go through this adventure with you, our customers, and my team. If we didn't make it clear enough in our previous posts, we'd just like to say how grateful we are for your support and that we wouldn't even be dreaming of doing what we're doing right now without your support. So to thank you, we are planning a big announcement due in a few hours. A special promo, of sorts, whose teasers are up on our Facebook page. Why a special promo, you ask? Well, because in true GoT fan fashion, a Lannister always pays his debts.