SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Founded in 2017 by dance and music artist Lydia Querian, Daily Malong is on a mission to empower weavers, master artists and other Indigenous community leaders in the Philippines to continue their living traditions by extending appreciation of indigenous creations to Filipino diasporic communities in North America.
“Many youths in weaving communities are assigning more value to Western culture than their own traditions. We believe that by demonstrating how much people in the Filipino diaspora appreciate their culture and work, it will encourage these youth to take a more active role in perpetuating the traditions, practice them with pride, and value their communities.” Lydia Querian, Founder.
“Most of my customers are either Filipino folk dancers/musicians, cultural practitioners, young professionals, recent college graduates, or still in school,” says Querian. “My business model allows me to keep prices reasonable so that more people can have a piece of an authentic, handwoven item.”
Purchasing directly from weavers is how Lydia keeps high-quality malongs and apparel in stock without charging so much that her younger customers can’t afford it. It also ensures that weavers can maximize the economic benefit from their work. “A master weaver labors for two to three weeks to finish one piece.”
Daily Malong is set to release a fresh logo, website and a documentary to celebrate Fil-Am History Month in October. The store will also have a site-wide sale during the month to celebrate both Filipino American History Month and Indigenous People’s Month.
About Daily Malong
Daily Malong strives to empower Indigenous Pilipino artisans to continue their living traditions by extending appreciation to curious markets in the diaspora. Daily Malong is an e-commerce store promoting the Malong as their main item for sale. A malong is a tubular cloth that has been used in different indigenous communities in the Philippines from way back during pre-colonial times. Daily Malong also offers other woven products sourced from different indigenous communities in the Philippines through different apparels, accessories and home goods. The store is proud of its sustainable operations by working directly with communities.
About the Founder
Lydia Querian is a San Francisco dance and music artist who left her corporate work to pursue social entrepreneurship. She’s done several collaborations, performances and has toured both nationally and internationally with Dancing Earth, KulArts, Parangal Dance Company and Fusion Dance Project. She was part of the feature in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 2017, along with the San Francisco Kulintang Legacy — a group that was put together to honor the late Father of Kulintang in North America, Master Danongan “Danny” Kalanduyan. Lydia is the Co-Founder of House of Gongs, the Co-Producer of one of the first and biggest Kulintang Festival in North America – Gongster’s Paradise, and the executive producer of Gongs Away Music.
