This place has been around for years and it is owned by Jojo Orcullo-a young entrepreneur who has a passion to share his Palawan culture and heritage. If you will visit Puerto Princesa, then I recommend that you visit his shop. You will find it along Rizal Avenue, Puerto Princesa or you can ask the locals the whereabouts of his shop.
Once you get there, you will be amazed of the products he is selling because all of them are astonishing.
They are handmade and crafted by the natives of Palawan. And according to Jojo, every product has its own unique story. So aside from buying it, I suggest that you ask him or the staff how it was made, who made it, and where did it come from. For sure, they will be happy to answer your questions.
Another remarkable feature of his products are that all the materials that were used came from local organic materials such as exotic woods, roots, bones, seeds, etc. You can also choose from a wide variety of products like furniture, jewelry, paintings, weaving, wind chimes, and wood carving.
Many tourists who visited his shop were satisfied of what they've bought. Here are some comments of his past customers:
"The store is run by Jojo, an amazing young entrepreneur who has done a ton to collect and preserve native Palawan artifacts. If you visit the local museum (behind city hall), you'll see that almost everything in there was donated by Jojo. The store is an extension of this commitment. There are some of the usual carvings you might see elsewhere, but I urge you to look further and ask questions (I watched people come and go and never ask about anything!)..."
"If you are going to buy local art, this is the place. The family that owns this store goes into the rural areas of Palawan to purchase the local crafts. But they are doing something much more than than; they are offering design advice to the artists that elevates the craft into a work of art. They know where everything comes from, the materials used and the meaning of the images. The prices may initially seem a little high, but when you consider the quality of the pieces, you are not over paying..."
"We find a shop Asiano on our last day in Puerto Princessa. That was a real find! Owner Jojo is decently know a lot about arts and craft in Palawan. The shop / gallery is very special. We left a shop with a sculpture which is now in the prime place in our house in UK. Good look Jojo. It nice to meet person with such a passion!..."
(comments were taken from TripAdvisor - a respected online forum for travelers around the world.)
So if you are planning to visit Palawan or you are already in Palawan, visit the Asiano Arts and Crafts. I am certain that you will not regret it.
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| Banig made of bamboo |
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| Beautiful piece of art |
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| Another work of art at Asiano Arts and Handicrafts |
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| Beautiful necklace from the animal bone |
For more information, you can visit the store website at www.asiano.ph/. You can also visit the facebook page to see his amazing and beautiful products.
