Pambansang.com

By Immanuel Pastolero, Special to The Manila Times

As a high school history teacher in La Salle Greenhills, June Joson always looks for a venue of discussion to open the minds of his young students to the rich history of our nation and the importance of his province of Bulacan in our historic struggle for independence.

He sees talking points in everything, even in T-shirts. And T-shirts that evoke historical pride is a specialty of his shop Pambansang.com.

Pambansang.com is a graphic design studio that works on different fashionable trinkets like T-shirts, bags and button pins that proudly banner distinctive Bulakeño designs and imbibes Bulacan’s historic reputation.
Joson, also an active member of different socio-cultural organizations, started the business of designing shirts with some of his friends on June 19, 2008.

“Initially, we only had 30 shirts. I allowed my friends to choose the design they wanted and then I asked them to pay for it before we made the shirts. That’s where it caught on.”

With an initial capital of P60,000 to P100,000, Joson together with his five employees, bought shirts and
screens that would be needed for the production to go full throttle.

He said that the most capital intensive of his needs for the business is the rent for the stall they have in Malolos City.

Joson recounts that when they started the business they worried that Bulakeños might not want the designs because of its regionalist theme. “We had apprehensions that people might not appreciate the product,” he said. But contrary to their fears, many Bulakeños were instant fans of the playful and cultural designs of Pambansang.com. 

“Every time we would release a new design the people would line up in anticipation, and within the day of the launch all of the stocks with that new design would be bought,” Joson said.

“In fact some buyers turned out to be collectors,” Joson added. Some would buy all the designs and collect it, because of the limited number of prints they release.

“We only print 100 shirts per design and after that we phase it out. It adds a certain aura of exclusivity because only a few would have that design,” Joson said

Joson added that customers even from abroad are very interested in the prints that they offer because it is unique.

The T-shirts designs carry the distinctive character of the different cities and municipalities in Bulacan. One shirt declares: “Iputok mo! Bocaue Fireworks” referring to Bocaue, Bulacan’s primary product—fireworks. Another states, “High Tide Hell Hagonoy” alluding to the tendency of the Municipality of Hagonoy to go underwater whenever it is high tide.

“The designs are very hip and trendy,” Twila Bergania, a frequent customer of Pambansang.com said. “It’s very Pinoy and it makes you feel proud of the Bulakeño heritage,” she added.

Fashion, culture and heritage have always been the mantra of Pambansang.com, and it proved to be a formula for success. Joson said that the business is lucrative. Ensuring that all investments returned to them within a year and now Pambansang.com has a definitive following among the youth of Bulacan especially those who study at nearby schools and universities.

“Many students here in BulSU [Bulacan State University] wear the shirts Pambansang.com designed, it gives you an added sense of identity,” Bergania said.

Pambansang.com has just celebrated its first anniversary, and because of its relative young age, the main marketing strategy of the clothing brand relies on word of mouth and participation in different events such as bazaars, school fairs and fashion shows.

“Events like school fairs and bazaars are frequented by our target customers and it gives as the necessary venue to market our products,” Joson said.

Pambansang.com targets students and young professionals as potential customers. “Technically, students and yuppies are our primary market, but many older customers are attracted by some of our designs like the shirt which has the design ‘May asim pa! Sukang Paombong,’ many middle aged customers are attracted at the humorous nature of the designs,” Joson said.

Though the designs might tickle one’s funny bone, there is a serious side to it. “We take great pride at the culture and heritage of Bulacan, and we express it through our designs. We aim to provide a venue for the youth to rediscover the beauty of our province through fashion, and we have taken this up as an advocacy,” Joson said.

Expansion is well on the way for Pambansang.com. Joson said that they are starting research of different provinces so that they could also release designs that would highlight the identity of different places in the country, which would open their base to a larger number of customers. But they said that the Bulakeño mark would not be erased in their products.

“We see [Bulacan] as a reflection of the whole nation. It is a microcosm of sorts,” Joson concluded.
Pambansang.com is located at second floor Room 1 Guevarra Building, Malolos City, Bulacan.

For details, call +63 (044) 662-3513 or visit http://pambansang.com.ph