Turning out-of-school youth into artisans

When we buy products on a daily basis, we don’t usually consider where they come from or how they are made. The social enterprise Vitrum turns this notion on its head by making the origins of its products one of its main selling points – the company upcycles glass bottles into chandeliers, lamps, and other lighting fixtures.

A workshop for out-of-school youth 

Ian Martinez Sarra, the founder of Vitrum, got the idea after his life partner suffered a stroke. While he was recuperating, a friend, the owner of Detoxify Bar, supplied him with vegetable juices that came in beautiful glass bottles.

It was then that Sarra first thought to create artistic creations out of the glass bottles. He began by manually cutting glass bottles with the aid of instructional YouTube videos. 

Through Twitter, Sarra got connected with DJ Tina Ryan of Magic 89.9, who likes to support products that were upcycled. She began to ask her friends who owned bars and restaurants to reserve their empty bottles for Sarra, which he could then use for his products. 

The look of a bottle with a light bulb in it had always appealed to Sarra, yet the beauty of the designs that he eventually produced surprised even himself. 

As an up-and-coming social enterprise, Vitrum tries to support not only the environment, but groups that have traditionally been disenfranchised. 

“We have our manpower in Cebu. They are composed of out-of-school youths who all reside in Sitio Mayjo, Barangay Paypay, Daanbantayan, Cebu,” Sarra said, adding that this particular area was among those directly hit by supertyphoon Yolanda (Haiyan).

Back in 2015, Sarra conducted a workshop with these kids to teach them the safe and proper way to cut the glass bottles. The team is not yet fully operational, as Vitrum is still running a crowdfunding campaign via The Spark Project that will help make these youths their full-time support team, but Sarra hopes to empower them through his social enterprise.

An upcycled piece of art 

Of course, not everyone will buy the idea of supporting the environment through upcycled products. For this demographic, Vitrum’s bottles may still have an appeal. To begin with, there’s the aesthetics factor – each of their bottles is a unique, one-of-a-kind art piece. 

Second, there’s the cost. “Our products are way cheaper compared to chandeliers and tabletop lamps which are not upcycled,” Sarra said, adding that Vitrum products are always as durable as their mass market counterparts, but arguably more beautiful. 

Since their products are home decorations, Sarra said that they target homemakers and mothers who appreciate items that will add character and beauty to their homes. Vitrum, however, doesn’t limit itself to this market.

“But we don’t particularly and rigorously target them as our only demographic,” Sarra said. “Vitrum would like to appeal to everybody interested in owning beautiful and elegant upcycled pieces of arts.”

At this point, Vitrum is marketing primarily through the usual social media channels, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. It is also leveraging its current crowdfunding campaign as a way to raise brand awareness and identify more potential supporters. 

After finishing the crowdfunding campaign, Sarra’s plan is to turn Vitrum into a major player in the world of home decorating: “Our vision is to make Vitrum a household name and a go-to company whenever somebody is in need of a good home decoration material.”

Despite his grand ambitions, Sarra remains realistic and committed to taking things as they come along.  

“For us at Vitrum, we don’t expect to be big instantly. We don’t expect to wake up tomorrow and see us as this big company competing with other more popular ones. We try to enjoy it as we take our baby steps,” he said. – Rappler.com

Rappler Business columnist Ezra Ferraz brings you Philippine business leaders, their insights, and their secrets via Executive Edge. Connect with him on Twitter: @EzraFerraz