The two-day Creative Skills Bootcamp under the Creative Innovators Programme offered fresh and exciting workshops to creators at all stages of their careers. It was a unique opportunity to learn about the technical, management and business skills needed by artists and creative entrepreneurs.

Sessions were co-created and facilitated by Thames International Business School and the Creative Innovators Fellows. Topics ran across the different creative industries–from design, craft, film, animation and tech. Joined by our partners from the Design Center of the Philippines  and the Apl de Ap Foundation, the Creative Skills Bootcamp was attended by nearly 150 creative professionals and industry leaders from the Philippines. Over 95 per cent of the participants said they plan to stay in touch with other creatives they met during the two-day programme; more than half planned to collaborate in some way in the near-future.

'I love how varied all the speakers were yet similar in their discipline and determination to do better. Truly a diverse set, which is hard to find in most talks or seminars'. – Creative Skills Bootcamp participant

The Fellows’ workshops were developed with the support and guidance of Nesta, the UK's innovation foundation.

To join our journey, follow our hashtags: #CreativeInnovatorsPH and #CreativesPH2019.

For more photos from the two-day bootcamp, please check out our Flickr album.

Workshops offered by Creative Innovators Fellows

Leading your organisations

Negotiation and Proper Business Behaviour
Facilitator: Paul Orpiada, Founder, Karaw Craftventures, Naga City

A practical workshop to boost participants’ self-confidence to successfully handle a variety of discussions when negotiating. This workshop is for established entrepreneurs who are looking to develop their negotiation skills, but it is also for all who are interested.

Budget planning and setting up financial projections for non-accountants
Facilitator: Maria Unicka Sta. Ana, Co-Founder, Zapateria, Marikina City 

Learn and have a hands-on exercise of a startup approach in how to come up with quick numbers for your budget plan and financial assumptions. This workshop is for start-ups, social entrepreneurs, creative entrepreneurs or anyone looking to start a business but doesn't have a background in finance or accounting.

Wellness in the Workplace
Facilitator: Regil Kent Cadavos, Community Engagement Lead, ASPACE, Cebu City

Learn how to create a holistic approach to wellness at the workplace that works for you, your team and your community. This workshop is for hub and community leaders who want to explore strategies of creating a healthy environment for their team and community.

Ways of seeing and thinking

I Got a Hammer: Design Thinking and Social Innovation
Facilitator: Karla Maria Ana Batiquin, Manager, Holistic Coalition of the Willing (HoliCOW), Cebu City 

The workshop is inspired by the work-philosophy of kalibutan (Cebuano, 'that which surrounds you') and how it stitches together material innovation with a symbiotic community support that immediately benefits the designer’s environment. This workshop is for makers, designers and artisans wanting to start their own makerspaces, fablabs and design collectives.

Empathy Jam: A playground session on human-centred design
Facilitator: Gino Cariño, Co-Founder, Makerspace Manila, Sta. Rosa

This is a playground sprint on human-centered design that unearths revealing needs that could be used as design insights for your project. This is open to all who want to design, build, develop an event, a product, a service or even a business through a human-centred approach. 

You are your own critic
Facilitator: Ian Tamara, Instructor, Toon City Academy, Mandaluyong City

We will talk about taking a step back to look at your work with fresh eyes and looking at others' work to improve our own. After the workshop, we hope to detach ourselves from our work enough to objectively improve our own performance as professional artists. This workshop is for visual arts specialists like illustrators, painters, animators, designers, directors and editors.

The business of play and display

Pop-Up 101: The who, what, where, when, why and how of pop-ups in the PH
Facilitator: Roma Agsalud-Agsunod, Co-Founder, Common Room, Metro Manila 

Pop-ups have been the fastest and often most affordable way for start-ups to test out and refine their ideas! But if done wrong, it can also be the fastest way to kill a great idea before it even gets a second chance. Pop-ups 101 aims to answer the who, what, where, when, why and how of bazaars in the Philippines in hopes of better equipping entrepreneurs to handle the ups and downs that come with these opportunities.

Bamboo and You: Why bamboo is the material of the future
Facilitator: Patricia Kyle Mendoza, Project Officer, Materials Innovation Centre (MATIC), Cebu City 

Imagine a waste-free, green and sustainable future with fresh, breathable air and cool environs. With Bamboo and You, build ways towards this future using one of the most sustainable and resilient materials from your own backyard. Best for participants who are involved in design, product development, sustainable material option-oriented and anyone who is curious about bamboo.

GameChanging 101 
Facilitator: Emi Englis, Project Leader, Artisanal Heritage Studies and Creative Enterprise Center (Philippine Women’s College), Davao City 

We will be using 'Pinoy games' as tools for learning design on entrepreneurship. The workshop is for all kinds of creative entrepreneurs who are looking for a unique way to build or refine their business models. It will be helpful for both new and existing businesses.

Fringe University
Facilitator: Jodinand Aguillon, Executive Director, Pineapple Lab, Makati City

This is a crash course in mounting a multi-arts festival. This is open to all – little or no experience in festival management is required. Birthday planners are welcome!

Telling your story

Weaving Dreams: Deepening the WHY for your art and cause
Facilitator: Cherame Lopez, Formerly Creative Operations Officer, ANTHILL Fabric Gallery, Cebu City

We will explore how to effectively engage communities that follow you to create social and positive change through your organisation. The workshop is meant for all kinds of startup creative and social entrepreneurs.

Why Every X Matters: Creative Data Literacy for your Organisation
Facilitator: Kenneth Biunas, Project Officer, Design Center of the Philippines, Manila

We will explore and play with different creative strategies on how to cultivate data literacy in your organization. This is for all kinds of creators who want to appreciate the importance of data and learn creative ways of using data in their work.

Pitch Perfect: Pitching your story idea
Facilitator: Don Senoc, President, Film Producers Society, Mandaluyong City

We will share lessons on creating and giving the perfect elevator pitch for your story ideas. This workshop is for filmmakers, storytellers, artists, creative entrepreneurs and anyone who at some point will pitch ideas to potential investors.

Anatomy of a display: How to tell your story through your display 
Facilitator: Maria Diana Ofrasio, Workshop Manager, Craft MNL, Makati City 

We will learn how your product display can inform and empower customers before they even engage with you. The smallest details make the largest impact, so by presenting your products strategically, you can change the conversation from ‘I want this’ to ‘I need this’. Help customers think positively about your brand by telling an authentic story told through an effective display that will result in future visits and eventually translate to sales. For creatives, artists and makers who may or may not already have a brand and are interested in applying the basics of visual merchandising to improving their booth or store display.

Professional Trainers’ Profiles

Jaime Noel Santos, President, Thames International Business School

Joel’s experience spans 25 years predominantly in marketing, business development, impact investing and entrepreneurial management in Southeast Asia. He held various corporate positions in several companies such as Procter & Gamble and Philippine Airlines before culminating his career as CEO of Franklin Baker.

Joel is currently President of Thames International Business School and its college, Entrepreneur School of Asia. oHe also serves in the Board of Trustees of the Apl.de.Ap Foundation of the pop group Black Eyed Peas and the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) based out of New York City (NYC). Joel holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Legal Management from the Ateneo de Manila University (Phils) and a Master's in Responsible Business Practice from the University of Bath (UK).

Hiraya 'Ia' del Rosario-Gust, Professional Implementer, EOS/Managing Director, GetCre8ive and StraightArrow Corp.

Ia is a champion of Filipino creativity. She built a successful corporate career before eventually going down the entrepreneurial path. Her passion is in building businesses that support the creative industries and showcase the creative talent of Filipinos. She is the visionary at StraightArrow, a pioneer in Creative Process Outsourcing, and at GetCre8ive, the Philippine representative of Getty Images and Platinum-tiered Partner of Adobe.

Having gone through the challenges of starting businesses from scratch, Ia is also very passionate about helping other entrepreneurs succeed and is a Professional Implementer of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS). She is a recipient of the 38th Agora Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Entrepreneurship – Medium Scale Category.

Lenise Logan, Senior Art Advisor, Kalpa Art Advisors

Lenise Logan is an international arts expert and philanthropist who has managed over three billion dollars of some of the most valuable works of art in the world. With stints at auction houses Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips, and experience handling high net-worth clients in the United States, China and India, Lenise has developed a wide variety of skills while leading exhibitions and transforming organizations. She has also consulted Harry Winston in their operations and logistics areas.

She coaches the CEOs of Art/Tech based companies such as TWYLA and portion.io as well as their staff. She continues her commitment to the arts by coaching individual artists and creatives to new opportunities and unprecedented goals.

Tom Secuya, CEO Carve Digital/ICE Scholar, Thames International Business School 

Tom is currently the Chief Imagination Officer of CARVE, a digital agency that brings brands' and businesses' strategies to life. The agency’s work is centered on three major areas — web, digital marketing and design. It has built membership sites for people, as well as funnels and campaigns. In short, all the digital requirements to fix a problem or achieve a certain goal. Tom has been doing this for four years and has worked with different industries and niches.
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