Reaping the fruits of good seeds Sown

Even as rags-to-riches stories go, Renato P. Vidal’s journey from hawking baskets store to store to international acclaim as one of the country’s most successful exporters of decor items and home accessories is an inspiring tale of faith, courage and integrity.

A native of Sariaya, Quezon, the Vidal family moved to Tulay na Lupa in Labo, Camarines Norte in the 1950s in search of new opportunities. "We were a poor family," he says. "I have seven siblings and my parents really had a hard time making ends meet. Life was quite difficult."

His studies in Manila were cut short by their lack of resources. "I took up pre-med in Letran, but since we didn’t have enough money to support my education, I decided not to continue my studies," he says.

Left with time on his hands, Vidal enrolled in a Chinese brush-painting course. "Since I didn’t have money, I asked the professor if I could attend his class for free and offered to clean his house in exchange," he continues.

He immersed himself in the art for four years, learning every stroke, sweep, line and curve. His dedication and commitment paid off when he won the grand prize in a Chinese art competition. "Unfortunately, I do not have that painting anymore," he rues. "The roof of the house I lived in leaked when it rained, and the downpour totally ruined it."

Despite that triumph, the medium had its limitations for the restless artist. "I felt I just imitated the other painters, that none of my paintings were really mine," he says.

Soon, Vidal discovered another medium to express his creative side: He trained under famous Filipino sculptor Anastacio Caedo and loved the idea of molding wonderful masterpieces. Although Vidal immensely enjoyed his newfound art, he wasn’t sure he could make a career out of it. "I may have fed my creative soul," he says, "pero gutom naman ako."

During his creative wanderings, Vidal worked in a series of odd jobs to support himself. "Naging kargador ako. Naglako na rin ako ng kung ano-ano. Sanay ako sa hirap," he says without embarrassment or bitterness.

One of his jobs was as a bundler for a firm that handled the local distribution of imported books and magazines. Here, he read about the famous American painter Andrew Wyeth, and became fascinated with his work. He wrote the artist without really expecting a response, but soon they were corresponding regularly. A strong friendship developed not just with the American icon but also with his son Jamie, who is also a noted painter. (Years later, imagine the shock of the consul at the U.S. Embassy in Manila when he found letters from the Wyeths among the papers Vidal submitted in his application for a visa. Ed.)

After years in Manila, Vidal realized that even though he was doing things he really loved, his life had no sense of direction. He said goodbye to the city which started to suffocate him, and headed for home.

In the vast Bicol countryside, he ruminated and tried to make sense of his life. He knew there was a road he had to take, and he was certain it wasn’t the one that went downhill.

He spent months farming and tending to the family’s small coconut plantation, until his mother suggested that he go back to Manila and sell baskets. Although hesitant, he was also quite excited with the idea because then he would again have the chance to see the latest Lino Brocka film and visit art galleries.

He headed back to Manila with sacks of baskets. "I tried to sell them in every store, shop, boutique and hotel. I had to walk for hours because jeepney drivers and passengers complained that the baskets took up so much space and snagged women’s stockings," he recalls with amusement.

It was many months and many kilometers that he walked before he made his first sale: a popular high-end boutique purchased P3,000 worth of his baskets. "I was so happy, para akong nanalo ng sweepstakes," he shares, his eyes still bright with excitement.

With that princely sum and the flush of that initial success, Vidal went home to Camarines and seriously considered going into the basket business. But how could he be successful at something he had completely no experience in? He knew he had to make the baskets unique, and the quality should be exceptional–two characteristics that mark his products to this day.

He surveyed the extensive Bicol landscape and hunted for possible materials. His search brought him, surprisingly enough, right to his own backyard. Vidal found wild flowers, the greenest of moss, and wild ferns that grew in abundance, which he wove with rattan, nito and tilob. His knowledge and background in art, coupled with a keen eye and innate sense of proportion, shape and texture–but not color, since he is colorblind–enabled him to develop new products. That’s when he realized that all the time he spent reading books and studying art were exercises God used to prepare him for this new venture.

After months of product design and development, Vidal was back in Manila to show his new merchandise. Not surprisingly, his first customer was the same store that first bought his baskets. Other stores followed, and soon orders were coming in regularly.

In 1989, he took another big step and joined the Manila F.A.M.E. Gifts and Houseware Market Week, a bi-annual dti-citem export fair. "I just wanted to try it out and see what could happen," he says.

With barely a week before the fair, Vidal still had no trade name. He considered simply calling his company by his name, but a cousin told him "Renato P. Vidal sounded like a tailoring shop". He settled on the name First Binhi Crafts–"because I was just a seed, wanting to grow"–and registered the company in time for the show’s opening.

He was certainly not prepared for what would happen: Foreign buyers took to his products of grass and moss, ingeniously designed and finely crafted. And the buyers took too to his honesty and sincerity. US$24,000 worth of orders were booked at that first fair: The poor boy from Camarines Norte was now a certified exporter.

"Nataranta talaga ako," he relates with his inimitable enthusiasm and amusement. "Hindi ko alam kung ano yung LC, paano mag-export..."

Despite that, Vidal delivered all his orders on time, and maintained the quality that got him the orders in the first place. The foundations for a solid reputation for quality and reliability were laid.

Since 1989, First Binhi has joined every Manila F.A.M.E. show, and continues to be one of the top-selling companies at each fair. He readily acknowledges the vital role citem has played in the success he has achieved, and admits that it has been an exciting learning experience–in all aspects of the trade, from booth design to negotiations with buyers to dealing with copycats ("I don’t mind at all," he says. "It keeps me on my toes and challenges me to be more creative.") to international recognition.

He laughs as he relates how, despite admonitions to stick to the minimalist trend in booth display, Vidal felt he had to maximize booth space and practically filled every available inch with his baskets–small ones below, large ones on the top shelves. He recalls that one Belgian buyer told him, "Mr. Binhi (that was apparently what many buyers called him), your products are very nice but your display is terrible!" He characteristically took that bit of criticism constructively, and by the next fair, First Binhi won the award for best booth. Through the years many have inquired who his booth designer is. "Kami-kami lang," he says. "Ang tagal-tagal na namin dyan, ayaw pa nilang maniwala na kami lang ang gumagawa ng booth display namin."

But that is only the beginning of the growth of the seed that is First Binhi Crafts Corporation.

Two years later, in 1991, Vidal was one of only eight companies chosen to represent the country in the Birmingham trade fair in England. He now admits that the probinsyano in him saw this as an opportunity–perhaps his only opportunity–to travel and see for himself "yung mga lugar na nabasa ko sa mga geography class ko sa eskwela".

He prepared for his trip by applying for an American Express card–and was flatly rejected. He had never taken out a bank loan, had no credit history and was thus not considered a good credit risk. Undaunted, he purchased a Eurail pass, pocketed his travel money in crisp dollar bills and headed off to Europe.

His stint at the Birmingham fair was a success, with substantial orders booked and relationships with what would turn out to be loyal clients established. After the fair he spent the next three months traveling around Europe, attending many of the major trade fairs and taking in the sights, figuring that if he never traveled again, at least he had seen Europe.

Little did he know that that would be the first of many, many trips and many, many fairs. The following year, at the fair in Frankfurt, one of the largest in the world, First Binhi booked $1.5 million worth of orders.

Vidal is proud to share that several buyers have been his clients for over a decade. And this he credits to the good relationships he has carefully established with them through the years.

"I always make it a point to give them the kind of quality they’re looking for–what they see in my booth is the quality that they will get," he explains. "And I have never been late in making my deliveries. This, I believe, has enabled me to gain their trust."

Today, First Binhi exports to countries in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and key cities in the USA. Its products are constantly featured in international decor and design magazines like Elle Decor. The company has received several Manila F.A.M.E. Katha Awards for outstanding product design, the most recent of which was given last April for its Jellyfish Lamps.

Vidal’s exceptional creations have also won for him several international awards, including the unesco-ahpada Seal of Excellence given by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (unesco), the Office of the Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and Pacific, and the Association of Southeast Nations (asean).

Vidal is also a member of the prestigious Movement 8, made up of some of the Philippines’ most celebrated furniture designers and manufacturers. The group, individually and collectively, has gained international acclaim and a loyal clientele among the world’s most prestigious design and furniture houses. Furthermore, major furniture and design trade fairs in Europe and America seek the group’s participation.

All the acclaim and accolades seem to be peripheral to Renato Vidal’s world; one gets the feeling that he may think it all not quite real.

"Ako naman ay simpleng tao lang," he says, as he offers you a merienda of ice cream, broas and a sinful-looking chocolate cake in his house above his showroom in San Andres Bukid. The keen eye and refined taste of the owner is unmistakable in the understated elegance of the furnishings. The dining area is dominated by a multi-media artwork by fellow Movement 8 member Milo Naval. A rooftop garden is lush with palms and lotus and bromeliads, and a native gazebo he made. Vidal tends to the garden when he is in town: "I consider this my sanctuary amid the hustle and bustle of city life," he shares.

Vidal still spends most of his time in Camarines Norte, overseeing and supervising production, experimenting with new products and even harvesting materials. Aside from those in his factory, workers spread out over three barangays manufacture the products that end up in elegant homes, hotels and offices around the world. Vidal shares every accolade with his workers–most of whom have been with for years–celebrating with them at lunch or dinner after a successful show or whenever deadlines and deliveries are met (he stresses that he does not celebrate when he gets an order, only when the order is delivered). He also never fails to inculcate in them the importance of constantly producing top-quality items. "I tell them that we owe our accomplishments to the buyers who believe in the kind of work we do."

Likewise, Vidal cannot stress enough how valuable his workers–most of whom have been with him for years–are to him. "I tell them that they are the real artists and artisans, and I am merely a conduit," he says.

The secret of First Binhi’s success is not to be found in any business model or project study. It is in one man with an eye for a good product and an unassailable word of honor. "Isang salita–and the goods will be with you," he says, making it sound so simple. "What’s the use of a lot of hello-hello"–and he pantomimes a phone call–"pag hindi mo naman mabigay ang gusto ng client?"

To this day, he does not have a cellphone–and he says he doesn’t need one. He laughs when he recalls how he used to have to go to the Globe Mackay office to send telexes to buyers, and how he used the house of a kababayan from Camarines Norte as his mailing address. "Tatawag lang ako dyan kung may mga sulat ba ako," he shares. Today, his efficient assistant Charlita takes care of all of First Binhi’s administrative affairs, including–presumably–scheduling Vidal’s appointments. Whatever their system, it works.

"O di ba," he says with a naughty twinkle in his eyes, "sabi mo Monday ten o’clock–and here I am!"