NORTHLOOM: Carry Your Culture
When my sister posted her first batch of pictures from Barcelona and Granada last month, what drew my immediate attention was neither the gorgeous Gothic architecture nor the equally gorgeous legs of jamon hanging from a metal rod in the market. Instead it was her backpack that caught my eye: black body, non-messy straps, and three big outer pockets made of a striking indigenous pattern. It was just the type of backpack I was looking to use for my upcoming trips, and I’m afraid my very first message to my sister was not “How was your flight?” but “OY! Can I have your backpack?!”
Happily, I learned that not only was the bag — a NORTHLOOM Miguee backpack — available in the Philippines, it was created in the Philippines by a brand whose mission and methods my sister, and now I, are thrilled to support.
NORTHLOOM bags feature the Ilocano abel, a handwoven fabric made in the Philippines’ far north by a steadily dwindling group of skillful weavers. It’s tedious work: just prepping the yarn to be woven takes over a week, as each strand needs to be strapped to the loom’s back beam and passed through the reed one by one. A single 50-yard roll takes an entire month to weave; an intricately designed blanket can take up to 4 months. The enormous time investment — both in learning the craft and in practicing it — is partly the reason why this tradition of weaving is slowly dying among younger Ilocanos. A pity, really, as the abel was such an integral thread in the fabric of Ilocano life, used in a variety of ways from infant wraps, blankets, wedding gifts, and even as heirlooms.
It is this tradition that NORTHLOOM aims to honor and preserve by incorporating the abel into its bags. Their slogan is “carry your culture” — a call for Filipinos to support the art of their ancestors. In sharing this beautiful piece of Ilocano artistry with the rest of the Philippines and the world, they hope that they can awaken enough interest and demand for the abel to entice a new generation of weavers and sustain those that have made this fabric their life’s work.
For now, NORTHLOOM is more of a cottage industry than a big brand, employing one regular abel weaver and one bag maker — with more called into service when demand is high — and one guy doing marketing, finance, messengering, etc. I’m hoping to write more about them and about NORTHLOOM in the coming weeks but for now here’s how you can support the few remaining Ilocano abel weavers: buy these NORTHLOOM bags. They’re great for traveling — both functionally, in form, and even as a conversation piece — and considering the amount of work and skill that goes into each bag, they are very reasonably priced.

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The prices below are as of March 20, 2015. The prices in Philippine pesos (PHP) are from NORTHLOOM, while the dollar equivalents I computed myself using a $1 = PHP45 rate. Ordering instructions are in the last photo below. Thanks for supporting Filipino culture!
















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“NORTHLOOM: Carry Your Culture” was created by LSS for travel site Small-Town Girls, Midnight Trains. All rights reserved.
great styles and colourways !!
Right?? I liked so many of them, I wasn’t sure what to get at first. Thanks for dropping by! 🙂
Very nice! Do they ship internationally?
Yes, I think they do! In their brochure it says they send the bags through Xend, with overseas shipping taking around 15-20 days.
Ay! I didnt see that. haha maybe because ang liit ng font, I was browsing sa phone. I will check again 😀 thanks much!
Wow!!! Thanks for sharing! Why isn’t this brand famous yet? They have such pretty styles & all for a good cause.
Right? I think, because they’re still such a small outfit, that they haven’t really made a big marketing push yet. They deserve to be better known.
It’s always great to support our Philippine made products!! Once you go on your trip, make sure you take a picture and show us your backpack
Yes I will! 🙂
Totally agree! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I read this yesterday but I didn’t get a chance to comment. Love the designs! I particularly like the first two backpacks too, the colors and the shape. Sounds like a company you can feel good putting your money into and supporting! Well done!
That’s how I feel about it too! I know there are probably cheaper backpacks elsewhere but I love how Northloom supports traditional weavers and underprivileged women. I’d rather my money went to them than to a large mass-production outfit.
It’s too easy to choose the large mass-production one isn’t it? But if you get the other one you can really feel good plus you get a special, durable and gorgeous bag to show for it! You should feel good for promoting them!
Nice post! I’m torn between Backee and Flapee. Haha!
I know what you mean! I love that the Flapee design is unique but I’m not sure how it’ll look if filled to capacity.