In the 1970s, Dioscora Amante enrolled in a ceramics course conducted by a Japanese potter. She enjoyed the course so much, she decided to make a hobby out of it. But when her friends started becoming interested in her creations and started buying them, she saw a business opportunity before her.

“When my mother’s orders started to grow, she decided to open Arte Ceramica Corporation and started her manufacturing business,” says Joel Amante, Dioscora’s son. “Her business grew so big that she was already exporting to other countries.”

By that time, Arte Ceramica was already supplying the leading department stores and exporting its products. When his mother’s company could no longer handle all their orders, Joel and his wife Maria Aurora established Custom Clay, Inc. in 1994. “The name Custom Clay was adopted because the products were derived from clay and were customized to the needs of foreign buyers,” Joel says.

The Amante couple set up Custom Clay’s office and production facilities on a 1,000 square meter lot in San Pedro, Laguna. It was doing well in the export market, but Joel noticed there was also a growing demand for their products locally. So in 1997, Custom Clay ventured into local retailing by opening a factory outlet, The Custom Clay Shop.

The Custom Clay Shop is a ceramics specialty shop. Its merchandise includes earthenware ceramics and other kinds of ceramics such as porcelain and terra cotta. It has four in-house brands – Custom Clay (specialty dinnerware), The Candle Factory (candles and candle containers), Pottery Garden (potted artificial and live plants and other gardening accessories), and Herbal Cleanse (soaps and other personal care products). It also carries other decorative accessories made of wood, glass and metal.

“My two sisters, Joy Machado and Lynn Fajardo, both interior designers, handle the designs of both the products and the stores,” Joel says.

Its ceramic products are currently being exported to the United States but they have served other countries like Europe, Japan, other ASEAN countries, Australia and New Zealand.

To date, they have six company-owned stores. In addition to their factory outlet, their five other stores are in SM Megamall, SM North EDSA, SM City Manila, SM Supercenter Sucat and Glorietta 4 in Makati. Their first franchised outlet opened last year in SM City Bicutan. All in all, Custom Clay maintains around 70 employees.

RK Franchise Consultancy was tapped to develop its franchise program. The total investment for a 40-square meter store is estimated at P1.25 million. There is no royalty fee but merchandise must be purchased from Custom Clay.

To always be ahead of the competition, Custom Clay comes up with a new design every week. Joel says Custom Clay also offers products that are of the highest quality and of value to our customers. “We price our products very reasonably so that the local market can afford them,” he adds.

The ceramics industry in the Philippines suffered a downfall sometime in the mid-1990s because of the entry of ceramics products from China. Joel says it was a difficult time for Custom Clay. He notes, though, that foreign buyers are returning to the Philippines because of the larger variety of designs and stocks the country has to offer.

“China usually ships only one design per container which is why their products come out cheaper,” he explains. “The foreign buyers want to have a say in the designs they want produced, and that is where our advantage lies.”

Joel believes that there is great opportunity in the export market. In fact, Custom Clay plans to be more aggressive in tapping the export market. Today, 60% of Custom Clay products are being exported to other countries. Custom Clay’s target is 80%.
“There’s such a huge export market out there,” he said. “You just have to find the right one for your product."