Our Team and Artisans

Risqué works with artisans within the Philippines. Some of them are the weavers of Buhi, CamSur, Valladolid, Negros Occidental, and Isabela, Quezon. The carved heels are masterfully done by wood-carvers from Paete, Laguna. 

In the Risqué production studio located in Marikina City, we have our team of shoe artisans. Most of them have been with us for at least 4 years. Some of them have been with us since we started the studio in 2015. 

Ate Neth (Josephine) is our Production Supervisor and Senior Uppermaker. She's like the mom of the team and the one they always go to for their concerns. Ate Neth has been with us from the very first day that we started our production studio in 2015. She creates our samples, interprets the patterns, sews anything needed, and coordinates and oversees the production to make sure that we hit our deadlines, while working closely with our Admin. She always greets you with a smile and makes sure that everyone gets along. She's also the one who lives very close to our studio that she just walks to work. 
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Ate Sylvia is one our Uppermakers and definitely one of the sweetest persons you'll ever meet. She started with us a few months after Risqué's studio opened and has been with us since then, bringing sunshine to everyone's work day. She has mastered the leatherwork of some of our most meticulous clients, but not shy to ask help or offer it if needed. Her work also involves interpreting patterns, making the upper and sewing. She lives pretty far, in Cogeo with her husband, but endeavors to come to work by commuting. 
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Ate Linda is another one of our Uppermakers and has also been with us for a long time now. She's a very bubbly person who does not really mind being joked around by the team. Ate Linda is the mom of one of our male shoe artisans, Dino. She sometimes rides with him on his motorcycle to get to work. She still likes to work very hard, despite the fact that sometimes she has a hard time walking due to some health concerns. Nonetheless, she's always there to share a joke, some food or just a piece of daily conversation. 
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Isay is our very hardworking and industrious (although shy for photos) Senior Admin Assistant. She patiently coordinates between our clients and our team, so that all details are followed. She balances work and joking around with the team pretty well, that she is able to maintain a good working relationship with everyone, while making sure that the work is done well. Isay is also a very creative person, with talent for photography and the arts. She draws very well and can also sculpt miniatures through clay, which she sells through her small business called Hulma at Obra. She loves animals, especially cats.
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Kuya Romy is our Senior Shoemaker and also our Sample Maker. His expertise involve making men's formal shoes, heels and some of our experimental designs. He always tries to make sure that his outputs are good and aesthetically pleasing, employing good artistic skills along the way. Kuya Romy is also very entrepreneurial, as in his spare time he makes basic strap sandals at his home, and has created a small selling space there. He lives a bit far, in San Mateo, but he goes to work in his motorcycle. He is also good in teaching some of our workshop students the process of proper lasting of the shoes.
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Kuya Jess is one of our Shoemakers. His expertise involves classic leather shoes, particularly for one of the premium brands that we manufacture for. He is one of those who always jokes around and enjoys a good time. He has been with us close to the time that we put the studio, and is a Marikina resident who bikes around for work and his daily life. He is also now used to assisting our workshop students when they come to learn how to make shoes. Just a trivia, one of our male artisans is now his son-in-law.
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Kuya Ricky is one of our Shoemakers who also makes for some of our meticulous client brands. He makes sure that his work is neat, but does not mind when it has to be corrected or modified. Kuya Ricky is very good in the specialized skill of stitching soles called "ditsoy." He also has a skill that is not always utilized, which is to create orthotic shoes. He also has a nice bike that he uses to go to work with. Although he treats everyone in the team as family, he is actually a very family-oriented person, making sure that his own family is doing well and his children well-educated. 
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Tatay Morries, as he is fondly called by the other members of the team, is also one of our Shoemakers. Although he is already in his senior years, he still wants to work and is actually one of our newer team members, but at least 4 years with us now. He is also knowledgeable with the different suppliers around Marikina, so he is the one going around to purchase the daily materials needed for production on his bike that he also uses to go to work. He is always jolly and jokes around with the other shoemakers while they chat and work. 
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Dino is one of our youngest artisans and is our Finishing Staff. In his work, he makes sure that each pair is clean and devoid of any marks and glue. He is also the one who makes the socklining and in charge of stamping the brand of the various shoes that we make. He is actually also very good at demonstrating, especially when we have workshop participants that he would assist in the shoe process. He is a naturally lighthearted and kind person, especially to his mom, Ate Linda. In continuation with earlier's trivia, during the pandemic, he ended up with Kuya Jess' daughter and is now married with a new baby.
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Kuya Ariel is one of our newer Shoemakers in the team, but technically he has been working with us for a long time now as a part-time Patternmaker. He used to work full-time with another company until it shutdown during the pandemic and recently started working with us. He works a bit more quietly, but always very keen on details. He lends his expertise in patternmaking whenever needed and has been supporting the  Risqué team for a while now and therefore has developed a good rapport with everyone.
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Head Designer and CEO, Tal de Guzman
Tal started Risqué in 2012, as a retail brand that focuses on using Philippine materials and artisanal skills. In 2015, she opened the manufacturing studio to be able to cater to the needs of others who want to have their own shoe brands. In 2016, Tal started offering shoe making and shoe business workshops to be able to encourage more designers and shoepreneurs to try their hand at creating their own footwear brands (and just to share more about the shoe industry!). Tal continues to provide trainings to other artisanal and crafting communities. She also teaches in the DLSU-College of Saint Benilde and other studios.