How to Turn a Passion into a Personal Brand

What happens when you pursue your passion? These new entrepreneurs were curious enough to find out.

Nicole Soltes
Senior Designer & UI/UX Specialist
IG: @heysolty @shop.heysolty

Solty’s love for impressionism art started 3 years ago, when she got tired of realism and painting portraits. She felt the need to express herself beyond what the eyes can see, and beyond what photos can capture. When she posted her art on Instagram, people started to ask for commissions. Now her paintings are all around the Philippines, and with clients as far as Australia, US, Vietnam and HK. The key to her success? Consistency. Making sure that when someone lands on your page – they already know what your brand represents. Her advice: Find what you like to do, keep sharpening that skill, set yourself apart, and be consistent. 

For painting commissions, resin plates, coasters, trays and art prints, check out her personal IG @heysolty and shop @shop.heysolty.


 
 
Marga Yolo
Account Manager
IG: @happykaleph

Greens never looked this good! Marga has always been passionate about eating healthy. From recommending recipes to her friends to actually starting a small salad brand – Happy Kale. Her brand gives people an accessible go-to for hefty, delicious yet affordable salads. She said working in Ogilvy has given her better foresight in branding, organizing, and even on the business backend.

Craving some greens? Message her @happykaleph


 
Yza Wuthrich
Senior Art Director
IG: @qwarto.co

Painting as a hobby is not something new for Yza, but this new passion for crafting started when she took a break from watercolor painting ‘cause she simply ran out of canvas! She discovered she can cast cement from used plastic containers, paint on them and turn them into coasters. The hobby became a business when a friend of hers said she’d be willing to pay for a set, and so her brand “qwarto” was created. Some advice from Yza? Challenge yourself in your craft by constantly learning new things to add to your evolving skill-set.

Are your mugs feeling lonely? Order a coaster (or pot for your plant babies) for your own @qwarto.co!


 
 
Saj Ocampo
Senior Strategist
IG: @heartbaker_ph

Since she was a little girl, Saj has always dreamed of having her own bakery. Though she didn’t know how to bake, in 2018 she took a baking bootcamp. In just 1 year, she put up her brand “Heart Baker”. Saj keeps her brand very personal and less like a business, baking with heart for orders from family and friends. Early this year she even started supplying goods to a neighborhood coffee shop in Makati. With her work in Ogilvy and baking, she believes not to stop at improving what can be made better, not settling for the routine, and always aiming for the remarkable!

Find her thumb stopping creations on IG: @heartbaker_ph


 
 
Shayne Mercado, Program Director
& Con Santillan, Content Manager
IG, FB and Shopee: @pitopito.ph 

Being born and raised in Marikina with a lot of summers spent in Bulacan, Shayne and her family grew up around tisanes. Tsaang pandan, tsaang tanglad, and tsaang bigas were regular things they had as a family. As they traveled to different places in Asia, they were amazed at the local tea culture and they wondered, Why are Philippine teas and tisanes only associated with the albularyo and manghihilot? Why can’t we have Pinoy tsaa for casual dining? With help from her brother with a degree in food technology, they came up with a way to turn pandan, tanglad, and bigas into tisanes products then named the brand pitó-pitó. With the help from Content Manager Con Santillan, they built the brand’s online presence during the quarantine.

You can check out their IG @pitopito.ph, on Facebook, and Shopee.


 
 
Kc Santos
Social Operations Manager
IG: @_thisismellow
FB: thisismellow
www.thisismellow.store

Loud graphic tees, B-movies, weird pop-culture references, and streetwear are some of the few things you’d think of when you meet Kc Santos. He started his brand “Mellow” with his friend and business partner Grace, who he shares similar interests and tastes with. They noticed how local brands were already exploring “street” in their styles, so they wanted to try and do something different, designing their own fashion pieces. Along with having their weird personalities shine, they hope that people would still be able to relate to their brand. It’s been an interesting ride ever since for them!

Find them on IG @_thisismellow, or on Facebook, or from their website (Click Here)


 
 
Den Oarde
Sr. HR Specialist
IG @bake.d

Den has always been passionate about helping her family. Baking is her sister’s hobby and working in the advertising industry really got her learning new tricks! What started out as a family activity soon became a business. The great feedback from her buyers really encouraged them to continue. Though it’s not exactly what Den does at Ogilvy, her persistency to learn more about growing a brand created some tasty results!

Check out @bake.d to see more of their treats!


 
 
Sofia Carpizo
Copywriter
FB: Sofia Carpizo Music
Spotify: Sofia Carpizo

Music has always been an element for Sofia. Her dad was a catapult of it all – being a guitarist and singer in church ignited her passion for music. She first started singing her heart out in different places like schools and eventually started a band. After 6 years, she went on as a solo artist singing for different events, playing her guitar with her power vocals. Being a copywriter has taught her a lot of things when it comes to starting her brand, like how a single-minded proposition can also be applied to how you write a song, how to properly market your brand, what channels to use, and lastly how to deal with the toughest criticisms! (mostly constructive!).

Listen to Sofia’s single “It’s Complicated”! Find her on Spotify: Sofia Carpizo or FB:Click Here.


 
 
Jaz Villanueva
Art Director
IG @chimkiph

When she’s not doing visual arts, Jaz enjoys experimenting in the kitchen with her teenage sister. Jaz uses this time to teach her sister “diskarte” and creative ways when it comes to branding. From working at Ogilvy for 2 years, she learned the importance of applying relevance and impact to your brand. Inspired by the rise of K-dramas and K-Pop, they started their own brand Chimki, serving delicious gourmet kimchi rice.

Getting ready for your next K-drama binge? Make sure you have a bowl of @chimkiph ready.


 
 
Willa Uyliong
Senior Content Manager
IG @mufpets

MÜFPETS was born out of Willa’s deep love for pets and well-made products.
Necessity is indeed the mother of invention! Having a shih tzu (who has her own IG:@missmuffinski), she found it quite difficult to find local pet accessories that she would personally get for her pet. So she started the line featuring subtle, stately, and stylish items for pets. When it comes to her brand’s social materials, she said that having styled some social shoots for Ogilvy has helped hone her eye for detail. For her, every little thing counts!

You can check more of these cute finds @mufpets on Instagram, website soon to launch!