tuloy po kayo.

I told myself I was going to launch this brand today.

And then I cringed.

“Launch.”
“Brand.”

My anti-capitalist self — the one that has built a nonprofit design lab, that has spent years working toward equity and social impact — had an allergic reaction to my own thoughts.

Because what does it mean to sell objects when your life’s work has been about systems change? What does it mean to make art when you’ve committed yourself to accessibility? Where does this fit?

For weeks, while creating the first collections for Mana, I wrestled with that tension.

And here is what I’ve finally allowed myself to say: