How Leather Goods Brand ‘Our Tribe’ Increased
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General Manager Lala Tayag-Fajardo flanked by parents Yeb and Mario Tayag (Photo by Bella Bonner)
Mario pursued Yeb while he went on to study law. In 1970, he graduated and passed the bar exams. He worked for his uncle in the Constitutional Convention. She taught mathematics in UP. The two were young, happy, and employed. Life was promising. They married the following year, 1971.
But in 1972 President Marcos declared martial law, and UP, the hotbed of activism, was shut down. Jobs were lost. Mario and Yeb’s jobs were lost, if temporarily. The newlyweds looked each other in the eye and said, “Now what?”
Business. It was a good time to start a business.
Mario had long admired the craftsmanship of Marikina shoemakers. But although the products that they came up with were well-made, the styles, designs, and the materials they used left much to be desired. Most of the shoes were not very comfortable.
Mario thought that if he and his wife were to develop their own products and cater to their peers, they would need to manufacture quality yet comfortable footwear, bags, and accessories that were stylish and bore a name that they would want to buy and wear.
“Our Tribe” – the name -- was a spark of genius. It was much better, the owners surmised, than the comedic alternative, “Leather, You like it or not,” that a friend had suggested. Haha.
The company was born on October 9, 1972. For capital, the newlyweds used P2,000 saved from their wedding gifts. Mario called on his sister Carmen Tayag and UP Fine Arts professor Ofelia Gelvezon, a good friend, to help with design, particularly of products for women. Experienced Marikina leather workers were hired to execute their designs, and soon the Tayags had good-looking sandals, belts, bags, and accessories enough to sell.
A coin purse with the Our Tribe stamp of quality (Photo by Ludy Samson)
Their first sales were made in Mario’s hometown--Angeles, Pampanga. In Nepo Mart. Curious foreigners and locals admired the brand with the bison logo. They bought belts and shoes for under P100 (remember this was in the ‘70s) and the sellers closed each day with more money than they had put in.
Word traveled fast. At last, there were locally made products that equaled or surpassed the market’s desire for foreign brands. Our Tribe became the rising star of leather goods in the country.
Encouraged by the market, the Tayags thought it time to test the ground closer to home in Quezon City. They rented a storefront near Tomas Morato Street, dressed it up, and sold good products at reasonable prices. They struck gold.
Among students and young professionals, it was cool to be associated with the new brand. Drummer of the much-adored Chosen Few band Dodi Tan reminisced, “The first Our Tribe store was in either Scout De Guia or Scout Gandia. Our friend Bobby Martinez’s parents owned the property that Mario Tayag was leasing and we used to hang out there.”
Later, the leather goods store moved to a bigger and more visible location on Tomas Morato. Interior designer Martina Berba Aguinaldo recalled, “Way back then, our design studio was at Scout Fuentebella and when payday came, we would walk to the Our Tribe store at Tomas Morato to make our ‘deposit.’ I owned several sandals, a canvas and leather overnight bag, and their mini shoulder bags.”
Business grew. Other outlets were opened, and the Tayags needed help. They got family members from both sides working. Yeb’s brother architect Henry Manalang was tapped to design their stores. Before he became the renowned artist and chef he is now, Mario’s brother Claude Tayag was making runs to Divisoria to buy leather and fabrics.
Our Tribe gave the Tayags and Manalangs not only money to weather the stormy financial environment of the ‘70s, it also gave their tribe a lot to be proud about.
Ester Allas Fider who was a UP student in the ‘70s has kept pictures of herself wearing stylish Our Tribe sandals. Popular UP student Epoy Pangilinan was so enthralled by their fashion that he fondly named his pair “Adidas Jerusalem.”
Ester Allas Fider in the 70s wearing her Our Tribe sandals (Photo from Ester Allas Fider)
Artist Ofelia Gelvezon-Tequi shares fellow artist BenCab’s painting of herself donning a largely popular Our Tribe bag. “I used that bag when a group of us led by painter Jose Joya clandestinely (bawal pa kasi noon, it wasn’t allowed then) visited Mainland China in 1972. BenCab must have used one of my photos for this 1978 painting. I was already married and living in France then,” she thought back.
A BenCab 1972 painting of Ofelia Gelvezon-Tequi with her Our Tribe bag (Photo from Ofelia Gelvezon-Tequi)
Clients from faraway Cavite and other provinces south of Metro Manila flocked to the Our Tribe store in Harrison Plaza but unfortunately, fire razed the mall in 1981, burning all their merchandise. It was a heavy loss they hoped not to be repeated.
In 1985, Our Tribe became one of the original tenants of SM City North EDSA, the second largest mall in the country. They were proud to have Tessie Sy-Coson, vice chairman of SM Investments, writer Randy David, and many others among their high-profile clients.
The prevailing sentiment among Our Tribe clients is that their products last a long time. Jeggy Crisostomo has a planner that she bought in the ‘90s, now used as a Bible holder. “It has faded corners and blemishes on its edges,” she sighed, “but baby oil smoothens it out and restores the shine.”
Alma Manahan has had her big black travel bag for over 15 years. She praised its timeless style and added, “I won’t give it up.” Mario’s fraternity brother Danny Gozo chimed in, “I still have their early tote bags in canvas with leather accents.”
Alma Manahan's prized leather bag from the early 2000s )Photo from Alma Manahan)
There were praises too from former beauty queen and actress Jean Altavas. “One of my favorite brown leather open sandals was from Our Tribe. Lumaki na yung paa ko, buhay pa sya. Sobrang tibay (My feet have gotten bigger, the sandals are still around. So durable).”
Our Tribe sandals weathered by years of use (Photo by Ludy Samson)
Perhaps much of the company’s current success can be attributed to Mario and Yeb’s middle child Ma. Angela or Lala who took over the helm in 2006. She was initially reluctant to accept the challenge of running the company, but she was gifted by her parents with a year of study in Rome, and who could turn that down? Lala took the opportunity to enroll in a year-long accessories design course.
Mario and Yeb had started their company even before they started their family. From left: Lala, Miguel, Yeb, Mario and Yong. (Photo from Yeb Tayag)
As general manager, Lala introduced more product colors using more diverse kinds of leather. At the same time, she has kept the classic styles in brown and black, knowing that customers would be using their bags for years. And as if to add a kiss, she stamped the Our Tribe logo on every bag they made.
In 2020 and 2021, the Covid lockdowns forced the company to close its doors. Those were very tough and trying years. With neither sales nor production, Our Tribe employees needed financial help.
“My personal goal during the pandemic was to keep all our employees and to re-open our stores the moment we were allowed to do so. But we really suffered heavy losses even when we were finally allowed to re-open despite the discounted rent billings from the malls,” Lala shared. “I am very proud to say we didn’t let go of employees and we kept all branches open. Thankfully we were able to recover in 2022 which was our 50th year and best year for sales.”
Today, there are 50 employees behind ten Our Tribe branches in Metro Manila. There are also online sales through their website (https://ourtribeleather.com/) and Lazada. The company creators – Mario and Yeb Tayag – still hold the titles President and Treasurer/Corporate Secretary, respectively, but actual work is done by Lala, who is General Manager, and Mario Jr. or Yong, Assistant General Manager.
The bigger Tribe sans son-in-law Mike: Yeb, Miguel, Liam, Tom, Yong, Pablo, Lala, Belle, Nikki, Maring, Mario, Olivia, Bianca, Pia and Noah. (Photo from Yeb Tayag)
I believe this story is an example of how two people turned lemons to lemonade. They did not let the country’s downcast years take the colors off their rainbow. Instead, they took a risk and kept walking to their pot of gold. That’s how the Tayag tribe did it.
Bella Bonner is a journalism graduate of the UP Institute of Mass Communications. Among others, she worked as a grant writer and hotelier in Texas where she lived for 30 years. She has retired, returned to Manila and spends her days in sports, traveling and writing a personal blog, "Chicharon Diaries."
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