Hannah Katrina Lim: Designed to Succeed

Katrina Amazona Lim wears many hats.

A marketing and branding director, she also mentors aspiring creatives in a fashion school, and oversees the daily operations of a quaint, veiled café in the heart of the city. Amid all these, she is unfazed and has chosen to stay grounded and mindful of how everything started for her.

“Years ago, our office was just in a friend’s library, one of their spare rooms.

I remember when we started, we did not have a laptop.

So I would go to a friend’s house and do all my designs, until such time I was able to buy a
laptop as well as that friend who is also my business partner, won a laptop through a 7/11 raffle.

It was a difficult time for us,” she says.

Like many others in her position, Hannah chose to strike on her own and not take part in her family’s business.

With a keen business acumen and knowledge of what she wants, early on she knew that what lies ahead can be bumpy and winding road.

This, in fact, is the inspiration behind her cafe’s name, Camden which is “winding valley” in Scottish.

As part-owner and creative director of CMDN3 & Co., Hannah is grateful for what she has started.

“My goal was to prove that I can do it, give the right amount of service and reach out to independent artist, give them some sort of exposure and pay them what’s due to them.”

Whether in food or advertising, Hannah is a clear business model.

“You have to set the standard, you create yourself as the brand,” she explains.

Her father once prodded her to take the easier, expected route which was to work for him. She replied, “I am happy with what I do.”

Being successful can be many things to different people but for Hannah, it is the result of loving what she does. (NRG)

You do a lot of things. Does it ever get into you, the pressure of running a food business as well as handling clients?

I would really say that running the café is a bit of a challenge however with Camden3, our branding and marketing arm—we always deliver.

The cafe is different since this is supposed to come out as a self-service cafe so when we started we did receive complaints, the worst ones were dugay kaayo ang food.

And we’re very sorry because this wasn’t supposed to be a restaurant, gamay ra kaayo among kitchen that’s why the food takes longer than usual, naa nay ni-walk out namo.

How do you handle these issues?

I manage the social media page and if I read a complaint of bad service, I always make it a point to reach out and give out something in
return just to give back.

What made you decide to come up with a cafe?

It was in 2016, while I was in my car, waiting outside of my friend’s house for an hour, when I browsed through photos of food and I was like why not make a cafe or restaurant.

I pitched the idea, it was burritos at first, not breakfast food.

I was at the point in my life that I needed something new.

Nikalit lang jud.

Three months after that, we were up and about.

Also, we were kind of desperate.

We had to open already because we are paying the rent.

We never imagine na it would turn out like this. Sa start we conceptualized and experimented, did something with burritos, di man jud mo tugma.

It so happened na I went to the States two years ago and tried this breakfast place where we had to line for hours just to get in at 7 a.m. and they serve good breakfast food.

So, I thought why not this because we loved it.

From there, we conceptualized and did some food tasting.

You actually started doing advertising and marketing portfolios for businesses …

After studying advertising, me and a friend, Jacqueline Ma then decided nga mag office mi.

We just worked in cafes for space and free wifi.

We were thinking nga kalas mi kaayo so nag make na mi og office. By the end of 2015, we were seeing the numbers, it was actually a good business so we pursued it.

But Jacqueline, my business partner got another job. She was then the HR director of QBE, at the same time she worked with me.

After that, it transitioned from there, we advertise for clients, not for ourselves. It was really word of mouth, actually 90 percent of our clients are in real estate.

How was it like back then, marking your place in the industry that you chose to be in?

I also tried freelancing.

I then applied for a BPO company wherein we did a lot of apps for National Geographic and other accounts.

I stayed with them as a graphic designer for two years and then I was given this position in Basic Graphics, the owner wanted to introduce designing.

And in order to do that, they had to look for someone to spearhead it so I was the acting business manager and creative director.

I formed the team—the graphic designers, associates and copywriters.

After two years, I left and that’s when I met my business partner. She is also my general manager and we are really good friends and we decided to start our own.

With all the clients coming with us, the transition wasn’t that hard despite the challenges as a start-up.

Our office was just in a friend’s library, one of their spare rooms.

I remember when we started, I did not have a laptop because I had sold it.

So I would go to a friend’s house and do all my designs, until such time I was able to buy a laptop as well as that friend won a laptop through a 7/11 raffle.

It was a difficult time for us.

What type of a boss are you?

I am quite particular with what I want.

I hate to say this but I can be a b —- because work is work, and I love my clients to the point that I want to deliver what they deserve.

Always extraordinary, always different and always more.

If they showed me designs that I don’t like, I would tell them that bati jud sila’g design.

I’m very OC and I’m so particular with lines, colors and the overall look. I’m more minimalist.

Do you compromise?

No. It’s always a yes or a no.

You’re also a mentor for Fashion Institute of Design and Arts (FIDA) here in Cebu.

How do you see Cebu in terms of the art and style scene?

Still laid-back and you won’t be inspired to dress more kay ingnon ka nga nag winter collection and daghan na kaayog storya ba. Diri man gud, naa jud ang island vibe and we can’t take that away.

So Cebu is still laid-back as far as you are concerned?

Yes, compared to Manila.

Music wise, it’s so sad to see the band scene somehow slowly decreasing.

When I was in college, I was really into it but it evolved from there when I found these female artists.

Happy to see that there’s 22 Tango, a homegrown brand music here in Cebu. I’d like to say we have a different sound from the band scene before. It’s a new sound for Cebu, it’s evolving and it’s getting better.

How were you as a student?

I love school. I really enjoyed it.

I really pursued it, although my dad didn’t like my course Fine Arts, because he wanted me to take up a business course because we’re Chinese.

But the latter wasn’t really my passion, I did not like it and I wasn’t really interested so he did not force me to do it.

In college, I was already working as a graphic designer and when I graduated, I moved to Hong Kong for a couple of months, and worked as an assistant wardrobe stylist and a graphic designer for a production company.

That was very depressing for me because it was my first time being away. It was hard kay wala pay iPhone, no face time and video calls.

What was your childhood like?

I practically grew up with my grandparents, since my parents are separated.

I grew up with my cousins, balhin-balhin ko’g balay, wala jud ko’y permanent address.

Until such time when I was in high school already, when I moved in with my dad.

My childhood was like an adventure, it was adjusting from one home to another.

You do live the good life

It looks like it in my social media but there’s more to that.

My passion is really music and design.

Music because ever since I always wanted to be a music arranger, I tried to do it when I was in college.

My genre is really eccentric artists, like Bjork or Goldfrapp. From there, I really wanted more dramatic and base kind of
music not the “tugsh tugsh.”

Are you are a Channel V or an MTV person?

No, I never watch TV.

I just search on the internet and do Youtube.

When I travel, I always go to hole-in-the-wall places because the music that they listen to is what I like, unlike here, it’s not really mainstream but it’s pop culture.

It really opens my eyes especially when I go to concerts of “small” artists, most of them are female.

It amazes me, the audience is not all girls, there are also males singing to their songs. And if sa Cebu pa ni, ma-ingnan ka nga bayot man ka.

What’s an ordinary day for you?

I wake up and come here (at the cafe) around 7:30 a.m. to 8 a.m., and order my cappuccino.

Take one cigarette to start my day and start working.

My job is 24/7, so I would be replying emails and texts from clients all throughout the day.

After that, I work on my laptop, do the designs, the marketing campaigns, plans, schedules budgeting and stuff.

We do outsource most of our jobs, we don’t have in-house designers and associates.

The problem we get along the way is that in advertising you don’t really know what’s coming in.

How do you deal with that?

We’re just lucky that clients would just arrive.

For me, I don’t really like selling and we don’t put up our works in our websites.

We have social media pages, but it is more of reposting some of our clients’ posts and that’s it.

What motivates you?

My clients, they are very inspiring.

For example with our new client, I met her son while dining here and he commended our place.

And from that conversation, we exchanged business cards and that’s when he learned that I’m doing design and branding.

So he brought his mom who has been helping out children in need, they need funds so they tapped us for the branding and marketing campaign.

These people have actually good intentions and they are very inspiring.

Are you choosy with who you work with or with your clients?

Chemistry happens naturally.

But if I don’t get inspiration from my client, I’d say no.

I believe in energy.

If I feel arrogance at the first meeting, I would really decline and say no.

How do you turn down a client?

A guy from an advertising agency called me and they wanted to split the work because they were loaded and they wanted to get us.

I got into his office, nibarog na siya didto and after that he introduced himself with all his credentials.

The whole two hours, nabungol nako.

I was just there to give my respect and then that’s it, I turned it down.

How do you keep sane?

My travels and my friends.

I have really few friends.

I don’t get along with everyone.

My personality is I tend to be very blunt and straight forward sa akong friends.

People have a misconception of you that you are this hard partying fashionista. What can you say about this?

Di ko party girl uy.

I’m just into music.

Mag anxiety attack man gud ko if I’m with new people and crowd.

Either ma Emily Rose ko or mag tantrums or mag stay put lang ko, lingkod lang.

What’s your style statement?

It’s always solid earth colors, black and white.

What makes you frustrated with people?

When they make me lose my trust on them. Mo-kever nako, human na ta.

How do you see yourself in the next couple of years?

Maybe I won’t be here anymore because I want to do something new.

It’s really me nga dali rako ma bored.

That’s why I’m into advertising because I deal with many projects, daghan kog maduwaan.

Are you thorough with how you want your life to be?

Not very much.

Sometimes, I act on impulse and regret it but I’ll just think that it’s a learning experience for me.

Right now, I want to settle down and if makadungog ang mga tawo nako karon, those who really know me, they would be shocked because I’m not the typical one who gets married, I just don’t believe in it after my parents got separated. I’m okay with live-in.

How do you see our young breed of art or design students?

They are brilliant.

Sa una, maghimo mig poster kay through poster paint, karon kay digital.

Millennials are so knowledgeable about a lot of things and they read a lot.

But what’s lacking there is they miss out on trusting the process, that is why they are called the “entitled generation” because yes, they know a lot but they lack experience, and it really matters.

But they are really good as they are exposed to international designs and they go into different genres. In our time, we were limited to magazines, books and our own ideas.

You work from the ground up. What’s your advice to aspiring artists?

Never stop learning, it’s a never ending learning experience.

Every day, there are so many things to learn.

If you don’t give in to trends, mabiya-an man jud ka. But work ethic is also very important, how do you deal with clients and the deadlines.

I always tell my designers not to tell me nga nag creative block sila because pwede ra jud sila mutan-aw og pinterest or anything on the internet to find inspiration. It’s how artists work and you can always do anything if you try.

Do you have a motto or a quote that you live by?

Just do things in good faith and everything will follow.

That’s why on the second level of Camden there’s a lighted sign “karma karma karma.”

I like repetition a lot, which is reflected in most of my designs.

I read a lot of spiritual books and good energies, and indeed there is karma.

It’s a reminder that if you do good, it will come back good.

TAGS: Lim