On a quiet afternoon in May 2020, while the rest of the country was deep in the rhythm of pandemic hobbies, Niki Escopin was thinking about a plant rack. It was her birthday, and she had asked her sister for ₱500, just enough to buy something simple to display her growing collection of plants. It was the height of the plantito-plantita wave. The rack arrived, but the excitement didn’t last long. “I wasn’t satisfied with the quality,” she recalls.
“So I sold it,” she laughs, remembering. The funny thing was, it sold immediately. And people wanted more.
What began as a simple buy-and-sell impulse eventually became IWOODlike, a small side hustle run by Niki and her partner, Raymond Dalita, both Bacolod-raised creatives who had moved to Manila for work after graduating from La Consolación College Bacolod, she with Interior Design, he with Architecture. By the end of 2020, their lockdown pastime had evolved into a tiny but fast-growing woodworking business.
Today, the brand is known as IWOODlike Bacolod, a name that tells the real story behind their journey: two Negrense entrepreneurs who left home, built something from scratch in the city, then found their way back to Negros to build a business they hope Bacolod locals and visitors can be proud of.
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| Perfect for holiday gifting. |
Back in 2020, Niki was fortunate that her job allowed her to work from home. Raymond wasn’t as lucky. “My work required me to be onsite, so the pandemic left me temporarily jobless until we were allowed back,” he says. “For a while, we had no stable source of income.”
When the first rack Niki sold became unexpectedly in-demand, they saw a gap. They sourced racks from Cavite, delivered orders themselves, and slowly expanded. Soon, they were designing their own wooden pieces, such as folding racks, multipurpose boxes, mini furniture. To improve quality, they partnered with a Cavite production team, investing in their own machines and overseeing the designs themselves.
But every breakthrough had its breaking point. Quality issues, disagreements with suppliers, even worker demotivation—all these pushed them to move to Taguig City to be nearer their customer base. Then Raymond made another big decision: he resigned from his job to focus on the business full-time.
But Manila came at a cost. Rent, logistics, and the weight of being far from family eventually made the couple stop and reassess the life they were building.
“We kept getting messages from Bacolod. So many inquiries,” Raymond shares. “And we thought, why struggle in Manila when there is so much potential back home?”
By April 2023, they packed up their machines and their hopes, and headed back to Negros.
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| IWOODlike Bacolod’s handcrafted pieces. |
Their new beginning was grounded, literally, on a piece of land owned by Niki’s family in Himamaylan City, a couple of hours south of Bacolod. “We could use it for free,” she explains. “That helped us start again.”
They posted job openings, but no one with woodworking experience applied in the salary range they could offer. So they pivoted, yet again: they hired locals who had zero experience, and trained them for six months.
“We really started from zero,” Raymond says. “Everything had to be taught. But they learned.”
By September 2023, IWOODlike Bacolod officially launched online. Today, their products—crafted from brand-new lumber rather than recycled pallets—reflect a choice rooted in consistency and safety. New lumber gives them uniform quality, better durability, and fewer risks of hidden damage, pests, or chemical treatments often found in reclaimed wood. Every piece is designed in-house, rendered in 3D, measured precisely, then cut and assembled in Himamaylan. Their bestsellers include folding racks, multi-use wooden boxes (a holiday favorite for gift packaging), phone holders, display racks, and more recently, laser-engraved tumblers, pens, and giveaway items.
It’s a full-circle moment: from a single rack in Manila to a full production line in Negros.
In Manila, they were simply IWOODlike. Back home, the branding evolved.
“When we came back, we added ‘Bacolod,’” Raymond says. “We want people to know these are proudly made here.”
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| For founders Raymond Talita and Niki Escopin, coming home wasn’t just a return—it was a reset. |
Their identity as Negrense creators runs deep. Raymond grew up in Escalante City, north of Bacolod, where his father, a part-time carpenter, built their family home piece by piece. “It’s really aligned with the course I took up in college,” he says with quiet pride in his voice. Niki, Bacolod-born and raised, now leads the brand’s marketing.
Their goal, they say, is not just survival, it’s contribution. They source materials locally. They employ locals. They supply fellow small businesses with trays and display for pop-ups. And they want Bacolod folk to recognize local craftsmanship that holds its own.
“We can compete in terms of quality,” Raymond says. “We want to see our products in more households here.”
There’s something fitting, especially for December, about their story of coming home. While the world rushes toward holiday busyness, IWOODlike Bacolod’s pieces invite a quieter sentiment: gifts that feel intentional, practical, and proudly local.
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| Their lineup blends function and charm, perfect for home refreshes and holiday surprises alike. |
Their foldable racks make thoughtful presents for anyone setting up a home. Their wooden boxes, often used as Christmas gift holders, double as storage long after the holidays. And their engraved giveaways (tumblers, pens, wooden pieces) carry a personal touch that mass-produced gifts never quite match.
You can visit their store on Rizal St. 176, check out their stall at SM City Bacolod (East Bridgeway, South Wing), or message them online via Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok: IWOODlike Bacolod. They accept custom designs, from racks to mini furniture to engraved holiday giveaways.
At its heart, IWOODlike Bacolod is a story about coming home and building something that helps others do the same. In every wooden rack, box, and crafted gift lies a reminder: sometimes, the most meaningful things are the ones built on familiar soil, with familiar hands, for the community that raised you.
Article by: Liway Espina
Photos by: Bem Cortez
