Molave Street has now become famous to creatives whether they be local or foreign within Cebu.
You’ve been coming to Molave Street enjoying its hustle and bustle during weekends, but have you ever wondered who is the genius behind Molave Community Marketplace? Well, it was none other than fellow Sugboanon Willow Hoods! But who is he?
WHO IS WILLOW HOODS?
Willow Hoods is a professional barber who is offering his expert services in the streets of Molave. He also has a love for fashion and retail. Furthermore, the man is also a loving husband and a doting father of a 5-year old child.
However, what really prompted him to start reviving Molave street and make it a community?
A FREE SPACE FOR CREATIVES
Creatives have always been confined by societal norms. Most of them have been given little to no support to start and pursue their field of passion and Willow Hoods experienced just that. According to him, way before starting Molave Community Marketplace, he has been doing pop-ups in different places in the country, but that became a struggle for him when he first acted out this notion.
I started with like zero budget and then I have to spend money just to do a pop up in mall. I pay for my air ticket just to do a pop up somewhere in Manila…So, I do my pop ups, while spending my own money and then doing my haircuts for free.
Willow Hoods
That struggle became an inspiration for him to start Molave Community Marketplace. He wanted to give a free space for people to start their passion projects, so that they will not have to go through the things he went through when he just started.
I saw the opportunity to provide space for people, for them to easily execute their projects in a way that they won’t really have a hard time. Like low capitalization, there’s no overhead, and all they have to do is bring in their table, and that’s it.
Willow Hoods
…This is a space for people who want to study their passion project. They get to learn how to set up a booth, they get to learn how to do customer service, customer, like they can experiment,” said Hoods.
In other words, Willow Hoods wanted to provide creatives a haven to explore their passion, while not worrying about high fees from setting up stalls alone. Nevertheless, it is not restricted to ‘art’ alone. Hoods further stated that “So, it doesn’t have any, like category, whether food, artists or creative in general, you can actually just experiment in this space.”
A BEGINNER VILLAGE
When playing MMORPG games, we normally don’t start going to places on the map with high level monsters. Instead, we are set up inside a beginner village to prepare us, amend our mistakes and guide us on the fundamentals of the game and Molave Community is built just like that.
Molave Community Marketplace is a place that aims to shape creatives to walk the road of success. It can become their starting point to step on the stairs of a higher and grander stage. Moreover, as a beginner cradle, Molave Community Marketplace is a place where people can make mistakes!
You are ok to make mistakes here sa Molave. We’re not living with perfection, but like we’re more into little progress.
Willow Hoods
Nevertheless, Willow Hoods encouraged everyone who wants to do what he does to just do it, because “there is no path until you walk it” and you are also helping our economy thrive.
A FASHION STREET?
For those people who have to Molave countless times already, they have already observed the fashion freedom of Molave Community Marketplace. Since most of the people who visit the place are dressed in a truly fabulous way! Nevertheless, Willow Hoods revealed that it was not his original intention for the community to be like that!
I brand Molave in a way that it shapes whether what year or what era it is. Murag mosabay ra sya ba. Walay intention na ‘oh I’m gonna make it a fashion street’. No, it wasn’t forced. It wasn’t like planned. It’s like, it just happened.
Willow Hoods
…All I can say is what you see, the people that come here are true, true to themselves. Like, they dress up, because they dress up like that, like, maybe authentic,” he further added.
He stated that he branded MCM like a person with no attachments and expectations to people. He further revealed that MCM started with a very niche market and targeted Cebuanos who are into the sub-culture. Which might also be the reason that the place became a fashion melting pot.
When you say subculture, those people really dress differently from what you will see normally every day.
Willow Hoods
— Willow Hoods is one of the few people who are truly hell-bent on pursuing their passion no matter the cost, believing that the results will gratify the pain that the losses had inflicted on them. Nevertheless, his story on how he started one of the most successful communities in the Metro will surely be an inspiration to young Cebuanos out there.
