LIKHÂ
A Manila-born, New York-based banker-turned-social-entrepreneur who went looking for a mortar and pestle, found a Filipino artisan selling it for a fraction of its worth, and came home to build a company that now puts Philippine handcraft on the shelves of Nordstrom.
Shop LIKHÂLIKHÂ is what happens when someone with a finance background, a graduate degree in international development, and a bone-deep connection to the Philippines finds herself standing in the exact gap she spent years studying. Nathalie Lim didn’t start a home goods brand because she loved baskets. She started it because she was furious about what an artisan’s labor was worth to a market that didn’t know his name. The mortar and pestle is the whole story in miniature: something beautiful, made by hand, priced at almost nothing. LIKHÂ is the correction.
The Founders
Nathalie Lim
Founder
Fast Facts
She Went Looking for a Mortar and Pestle. She Found Something Worth Building a Company Around.
In 2018, Nathalie Lim was living in New York and needed a mortar and pestle. A good one, at a fair price. She couldn’t find it. Then she went home to the Philippines for a family visit, and found exactly what she’d been looking for — handmade, beautiful, sold by an artisan for almost nothing. The delight she felt lasted about ten seconds. What followed was something closer to rage.
Nathalie had grown up in the Philippines, studied international development at the University of Birmingham, worked in banking, and lived across three continents, four countries, and eight cities. She had the education to understand what she was looking at: a market failure. Filipino artisans doing extraordinary work, with no access to the customers willing to pay what that work was actually worth. She was standing in the gap between them.
“I realized that living in the U.S., I was in a position to help — to give them access to a market that was willing to pay for what their craft is really worth, with a little design intervention and product development.”
Nathalie Lim, LIKHA Founder
She founded LIKHÂ in August 2018. The name means “create” in Tagalog. The mission is precise: empower Filipino artisan families to overcome poverty by reimagining centuries-old craft for the global marketplace. LIKHÂ addresses three structural barriers that keep artisans from global markets: supply chain access, capital, and awareness of contemporary design trends. It does this through a co-creation model that involves craftspeople in every decision.
The product range — handwoven planters, baskets, wall art, kitchen and dining pieces, clutches, and accessories — is made entirely by hand using natural, sustainably sourced materials: plant fiber, coco coir, natural straw, shell, and recycled wood. LIKHÂ now works with over 200 artisans across 10 communities throughout the Philippines and is carried in 500+ US retailers, including Nordstrom. Nathalie also advises the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship and the Tory Burch Foundation. She has said her ambition is not a personal milestone: “It’s not about achieving a dream or ticking a box — I see this as my way of helping people from my country.”
Why We Featured Them
What Makes LIKHÂ Different
01
The Mortar and Pestle That Started Everything
Nathalie couldn’t find a good mortar and pestle in New York at a fair price. In the Philippines, she found one — handmade, perfect, sold for next to nothing. That disparity became a company.
02
200 Artisans, 10 Communities, 500+ Retailers
LIKHÂ works with over 200 artisans across 10 communities throughout the Philippines, supplying handmade goods to more than 500 US retailers including Nordstrom. Every product is made by hand from sustainably sourced natural materials.
03
Co-Creation, Not Charity
LIKHÂ’s model involves artisans in every decision — not as beneficiaries of a social program, but as co-creators with a stake in the outcome. Nathalie’s goal: livelihoods for 2,000 artisans, improved circumstances for 10,000 community members.
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