DREAMING BIG WITH NO LIMITATIONS

ROXANNE FARILLAS on fulfilling childhood aspirations and learning from mistakes

- SARA SIGUION-REYNA

When Roxanne Farillas was a Senior in High School, her English teacher asked the class to write a paper on how she and her classmates saw themselves in ten years. “I remembered answering that I envisioned myself opening my retail boutique shop, because even when I was a student, I started selling clothes to my classmates, and I was enjoying it,” she says. After five years, her aspirations from that piece of writing came true. Today, Roxanne is the founder and creative director of Plains and Prints, and its sister brand RAF. “I have been in the retail business for more than 25 years,” says Roxanne.

Growing up, she had been exposed to the world of business and commerce at a very young age. Fond memories include trips to Divisoria with her parents, to observe the goings around while her parents worked. “It was a blessing to have firsthand experience in the business which paved the way to a better understanding of my entrepreneurial journey,” says Roxanne. As the business was growing, some challenges eventually became valuable to her because it taught her resilience and optimism. I am also grateful to have encountered different kinds of people from whom I have learned a lot of things,” she adds.