13/07/2026
Did you know the tarsier is the world's smallest primate — found nowhere else on Earth but the Philippines, most famously on the island of Bohol? At about the size of a palm, this rare and vulnerable species is also fiercely territorial.
Their paper-thin skulls, acute hearing and huge nocturnal eyes make them extraordinarily sensitive. Captivity, loud noises and camera flashes can push a tarsier into extreme stress — and in the worst cases, that stress turns fatal, as the animal repeatedly strikes its head against branches, cages or rocks. A sobering reminder of why quiet, respectful advocacy matters so much.
That's exactly what Tarsier Southeast Asian Spirit Gin stands for: a Filipino-owned gin producer helping fund tarsier conservation in the Philippines, one bottle at a time.
To mark this cause, I made a piece of handmade fabric art using only remnants and cutoffs from my own upcycled and repurposed clothing. I gave new life to an old McVitie's plush tarsier toy, reattaching its head so it could twist and tilt the way a real tarsier does, dressed it in a tiny denim vest to match my patched denim filipiniana, and had it "hold" a miniature bottle of Tarsier gin, tied on with invisible thread.
A small, slow, handmade way of saying: this matters.
Thank you, Sherwin Acebuche of Tarsier Southeast Asian Spirit Gin, for standing behind Folkestone & Hythe Filipino Community Network / Filipino community events year after year — this post is for you. 🙏
Find Tarsier Calamansi gin on Amazon, at wearetarsier.com, and at Gloucester M5 Services, or enjoy a glass at your favourite Filipino restaurant or any Ivy across the UK.
Please enjoy responsibly. 18+.
P.S. Thank you Tony Vaughan MP, for boldly wearing my creation. It is an upcycled AllSaints denim I overlaid with the Philippine traditional barong.
