January 2012
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THE TITAY CHAPEL • A LIGHT IN GLOAMING PLACES
2011 January
• • • • • A Gong Xi Fa Cai to all of you! I was born on the year of the Dragon myself, and wish only the best in in business and health. What better way to welcome the new year (for the second time!) than to talk about the blessings we were given? And not all blessings are things that we receive; sometimes we are blessed with the opportunity to contribute, to give, to show what we...
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Ending The Year Right... Down Under!
2011 December 〜2012 January
• • • • • One of the things I love, that I always encourage the people around me to be as enamored over it as I am, is travel. In many ways it has influenced the way I see things, the way I approach a situation, the way I design. If I could compare designing to cooking (another pasttime I enjoy), knowledge and experience are the tools of the trade, hard work shows in...
October 2011
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September 2011
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Debbie Palao x Kagikan 2011: A Retrospective
• • • • • Many of the pop culture fare like imagining the concept of time: in some cases it is like a place (Back to the Future [»] was a film my sister-in-law dragged me to watching, which I also enjoyed!) for meeting famous personalities from the past or present, and sometimes it’s a state (K pushed me the wonderful book Einstein’s Dreams [»], written by Allan Lightman, which I...
August 2011
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Six Things About Cebu » →
Photographer, traveler, and globetrotter Rica Di Ramos writes about six things she enjoyed about the Queen City of the South… and we’re very honoured to note the 6th!
I had the pleasure of meeting Rica and her friend and photographer Owie, when they were involved with a project some time ago. Needless to say I am jealous of how her job brings her everywhere all at once!
May 2011
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AN AUCTION FOR ACTION
Last May 22nd, 2011, UNICEF [»] launched its charity auction for the benefit of children all over the country. The aptly-named “Auction for Action” is rather progressive, launching in Greenbelt 5 (Manila), but commencing online, at their site [»] for several days.
The most generous Daphne Oseña [»], a MUGNA Award judge for Cebu NeXt-2011, contacted me a few weeks after the...
April 2011
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In The Mood for Musing: Exerpts of our 2011...
• • • • • This year’s theme was in honour of CFIF’s creative team, and our running themes were KAGIKAN. In Cebuano, this means ‘origins’, ‘roots’, ‘that from which one existed.’ In a way I think this is a very apt theme, considering the many changes the industry and its constituents have undergone given the trying times. We’ve been forced to...
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Cebu X Roundup: Spring is the Season!
• • • • • What an interesting first quarter it’s been, needless to say! Changing times call for changing tactics, and even the creative method—which, like wine, ages and is refined over time—seeks a new mould from which to change shape to! Creativity by its very nature must retain its nebulous, shapeshifting core, able to grab anything from its environment, absorb it, and deliver something...
February 2011
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Sinulog: Tradition Made New
2011 January Sinulog Outtakes: Pit Señor!
• • • • • It’s been a long time since I personally attended a Sinulog [»] festival, but this annual event is Cebu’s biggest celebration next to Christmas. It’s like our very own version of Mar di Gras, complete with colourful reinactions of historical events the city is founded on—the Blood Compact [»], the Baptism of the Royal...
January 2011
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December 2010
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THE CITY OF ETERNAL LIGHTS
» 2010 December Happy Golden Days of Yore
• • • • • Remember that time when we were kids (I’m not going to say how long ago that was, in case I give myself away… oops!), and the only thing that made a tedious schoolyear bearable was the thought that, at the end of it all, there was this magical thing called Christmas! As a kid, a large part of it was definitely the gifts… raised...
November 2010
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GRAY HAZE, INSPIRED LAZE, INFINITE SPACE.
» 2010 November Everything Must Feel New Again.
• • • • • It’s all a matter of perspective, I say. Where others think “lazy”, I say, “easy”—that means work never stops, just slows down its pace a little. When you’re not panting for breath and zipping past the countryside, then brisk walking is great for taking in the fresh air and the smell of the grass after...
October 2010
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CRIMSON PARADE
» 2010 October Red is the Gods’ Colour
• • • • The Crimson Resort and Residences private launch was a great way to end the week. Recently opened in a prime location along one of Mactan island’s coast, this FilInvest project [»] boasts the ease and dreamy atmosphere of island living edged with sharp international class. We have the honor of being a part of this, as my dear Truffle...
September 2010
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25 Silver Stars
September 2010 September is Silver: 25 Years of ANP
• • • • • When the invite from the Associated Negros Producers (ANP) came by mail for their 25th Trade Fair [»] to be held from 8th-12th September, I was naturally honoured and excited to be part of it. The feeling is nothing unlike being invited to a dear friend’s successful event (and I DO have several dear friends in the...
August 2010
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DOG-GONE
August 2010 Cherished Companions, Champions of Charm
• • • • • I cannot recall a time in my childhood when we didn’t have a dog. We always had one what we call a bisdak, or a mongrel mutt. It played alongside us kids wherever we went, followed us into the house and to our rooms. The very first dog dog I owned personally was a Spitz hybrid given as a gift by Cherie, a friend. I called him...
July 2010
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SANDUGO SAILING
2010 July Breathing Bohol beauty
• • • • • Last 22nd found me in transit again, this time to the nearest neighboring island, Bohol. Standing on the shores of Eastern Cebu, looking out across the sea is the outline of this quaint provence, whose characteristic industry and openness precedes them. Several of my office staff hail from various suburbs of Bohol, and if Negros has its bucolic ease and...
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TILE AFTER TIME
» 2010 July Summer comes, summer goes
• • • • • But summer comes for everyone. The week before, we decided to dismantle our old kiln. It has served us well, and if it weren’t for the old two, I daresay we would not be where we are now! We did plenty of mosaic pieces when we first ventured into furniture—in fact it was our fired-tile inlaid tables that served as our forward army—and have...
June 2010
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SUGAR CANES AND SUMMER PLAINS
» 2010 May There Are Places I Remember
• • • • The last week of April was a very significant seven days to say the least, a big preparation for a monumental weekend. On the national level, much was done in the way of preparing the country for the automated elections, and back at home, here I was preparing the talk I was to give to the Associated Negros Producers (ANP) with my team. It won’t...
March 2010
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WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
» 2010 March After Cebu Next
• • • • The next few days that followed the beginning of Cebu-Next were a whirlwind of events. Though admittedly not as full as the last couple of shows in better times, familiar faces reappeared, bonds strengthened, and hard work paid off.
First and foremost, it was a humbling honour to be surprised with three nominations for the MUGNA Awards Citation [»]: The...
February 2010
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COUNT THE DAYS BY THE HOURS
» 2010 March Cebu-neXt musings and preparations
You are cordially invited.
• • • • This week has been one long day for me and my staff. Anyone who’s joined a show [»] will know that no matter how prepared you believe you are (and have been), there will always be last-minute surprises both pleasant and otherwise. Until the show has been concluded, there’s no reason to be...
December 2009
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IN THE MORNING OF THE TIGER
» 2010 January-February Welcoming 2010
• • • • Malipayong Bag-ong Tu-ig! After the fireworks and the festivities, after the fitful sleep that follows an evening of wonderful food in wonderful company sharing sublime wine, after kissing (or slapping) 2009 as it leaves on cloven feet, there is the inevitable morning after. 2010 stretches on on clawed feet and yawns, opening sleepy feline eyes to...
November 2009
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HAVE YOURSELVES A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS
» 2009 December From now on our troubles will be miles away.
• • • • It is actually a difficult thing to follow the encouragement blasting through loudspeakers everywhere this season: ‘tis the season to be jolly!’ On the one hand, gifts are starting to trickle in. There is always the childlike anticipation that mounts in us when we see a wrapped present (although what we wish for...
August 2009
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TURNING SEASONS
» 2009 September
• • • • CHANGE. While a recurring phenomenon that heralds progress and evolution, it has not quite been put into pure focus as much as it has been this year, as evidenced in the successful campaigns that have wrought so much fervour, influenced so much of the bold movements in different industries. The triumph of Obama and his optimistic slogan is not the least of them; neither...
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HERE COMES THE SUN
» 2009 September Wading, waking, water and willpower.
• • • • RELIEF. The moment muggy August makes its gradual departure, the moment the -BER months begin their cool descent from the north, the palpable change of weather is a warning that all things dry must soon be soaked in days of constant rain. At this point the prudent designer––of course imagining the possibilities for the next great...
March 2009
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THE SHOW GOES ON
» 2009 April Reflections on Cebu X part 1
• • • • CONSUMMATUM EST. It’s finally over! I say this with a huge sigh of relief, and immediately imagine myself kicking off the killer heels, falling into a soft, warm bed on a cool, pleasantly windy evening (with the smells of gastronomic temptations wafting in from the kitchen––maybe intense spice-flavoured dishes?). Gus will have slipped in...
January 2009
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A PACKAGE FROM A FRIEND
» 2009 February
• • • • • Needless to say, the rest of the week will be crazy and hectic. There are so many things to prep, prove and finalise! I almost forgot how the adrenaline, the “good” stress, feels like during so-called crunch time. This proves, I suppose, the importance of doing well in classes; the foundations and disciplines derived from trying to beat homework deadlines and...
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SETTING THE STAGE, PSYCHING THE START
» 2009 February~March With previews of Cebu-X 2009 Stand
• • • • This is it: Cebu-X 2009. It will be the 19th year for me to join this international event (to be held in the Waterfront Hotel Cebu [»]from 5th~8th March), but this year is crucial in many ways. On the one hand, it can be interpreted as Cebu’s struggle to continue doing what it is known for doing, despite the widening global...
December 2008
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NEW YEAR, NEW STAGES, NEW CHALLENGES
» 2009 January
And before anyone else knew it, 2009 rolled along. While 2008 was undoubtedly a year that kept the world on its toes––what with world events both pleasant and shocking changing things radically––there was much to learn from it. Some pressing challenges for everyone this time: the economy and the environment. This is probably one of the few times that...
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PLEASANT SURPRISES
» 2009 January
• • • • • The world we live in now is a funny thing sometimes, and drastically different from before. That’s not to date a comment or something like that, but take for instance, the internet; one day someone uploads/ blogs about something, the next day even the remotest area in the world has news of it (provided they don’t have governmental blocks!). The following are...
September 2008
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HOME FROM INDIA: DHANYAVAAD!
» 2008 October
Traveling is a very essential ingredient in a designer’s context, as it opens up numerous windows of inspiration. It also keeps one exposed, and in contact with the world at large––and such an amazing world it happens to be, indeed. Through cultural touchpoints such as food, art, religion and of course interaction with the place and the locals, travel creates a niche in...
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FINISHING THE SACRED
» 2008 October
• • • • • Immediately after settling down from the trip to India, we traveled to Bacolod the weekend after for the inauguration of the Capuchin Tertiary Sisters Chapel in Talisay. It was, one could say, a complete family affair; with me and my husband Gus was the family of my sister, Marian and K. We took a land trip––that means we rode our cars to a barge that traversed the...
August 2008
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ABACA INDIA LAUNCHING EVENT
» 2008 September
And yet, another pleasant surprise! Just as I thought that the glittering event of thePanama launch [»] was stellar enough, stirrings in the other side of the world bode of similarly interesting happenings! Our friends of Abaca India [»], has invited us to the launch of our designs in her furniture shop and showroom located in Mumbai (Bombay). This will be on the 9th of October...
June 2008
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SENSO VIDEO PANAMA LAUNCH
» 2008 July
It seems the success of my dear Carlos and Juan’s launch [»] in Panama was a major success! Here’s sharing a footage from the opening ceremonies, headed by Carlos, with the First Lady of Panama herself, at his left.
Oh how this makes me wish I had gone to the launch! No matter, I would say that a small “break” is due soon…we’ll see about that...
May 2008
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FURNISHING THE SACRED (PART 1)
» 2008 June
In many instances, a designer–be she for interiors or for furniture–is called on to help recreate the homes inhabited by world-class people and persons of power and prestige: public officials and glitterati alike. However, rare and honorable is the moment when one is invited to recreate the space for the World Designer and the Powerful Creator.
In 2003, I had the rare honor and...
PRODUCTION, INSPIRATION, AND NEW CREATIONS
» 2008 June
Congratulations on SENSO Designers Group opening! Opening my mailbox on the morning of the 30th of May, and looking through the photos of SENSO’s opening night, I intensely wished I were there as well: in the stimulating Panaman heat, in an evening warm with smiles and soft light, as the SENSO Designers Group [»] launched the opening of their showroom.
(With more photos at...
FURNISHING THE SACRED (PART 2)
» 2008 June
I have talked the last time [»] about how the Capuchin Sisters have achieved success in the lives of countless little girls in the city, and how honored I was to have been a part of it. Sometime last year I was approached by the indomitable Sr. Luz Maria Buitrigo with a proposal: in the quiet regions of the neighboring Bacolod City (in the Negros island), the order means to put up a...
April 2008
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MILANO BELLISSIMO: SALONE INTERNAZIONALE del...
» 2008 May
The Salone Internazionale del Mobile 2008 was a great success! Every year this Fiera de tutti fiere [»] is the focal point of all furniture designers from all over the world. Renowned figures in the industry showcase their new accomplishments side by side with the debuting works of fresh faces and promising starters. This is the show I look forward to, personally, every year; not only...
February 2008
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CEBU-X: AN EXPLOSION OF ACTIVITY
» 2008 March
In the beginning, there’s just the theme, the concepts, then the products going through production. Then, there were the stand designs, the furniture layouts (which ones will go to Milan [»]? To CebuX [»]? The factory showroom? Why not in both or in all?). Then, there was the Catalog additions of new pieces, its reprinting, editing.. relayouts and on and on like a list that...