Real Living Space

The Buddha-inspired artworks by siblings Dorothy and Elmer Alforque definitely made the long ride to Alabang worth it. Dorothy and Elmer are Bohemian Nation’s in-house artists who handpainted the different faces of Buddha on canvasses, tables, headboards and other furniture, which were launched to the press and friends last August 18.

Brother-and-sister tandem Elmer and Dorothy sign their works Erimon and Dorosera, as a symbol of brotherhood; these were the names the African kids in Rwanda called them way back 2005. Dorothy, in behalf of her brother Elmer who couldn’t make it to the event, briefed the press about their artworks.

I have never seen so many artworks inspired by Gautama under one roof! One can hear oohs and aahs as the visitors checked out the charming and blissful coffee tables. Out of all the coffee table designs, I certainly fell in love with this one:

The headboards were also one-of-a-kind; something you’d want hanging on your wall to assure you of a good night’s sleep. I, together with Ms. Betty Romero of Bohemian Nation and Lei who works for another glossy, had our photo taken with the Awakened one headboard.

The Buddha Bliss Series will be featured August 18 onwards at Bohemian Nation, The Serenity Place. (Photos by Raf Jamolangue)

(The Serenity Place is located in Westgate Center, Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang, Muntinlupa City)

Waking up to the “dark ages” (no phone coverage, no electricity, no internet) because of Basyang somehow brought us down, so outgoing art director Arlene and I decided to check out the 1st Philippine Chocolate and Ice Cream Show at the World Trade Center, Pasay City to cheer us up.

For a measly 100-peso entrance fee, you’ll be able to get to chocolate and ice cream heaven! Gelato is my happy food, so I was thrilled when I saw these yummy flavors.

And and and, we enjoyed a cup for P50!

So we went around to check on the other exhibits and look at what we found, lovely frying pans and kitchenware that will surely prep up your kitchen! (Prices available at the exhibit booth)

Cakes by Chef Peachy Juban, who recently bagged a gold at the prestigious Food and Hotel Asia Singapore, were also showcased in the event.

We were also lucky to witness the third batch of the Chocolate Cake Battle Royale. Though still unfinished, this sure looks yum!

Then the judging of the third batch followed. Here, Chef Penk Ching of The Pastry Bin (she came up with Juday and Ryan Agoncillo’s wedding cake) takes a close look at this entry.

Here are the cakes from the previous batches.

And just before we left, we were given free Pistachio gelato by Technolux. You have to check out their Ice Cream machine!

Go experience your own taste of heaven! July 16, Friday is the last day Philippine Chocolate and Ice Cream Show so you better catch it before its gone.
(Photos by Hannah Dormido)

While Typhoon Basyang’s winds were building up along Roxas Boulevard last night, we were at the Metropolitan Museum for This French is Pinoy!, an exhibit of French expat Henri Eteve’s works while here in the Philippines (organized by Alliance Francaise with Avellana Art Gallery).

Henri has been staying in the Philippines for the past 45 years, and except for the vestiges of a slight Gallic accent, he has definitely gone native. Some of his favorite pastimes include trawling Quiapo and other parts of downtown Manila for bizarre odds and ends (buffalo horns, anting-anting); and the occasional antique book written about the Philippines by another European. He loves to talk about other famous expats who have settled anonymously in our humble country, like Charles Lindbergh and Bobby Fischer.

Henri’s curious, observant, but not-to0-serious attitude in life translates into upbeat, colorful works with organic forms that have an ebullient, almost happy feel to them. (Here’s designer Jojie Lloren surveying them.)

I’m embarrassed to admit that I haven’t been to Metropolitan Museum in a while. Last I went there was during Marlene Aguilar’s book launch, but all that is another story. So I wandered around the galleries upstairs, and there was this exhibit of contemporary Japanese photographers (“Out of the Ordinary/Extraordinary” sponsored by the Japan Foundation), which shows how Japan’s young photogs see their country in this generation. I was not disappointed. The works were amazing like these prints by Takano Ryudai of half-bodies—the subjects are so androgynous you cannot tell if they are male or female.

I got home in time before Basyang hit. When the weather’s better, I want to go out and see more exhibits and shows, and I think you should, too. “This French is Pinoy!”runs until July 31, while “Out of the Ordinary/Extraordinary” runs until September 30.

It’s quite rare these days to come across a truly interesting event, but to my surprise, there are still a few out there. One of them was the preview of Victorio C. Edades-Father of Modern Art, which I attended last Friday at the Edades Tower and Garden Villa model unit at the Powerplant Mall. In this special preview, elusive Edades works are quite aptly incorporated into the Edades luxury model units (his painting of the UST botanical gardens is featured above in the dining room—this work is my favorite). (Rockwell Land has other residential towers named after noted Filipino artists like Luna, Joya, and Amorsolo.)

A special auction of Edades’s works will be held on July 15 by Salcedo Auctions, one of the few (oh I think they are the only one) auction houses in the country. Their advisor, Richie Lerma, was on hand as curator for this special exhibit and gave us more info on the pieces we saw. Here he is in front of this small but lovely “Portrait of a Baby Girl” in the master bedroom…

Now if you weren’t paying attention in your Humanities class, Edades is one of our National Artists for painting. Though noted for his depictions of Filipino life, we can’t directly compare him to Amorsolo and his airbrushed, bucolic Pinoy landscapes. Edades’s renditions are more intimate, raw, more personal, and without any pretensions. And though he did a lot of commissioned portraits of society matrons, Richie mentioned that Edades also made beautiful portraits of everyday people, like this sfumato charcoal of a school teacher (1980) in the master bedroom…

Edades in his later years shunned the spotlight and retreated to Davao to live a simple and quite life. Here, he met Norma Liongoren, who became one of his closest friends and who procured many of the works in this exhibit. And in line with his painting very intimate and personal portraits (he did many sketches and watercolor studies of his own family), he did painting of Norma and her family as well. This painting in the children’s room shows photographer Erik Liongoren and director Avid Liongoren as children!

And I must say, the Edades model unit is one of the best model units I’ve seen in years—beautiful palette, textures, and fabrics, well-executed (from experience, a lot of model units out there are bang-up, rush jobs), this one is very tasteful indeed! I heard it was done by veteran interior designer Alice Erfe.

Visit the Edades model unit beside the Powerplant Mall in Rockwell, Makati City, or click here. For more information on Salcedo Auctions and the special Edades auction on July 15, click here.

The Samsung events I attend are usually splashy affairs swamped with a mixed-nuts-selection of guests composed of artistas, smug techie columnists, and a handful of perfumed society page-people. So it was quite refreshing to attend a more home oriented (housewife-oriented!) Samsung event a few days ago. Sam Oh hosted, while sweet chef Sau del Rosario whipped up a few dishes for the crowd (above).

Chef Sau did his demo of course to show the features of Samsung’s new French Door Refrigerator. Not like the French doors in your house, though—this is a double-door ref with double the storage space (its doors open like wings to both sides), and a twin-cooling system that ensures all parts of the ref has even temperature and everything stays fresh.

The big surprise was, they strong-armed members of the press to do a cook-off with each other to show the features of their new microwave line! Here’s Yummy editor in chief Becky Kho and Men’s Health managing ed Peejo Pilar squaring off as (unlikely!) cooking teammates. They made wine-marinated sole and an arugula-and-shiitake mushroom salad. Chef Sau was the judge and they passed with flying colors!

In the end, we ate what they cooked (well, the same dishes though, albeit cooked by professionals). And it was delicious, save for the anatomically-shaped bread rolls they served with our lobster bisque!

The book launch for Real Home Ideas 5: Small Space Solutions was a success, not just because the book turned out GREAT, but because we had the chance to meet and greet our avid readers! It was definitely heartwarming seeing the Atrium packed with RL supporters.

My mom was one of the early birds (she was already there before the staff even arrived) and all the while she was holding her own copy of the book (yes, she was excited haha).

And people just kept coming…

Those who attended got the chance to get tips from our interior designers, Grace Moslares, Kristine Neri and Frenjick Quesada (below).

Readers had their RL Book (and magazine copies) signed by Editor-in-Chief Rachelle Medina.

And of course, the RL girls had to strike a pose for a job well done.

Please get a copy of Real Home Ideas 5, available at bookstores and newsstands for P195. (Photos by Ryan Ong)

The launch of our 5th book, Real Home Ideas 5: Small Space Solutions coincided with our designer exhibit with SM Homeworld. Three of RL’s fave designers came up with space-saving setups for living, dining, and bedrooms using SM products. (That’s RL stylist Issa Villar’s setup for the stage, above, inspired by our cover.) Here’s makeover designer Grace Moslares’s bold, opulent bedroom setup—done in an instant, and under extreme duress!!! (grace under pressure, hehehe)

And featured designer (he has a project in the book) Frenjick Quesada’s elegant, tropical-modern take on a small living room. Beautiful!

Here’s designer Kristine Neri’s cute, mixed-seating dining area. Would you believe her dining table went missing two minutes before the scheduled setup? They found it, eventually!!!

All exhibits will be up til tomorrow, June 30. Hope you can check it out! (Real Home Ideas 5 is available at bookstores and newsstands for P195. All furniture and accessories are from SM Homeworld, Megamall)

Save the date! Get a chance to attend the launch of our book, Real Home Ideas 5: Small Space Solutions on June 23, Wednesday next week, 4:30 to 7:30 PM at the Mega Atrium of SM Megamall Mandaluyong City.

Check out small-space exhibits by our fave designers Grace Moslares, Kristine Neri, and Frenjick Quesada and get tips from them too! Also, a lot of prizes await you at this launch. To register for this event, contact Abigail Pinili at abigail.pinili@summitmedia.com.ph. Special thanks to SM Homeworld and the Mega Atrium for making this event happen. See you there!

…with the sound of real estate. I was in my ‘hood—the little shire of Greenhills—going through the maze of the cultured pearl tiangge, when I stumbled upon the new buyer’s lounge of Circulo Verde. Now what is a real estate development doing in the middle of a shopping center? Just to let you know, it’s owned also by Ortigas and Co., so I guess it’s just fair to locate their showrooms there. In case you want to look for it, it’s by the Connecticut Arcade right next to Max’s.

At first glance, it looks like it was shoved right under the carpark, but once you go through the doors, you walk through this spacious buyer’s lounge…

…and then to the showrooms. Their Seville units at Calle Industria boast wraparound balconies, like this one for the two-bedroom unit…

…and rooms generous enough for a four-post bed in the three-bedroom unit…

Though needless to say, I am not liquid enough even for the downpayment!!! So back to the tiangge I went. Click here for more information.

I was having dinner at a resto yesterday and a friend at a table whipped out last Sunday’s Philstar newspaper and I saw this:

That’s me and Summit publisher Auiee Mangubat Suarez at the Samsung Full HD 3D TV launch the other week. Yes, we look a bit goofy in those 3D glasses, but they are way better than those cellophane-and-cardboard glasses you had as a kid (heck, it’s even better than the ones you get in the movies now). For one, they look like regular sunglasses, not the silly big ones they dole out at the sinehan. And they have this really cool feature—you press a button on top of the specs, and the lenses dim and the whole 3D experience begins. I have absolutely no idea how that happens, but it does!

Then the images on Samsung’s new 3D TV pop out! And I mean POP! Sorta like this:

OK, my screen grab is a poor approximation of what we really saw. Click on this link to check it out, or for the full experience, visit a Samsung dealer nearest you. Thank you, Fashpack, for the “surprise” yesterday, will catch up with you soon.