Real Living Space

Another dream Christmas gift, the White Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman from Vitra:

Lovely, no?! If the original one was nice, this is fresher, lighter- and airier looking. Current designer darling Hella Jongerius gives this iconic piece an update with high-maintenance white Nappa leather and a pigmented white walnut finish on the wood frame to match.

I don’t know if it’s already available at Vitra at Mos Design, but you might want to check out www.nest.co.uk. Merry Christmas!

I spotted this on Wired:

The Sorapot teapot has a glass-cylinder body that allows you to watch tea leaves unfurl and steep in the water.

Too much! O.A.!!!

Of course, this modernist creation also costs $US250, and is not available locally. In the meantime, I’ll have to settle with those cheap ceramic ones where you have to wire the lid so it won’t fall off while pouring your chai.

I was frantically putting together a last-minute Christmas shopping list and surfing the web for gift ideas when I came across this article. It’s a list of 38 creative gift ideas, a really interesting read, especially if you’re tired of giving out generic journals/picture frames/fruitcake.

One idea in particular caught my eye–#13: Forearm Forklift Lifting Straps. What is it exactly? Well, for starters, it’s sold on Amazon.com by Things You Never Knew Existed. The product was designed by a professional mover, and it got my attention because it supposedly reduces the weight of items by 66%.

Photo from here

It’s mighty useful for people who are moving, and for the RL staff! We don’t always have messengers to help us carry stuff to and from shoots, so we sometimes have to lug pieces of furniture ourselves–not an easy task, considering us RL girls are, er, on the petite side (read: just a wee bit over five feet tall. Sorry, girls, the secret’s out!).

Another awesome item is #24: Candle by the Hour. I love lighting vanilla-scented candles in my room; they help me relax, but I can’t ever relax too much because I might end up falling asleep and leaving the candle unattended. This candle allows you to set the amount of time you want the it to burn! How cool is that?

What fabulous stocking stuffers these would be! Alas, they don’t seem to be available locally. But if there’s anything they could teach us jaded Christmas shoppers, it’s that there are a lot of really interesting gift items out there. So let’s all just put a little more thought into it, and make our Christmas gifts more personal.

Now, excuse me while I go cross out all those one-size-fits-all mugs from my list…

In our April 2007 summer issue, we did a story on paper (which we shot on location at the quaint and picturesque Sitio Remedios in Ilocos Norte.) One of our featured items was an acid-free paper sculpture entitled “Durian” by artist Cathy Lasam.

Today, Cathy Lasam together with Jojo Ballo are opening their joint exhibit entitled “Counterpoise”, which showcases a series of artworks presenting artworks in modular pairs. Cathy and Jojo’s unique brand of creativity in theme and artistry in technique shines through with every pair— Jojo with his mandala-making and painting, and Cathy with her paper-folding and sculpture.

Derived from the Old French term for counterweight or counterbalance, the word “Counterpoise” sums up equivalent opposing forces that maintain equilibrium. As different as their individual bodies of work may seem at first glance, Jojo and Cathy have reached a state of counterpoise with this collaborative series centered on the Yin and Yang concept found in traditional Chinese philosophy.

Jojo Ballo is an architect, artist known for his abstract paintings on both canvas and ceramic, poet, and former curator and gallery manager who has held six one-man shows and participated in several group exhibitions at venues such as the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Art Center in SM Megamall.

Cathy Lasam, an artist and teacher who is an award-winning cum laude graduate of the College of Fine Arts in UP Diliman. Her exhibition credits include solo and group shows at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Museum of Arts & Sciences at the University of Sto. Tomas, the Museo Arte de Contemporaneo Ateneo in Yucatan, Mexico, and the Gallerie Gavarni in Paris, France.

“Counterpoise” runs until January 17, 2009 at the One Workshop Gallery, Ground Floor 2241 La Fuerza Plaza II, Don Chino Roces Ave. corner Sabio St., Makati City. Gallery hours are from 10am to 7pm daily except Sundays. For inquiries, call or fax 819-2074, e-mail inquiry@owg.cc, or visit www.owg.cc.

Good news! Good news!

n.a.p.a, that awesome store at the second floor of PABLO Gallery, is having their year-ender sale!

Starting from 16 to 20 December 2008, drop by and check out their stuff from 12 nn to 8 pm.

* n.a.p.a. is located at the second floor of PABLO Gallery, Cubao Expo, Q.C.

Photo by At Maculangan

The Angono Ateliers Association, an association founded in 1975 with the hope of honing the skills of young and emerging visual artists from Angono, is holding a fund-rising exhibit entitled “HANDOG SA MAESTRO” at the 2nd floor hallway, Philippine Senate Building, Roxas blvd., Pasay City from 10-19 DECEMBER 2008

This is for the benefit of the on-going restoration of the Studio Museum of one of Angono’ s distinguished sons, National Artist Carlos “Botong” Francisco. It was in this studio along Doña Aurora Street in Angono, Rizal where Botong painted his magnificent landmark murals such as “Fiesta”, “Bayanihan”, “Kasaysayan ng Medisina”, etc, which adorned the walls of Malacañang Palace, Manila City Hall, Philippine General Hospital and other edifices.

The Francisco family initially planned to start the restoration of Botong’s studio five years ago but budgetary constraints stalled this undertaking. It was only in November 2008 that the restoration finally gained ground in time for the commemoration of his 96th birth anniversary, and is now midway into its completion.

The family is likewise honored to exhibit some of Botong’s sketches and painting to highlight his contribution to Filipino culture and the national art community.

I remember saving up for the Avon lady’s visit when I was a teen in the 80s—just in case I needed another strawberry or orange lipgloss. This evolved into more substantial makeup purchases in my early 20s, when I anticipated visits from my new Avon “lady” from Pasig, a six-foot-tall transvestite named Jay.

Now Avon not only sells makeup, but wellness and household products as well! Check out their Colorful Kitchen Tools set:

So cute!I always lose my kitchen tools since they disappear into the background; these really pop out! Check out www.avon.com.ph for store info. Or ask your favorite Avon lady about it (Jay, where are you?).

I found myself on a balikan Cebu trip two weeks ago to judge the southern leg of the Visual Merchandising Awards 08 for the Ayala Malls. I have to admit, I have not been to Cebu in ages, since my cousin moved back to Manila, but I was pleasantly surprised to see this in Ayala Center Cebu:

Very Greenbelt Makati, no? It’s the new park/open activity area/resto strip behind the existing Ayala Center Cebu. Last time I visited, the mall was very quaint Alabang Town Center-esque place, very cozy and communidad in feel. Now it has this Greenbelt Park-like area in the back, with lots of new restos opening soon,and they also have a wellness area next to it, with Zen-style gardens and lifestyle/health shops like cosmetic and dental clinics and spas:

Their grand opening is on December 15, so if you’re in Cebu (or you’re already a Southern belle), don’t forget to catch it—the band Workshy will be performing too.

I had yet another run-in with bad service in a store today.

I was in a popular hardware store in the metro and it took me five minutes for anyone to help me. A girl finally paid me notice, and in fairness she looked for new stock, but was sleepy-eyed and a bit lacking in energy! I’d like to blame it on the Christmas rush, but it was only 10:30 in the morning. Finally, she gave me an update:

Sales staff (sleepy-eyed): “Ma’am, out of stock po.”

Me: “Ah, Ok, thanks miss. Wala bang ibang brand na available?”

Sales staff (not budging): “Ma’am wala.”

She then returned, sleepy-eyed, to her sweeping.

I went to another aisle in the store, looking for garden trowels, and yet again, four aisles down, there were no sales staff around to help me. They were all bustling about in the special setup in front, but there were no customers there. WTF?

I left and hightailed it to another popular hardware store in the next mall, and was greeted by a very chirpy paint person, who found my paint-mixing record from ages ago, called me by my first name, mixed the paint in 2 minutes, and happily helped me to the smiling cashier girl. I was in and out of the store in 3 minutes. Now that’s what I call good service!

Hardware store managers, please take note!

We’re doing a Win Everything on the Cover story again—living, dining, the works—courtesy of Crossings Department Store!!! (Thanks, Crossings! We love you!) They’re giving away almost P100,000 worth of furniture and accessories this year—all you have to do is get a December 2008 copy of Real Living and look for a unique number code inside to join; so grab your copy and join now!

This time, we decided to step outside and do an outdoor living thing this year, and chose contrib and honorary RL girl Arlene Maslog and hubby Bong Maslog’s garden as a backdrop. Ever wondered how we do these covers? Well, the RL staff literally has to move entire rooms around! Here’s how it happened:

Assistant stylist Coni Tejada unpacks each item prior to the shoot (yes, she hauled all of those over)…

…style editor Gwyn Guanzon sets it up…

…and art director Carlo Vergara props up a painting because we can’t nail it on the screen!

Of course the Maslog family’s pet dog Samson can’t help but join in…

…and voila! Our Win Everything cover is done! Thanks Arlene, Bong, Billie and Luigi! (Photo by Rene Mejia)