Wear your art

by Nickky Faustine De Guzman
July 20, 2014

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Denovo diamonds collaborates with renowned Filipino artists and tastemakers Jinggoy Buensuceso, Olivia d’Aboville, Leeroy New, Maureen Disini, Neil Felipp, and Cheryl Tiu to promote original, genuine Pinoy jewelry collections.

Marilyn Monroe got it wrong when she said diamonds were a girl’s best friend. It’s the boys’, too. Enter Denovo diamonds, a Pinoy brand that believes in Filipino originality and caters to men and women bounded by the love of arts and sparkles.

“We want to promote the arts and showcase the best of the Philippine talents. Our art is rich but it’s underrated and unrecognized. We want to champion our culture by coming up with wearable works of art. We wanted something different, something original, something that’s not generic, so we collaborated with artists to come up with their own collection,” says Caryll Martinez, the brains behind Denovo, a Latin word meaning “afresh.” Just recently, Denovo officially launched its collections starring stellar personalities to complement its iconic appeal.

GLOBAL Cheryl Tiu and her Three Stars and a Sun cuff and pendant. (Images by NOEL PABALATE)

HEARTS AND WINGS Leeroy New and his Seraph collection

The collections range from austere to quirky and elaborate.  Globetrotter Cheryl Tiu’s Global collection, for instance, features her fave landmarks. Her collection highlights the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, the Dome of Rock in Jerusalem, the Fisherman’s Bastion in Budapest, and the Metropolitan Cathedral in Rio de Janeiro. But the star of the collection? Her Philippine flag necklace that features the three stars embedded in a pendant shaped like the rays of the sun. “I was inspired by super typhoon Haiyan, with what happened to our country,” Cheryl says. I tried to make this one more local by putting the elements of the Philippine flag. I want it to symbolize hope.”

A stark contrast to Cheryl’s colorful design is renowned furniture designer and sculptor Genesis “Jinggoy” Buensuceso. His Equilibrium collection, as the name implies, suggests balance and harmony. His silver rings, brooches, and bracelets with black diamonds are designed for people in the fast lane. “I had the leaders and the mavens and achievers, the people who are busy with intense level of work, as my inspiration. I want them to seek balance between work and play,” Jinggoy says. His collection appears manly but he says women nowadays are into androgynous fashion. “My sensibility has always been black and clean and with edge. For me, black is the new canvas, it’s infinite.”

SHINE BRIGHT Maureen Disini showcases her glitzy, glamorous La Collezione Promessa

AU NATURALE Olivia d’Aboville’s poetic Crystal Dew collection 

If Jinggoy finds comfort in black, Filipino-French artist Olivia d’Aboville seeks sanctuary in the blue sea. Her Crystal Dew collection is poetic. For her, diamonds can only represent nature’s most precious element, and that is water. Taking cues from morning dews on twigs, Olivia’s seven-piece collection combines organic hints of simple beauty evident in her stem-like cuffs, two-finger rings, and stem necklaces. “My work in general is nature, whatever I do—sculpture, lighting, jewelry—is always related to nature. I am connected to the ocean. When you wear a piece of the collection, you’re a bit closer to nature, like you’re wearing a piece of it,” says Olivia, who, ironically, hardly wears jewelry. “I wish I could if I had more jewelry, I’d wear one. [I’m into] simple and indigenous jewelry that’s more casual,” she says.

Cebuano young artist Neil Felipp’s Simian collection features quirky and playful miniature monkeys. “I believe in whimsical elegance. My inspiration is Abu from Alladin, before he met him. He’s mischievous and attracted to ‘shining, shimmering, splendid’ things. To be consistent, I infused Pinoy games like Follow the Leader, hide and seek, and eye spy.” In his collection are statement pieces of happy monkeys hanging on a tree or tagging one another.

BALANCE Jinggoy Buensuceso’s Equilibrium collection

QUIRKY Neil Felipp’s Simian collection

Another young artist in the roster is visual artist, sculptor, and designer Leeroy New. His fascination with religious iconography, especially of the Sacred Heart and seraphs (hence his Seraph collection) leads him to alternate the divine’s visage in random configurations.

“I’ve always been working on religious iconography as a source of form for all my works but not in an emotional way. I’m into reconfiguring and reconstructing them,” says Leeroy. A sacred heart and seraph tattoos peeked through his shirt.

From religious icons, here’s one for the altar: Fashion designer Maureen Disini’s La Collezione Promessa. Her bridal and engagement line showcases and celebrates her Italian getaway. Maureen, who recently tied the knot, says it’s fitting that she designed wedding bands and engagement rings.

Let’s play

‘And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair,’ so says Khalil Gibran. In Tacloban, one soothing sound can be heard now: children’s laughter.

by Nickky Faustine De Guzman
July 12, 2014

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Amid the cacophony of noises one will hear in Tacloban, Leyte—the rhythmic gushing of waves, gates of store slowly reopening for business, jeepneys and motorcycles on the road, airplanes landing—one comforting sound can be heard across the grief-stricken province: the joyful laughter of kids now able to play.

One of them is six-year-old Noelle, who enjoys playing with balloons and bubbles. Though she cannot speak fluent Tagalog, her eyes speak of pure happiness because finally, she has a new playground to go to with her friends, courtesy of J&J Philippines, in partnership with Play Pilipinas and the Department of Education through their project ’Di Lang Laro ang Laro. It is Sagkahan, Tacloban’s first ever playground post-Yolanda.

READY, SET, GO! The cliche ‘all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,’ holds true. Everyone—old and young—needs to relax and play.

The playground, even before it was finished, drew kids into the school. Those who have lost interest in going to class came back just to check out the playground and try out the swing.

In Sagkahan Elementary School, which has one of the biggest student populations in the province, 1,700 kids are currently enrolled, down from last year’s 1,996 students.

According to school principal Nice Galura, some kids still get scared every time the sun hides from the clouds. “Yung iba nagtatanong kung mauulit daw ba ang Yolanda. ‘Yung ibang bata naman nagsasabi ‘Mama, tara na sa banyo’,” Nice says. Apparently, the comfort rooms became their safe haven during the storm.

In a recent survey done by the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) between November 2013 and March of this year about 80 percent of the villages reported change in children’s behavior, particularly the presence of the fear of strong winds and rain and uncontrollable crying and screaming.

But play can be a form of therapy. According to Asian Hospital and Medical Center developmental psychologist Sampaguita Adapon, “Play is the natural means of expression for children and it allows them to channel whatever pent-up feelings or emotions they may have, especially if they find it difficult to verbalize or talk about them.” She adds that play therapy can help kids overcome a trauma and make them feel better.

According to Australian Catholic University Professor Geraldine Naughton, the first six years of a child is the most critical part of growing up. A child, when deprived of active play, loses brain cells, composed of neurons and glial cells, which are keys in learning and development. Experts encourage at least 60 minutes of active play in order to develop their physical, emotional, and mental health.

“We have high hopes for kids affected by Yolanda to discover the world around them with a renewed sense of optimism. We wish to bring back a sense of normalcy in the lives of these kids with active play as a means to heal them from the trauma Yolanda has caused,” Johnson’s Baby senior brand manager Kris Llanes says.

Royal Tea and Plates

Royal Plate

Here’s a luxury brand with four centuries of artisanship and royalty imprinted on its DNA. Its founder is a King. Queen Elizabeth II has one.

by Nickky Faustine De Guzman
July 10, 2014

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If Meissen porcelain were human, it would be a newborn. It’s dear and delicate, and a thing of beauty. Pouring over its handpainted, intricate illustrations would leave you in awe of the intricacy and bravura of the handiwork. How does one paint a tiny flower or a red umbrella with so much precision? Then again, if Meissen porcelain were to be another human being, it would be royalty.

BE CAREFUL WITH MY ART Meissen director and VP for Asia market Ingo Bade (Image by Noel Pabalate)

When Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip exchanged vows in 1947, Pope Pius XII gave the newlyweds a rare Meissen porcelain chocolate pot with cover and stand dated 1780. Since then, it has become one of the unwritten customaries to give a Meissen item to royal wedding ceremonies, because it speaks of elegance and exclusivity. European royalties and VVIPs especially those from Russia, United Kingdom, Denmark, Spain, among others, collect these items. Even non-Europeans love Meissen. American heiress, philanthropist, and one of the richest women in the world Doris Duke reportedly had a wide collection of fine china sets, including a floral Meissen porcelain dinner service circa 1770.

“All royal houses treasure a piece of Meissen. Museums all over the world have it in their collection. Meissen items always have the highest prices at auctions,” says Meissen director and VP for Asia market Ingo Bade. The brand is now in Philippine shores, available exclusively at Rustan’s Makati. Its showroom houses all things bright and beautiful, delicate and expensive, including porcelain sets, handmade fineries like scarves (P16K), and jewelry (P7M for a necklace with 2,000 diamonds).

Meissen has royalty in its blood. “Our DNA is pure royalty. We were founded by a king, our CEO was a king, our boss was a king,” says Ingo.

MEISSEN, YOU’RE SO FINE Can you see the small yet precise drawings on this Goblet Chinoserie?

Two years after the alchemist Johann Friedrich Bottger discovered the power of kaolin clay, August II or August the Strong, king of Poland and elector of Saxony, founded Meissen, Europe’s most tradition-rich house of fine art and handcrafted luxury.

“Meissen Couture stands for ‘discreet European luxury.’ When you look at our items, our furniture, our scarf, or jewelry, we’re not showing off. They’re not flashy like ‘boom,’” Ingo says in animation, “but they’re very elegant.”

Meissen has accumulated in its archive 10,000 colors, 700,000 molds, and 60,000 designs in over 300 years, which serve as its inspiration. The porcelain designs range from flowers to fruits and Oriental and Arabic aesthetics, which its 237 painters and over 638 employees in Germany painstakingly handpaint and burn, neither once nor twice, but four times to ensure the topmost quality. It does bespoke items, too. Fancy a porcelain necklace with your name on it?

In Meissen headquarters, newbie painters and sculptors undergo extensive and rigorous training before finally joining the masters club. Ingo says painters spend four years in school, three years in-house, and only after seven years will the masters call them as apprentice. This allows them to paint figures like birds on pillows and scarves. There are artists that specialize on birds, flowers, animals, people, fruits, and Egyptian arts but only after 10 years will they be considered “real artists.” Meanwhile, sculptors are only accepted as masters after 13 years of training. Normally, it takes two weeks to two years (or more) to finish a product, depending on its intricacy.

Author Robert E. Röntgen writes in his book The Book of Meissen that, “Working with porcelain is quite different from working with wood or metal. Everything has to be slightly exaggerated.” This is because the clay contracts about one-sixth during drying and firing. He writes in addition, “Many famous sculptors have tried their hands at porcelain, but only a few succeeded.”

China mass-produces porcelain and other luxury items. It seems to be the new business model in a world that wants everything fast and cheap. Ingo says they don’t and they won’t even mass-produce. There’s a rare, fine piece Meissen porcelain jewelry box for example that is only produced twice a year. The brand creates 50 to 75 pieces max worldwide. Nothing more. “This is what’s pitiful. A lot of people have forgotten about craftsmanship, the love for each piece. The appreciation is gone. China, which is known for their arts, has lost their technique because they are mass-producing. This is not what we are,” says Ingo.

Swagger, Baby

Young Pinoy hip hop dance group A-TEAM debunks the nega notion of hip hop by, with hope, setting the Las Vegas stage, the Olympics of hip hop dance culture on fire, one pop, lock, krump, and break dance at a time.

by Nickky Faustine De Guzman
July 7, 2014

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She doesn’t have it anymore, not a single trace of that distinct ballerina stance—the grace, the poise, the fluidity. She used to dance ballet when she was four and stopped when she reached second year high school, she was 15 then. Now, Marla Angela Teresa Sison Go, 22, moves with swag, with attitude, with power. “I cannot say that I love hip hop more than ballet,” says Marla dressed in rubber shoes, short shorts, and loose t-shirt, the “outfit” of a hip hopper. “But they are two distinct dances, it’s just that I guess I found where I am more comfortable.”

(Images by Noel Pabalate)

Transitioning from ballet to hip hop is not a walk in the park, Marla says, but she’s thankful for the finesse and flair ballet dancing has taught her.  Now, Marla and the rest of the A-TEAM crew, a group of 39 members age 15 to 28, are practicing their four-minute hip hop dance routine in time for their international competition in Las Vegas. The World Hip hop Dance Competition is the Olympics of hip hop dance culture. The annual event is held in Las Vegas, Nevada every August with over 2, 500 dancers participating from more than 40 countries. Although hip hop is a Western influence, A-TEAM president Angela Rayos del Sol says that Pinoy modern hip hop is gaining popularity and acceptance, “because it is very popular, it’s shown on TV and movies, it’s hip and fun.”

#REPRESENT A-TEAM, a group of young hip hop dancers krump, break dance, and pop lock their way to the World Hip Hop Dance Championship in Las Vegas.

Funk style hip hop flava like popping (jerking of the muscles and joints), locking (freezing an upbeat movement then locking it in a position), break dancing, and krumping (exaggerated and sharp moves) among others flourished in the ‘70s in the United States, specifically in New York and California. Its popularity broke loose in the local scene during the early ‘80s. According to the Filipino-American Experience Group 5’s blog, filamexperiencegroup5.wordpress.com, with the popularity of the emerging hip hop, Electric Boogaloo, which involves popping and free styling, the Pinoy music and dance lovers were split between disco dance, thanks to Saturday Night Fever, and hip hop. Other moves like moonwalks, crazy legs, robot, waving, and sideway moonwalks flourished from the streets of New York to our local dance floors. Pinoys are not considered newbies in the hip hop dance scene, the hit MTV show, America’s Best Dance Crew, has produced in 2008 the world-class all male group Jabbawockeez, a partly Fil-Am hip hop group composed of Rynan Shawn Paguio, Phil Tayag, Chris Gatdula, Kevin Brewer, Ben Chung, and  Jeff Nguyen. Jabbawockeez is an iconic group known to hide their identities and expressions behind their signature masks and gloves. In 2012, the group has been conferred the Living Legend of Hip hop Award at the World Hip Hop Dance Championship finals, the same competition the A-TEAM group is joining.  Another world-class performer meanwhile is the Philippine All Stars group who won in the 2006 and 2008 World Hip Hop. These groups have set the standard high, but the A-TEAM is not losing heart. “Seeing our fellow kababayan making it big out there makes us proud. As for the A-TEAM, we’re more inspired than ever to take our talent to a global level and show the world that we, too, can make it. The road will not be easy, but it is a journey we wish to make, not for fame or money, but for the experiences,” Angela says. The three-year-old A-TEAM group is not an amateur though. Among many of its accolades are bagging the championship in the 2014 Hip Hop International Philippines National Championship mega crew and varsity division, and ranking sixth out of 40 Asian dance crew in the Singapore Dance Delight Volume 3. One of the setbacks the group faces is the lack of funds to support their ventures abroad. The group needs to reach four million pesos to go to Las Vegas. Thanks to fundraising concerts and support of private companies, they’re all set for the contest. One may think that dancing is just for the heck of it. But nope. Angela, Marla, and the rest of the gang hail from various schools—St. Paul, Claret School, University of the Philippines, University of Santo Tomas, Ateneo de Manila, and De La Salle University, among others—all with the goal of expressing and sharing their dancing skills.  The group agrees that it’s better to spend their time dancing—they practice every day after school—than engaging in vices and unproductive things. “We don’t want to call it as a downside, but Pinoy dance groups prioritize their studies first, unlike in other countries where they stop going to school and focus on hip hop instead,” Angela, a UP Diliman student says. Besides, these kids have other big dreams. A few of them want to be engineers, artists, accountants, and doctors. In the end, these kids dance for a goal: “What we do is hope for the best, that through our performances, we open closed minds to what hip hop truly is—that its depth goes way beyond  its grimy image smeared with graffiti and crime. We envision that everyone appreciates hip hop as, rightfully on its own, an art just as beautiful as others,” says Angela.

Swipe, swipe, swipe!

by Nickky Faustine De Guzman
July 6, 2014

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How sweet it is to swipe your way through life. Swipe to shop. Swipe to travel. But hold your horses, shopaholics, credit cards are an affordable luxury, but if and only if you keep them under control. 

“When I shop, the world gets better, and the world is better, but then, it’s not, and I need to do it again,” so says our favorite funny fashionista Rebecca Bloomwood in Confessions of a Shopaholic. But when it is payback time, Rebecca found herself bankrupt, unable to swipe her way out of financial ruins. What a shame.

The same embarrassment happened to finance company executive Frank McNamara. It was 1949 and Frank was dressed to the nines, ready to meet his friend, Alfred Bloomingdale, grandson of the founder of the Bloomingdale empire. They had dinner at a New York restaurant, but when it was time to pay, Frank, who thought he had cash on him, realized he left his money in another suit. He was penniless. According to dinersclub.com, “He resolved never to be embarrassed again” and in 1950 went on to found the Diners Club, the first multi-purpose charge card in the world.

Alfred, his dinner companion, predicted that there would only be two kinds of people: Those with credit cards and those who couldn’t get them. More than 50 years later, the world now carries the indispensable plastic.

According to statisticbrain.com, there are 176.8 million credit card holders in the US alone. Creditcards.com says there are 7.37 million credit cards in circulation in the Philippines.  The same website also breaks down the purchases by credit card in 2012: Clothing (67 percent), gas (64 percent), food (64 percent), and travel (62 percent).

Frank had a noble intention when he invented the plastic wonder. “It is convenient, great for emergency purposes, offers special deals, and gives opportunities to build your good credits when you pay back money on time,” says Security Bank card deputy head Gerry Dy. A credit card saves you from holdups, gives you convenience to buy major items without cash, and showers you with perks. Security Bank, for instance, offers the Diners Club card, a specialty card for travel, dining, and entertainment. The Diners

Cardholders, in general, can avail of exclusive travel promos and leisure and lifestyle deals with local merchants in partnership with a credit card brand. Majority of credit cards are accepted worldwide. Sounds fun, right? But here’s the fine print: It is important to note that using any credit card is still a form of borrowing and comes with risks. If you don’t pay off your balance in full and on time, the interest can spike, while your debt, if you won’t pay on time, can quickly spiral out of control. The article “Credit Card Basics: Everything You Should Know” by Luke Landes, published in Forbes, says that according to scientific studies, “people are more likely to complete a purchase if they intend to pay with a credit card than if they intend to pay with cash.” Recent statistics by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas says that the total credit card debt in the Philippine banking system is P157.394 billion.Club card offers access to more than 500 airport lounges worldwide, from Tokyo to Thailand, from the Philippines to Pakistan. The credit card lets you escape from the commotion of some of the busiest airports in the world, thanks to its extensive network of international airport lounges, replete with butlers.

Rebecca, in her crazy attempt to cut down her shopping frenzy and inability to pay her bills on time, puts her poor, poor credit card in a container full of water and lets it freeze in her fridge. While you can always try her tactics, here are three sure-fire tips to save you from financial ruin.

• Resist the urge to shop for unnecessary items. Ask yourself, is a new bag a need or just another accessory?
• Pay in full and on time to save you from increasing interest rates.
• If you’re not strong enough to resist temptation, leave your card behind.

S(k)inful

by Nickky Faustine De Guzman
July 6, 2014

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Images by Rudy Liwanag

“Everything —the layout, the old design—got predictable,” says Preview magazine editor in chief Pauline Suaco-Juan. “We wanted something unexpected.” Boom! Enter Ellen Adarna, in all her naked glory, fronting the magazine’s 19th anniversary issue, which Pauline says, “is one for the history books.” Shot by master photographers Mark Nicdao and BJ Pascual in their first collaboration ever, the issue, Pauline adds, is all about celebrating and getting comfy in one’s own skin, which was the theme at the Best Dressed Ball party (and Pauline’s sort of birthday bash) at Hyve.

The color trend? Nude, white, and black. From deconstructed suits to thigh-high slits, sexy back, leg veils, and barely-there club wear, name it, the bare skin fun fare brings all the boys and girls to the yard. Nope, they are not hubaderas and hubaderos, it’s just that “the cold never bothered them anyway.”

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    TIM YAP

    

    KATARINA RODRIGUEZ

    

    LA AGUINALDO