Bric's X-Bag Crossbody

One of my regrets this year was that I was unable to purchase a Bric's bag from NAIA Terminal 3 when we had a flight to Hong Kong July of this year. Mom took the opportunity to buy a bag while it was at 30% off, and I didn't.

I was quite delighted when the Bric's at the airport sent my mom a text message informing her that some bags had gone on sale again.

The bag I really wanted at the time was the X-Bag Crossbody, which I was hoping to get in a somewhat unisex color of either black, blue, or brown. When I called the sales person at the store, black was available.

borrowed from lyst.com

Just today, accompanied by my sister, we went to the airport in order to purchase the crossbody bag I had the store set aside for me. Grace, the store supervisor I was coordinating with, was on her break, so we had a quick lunch at the airport to kill time.

Looking around the people rushing to and fro to get to their destination, I was observing what type of luggage and bags they carried around with them. The bag you bring with you when you're flying out has to have enough space, and must be convenient to run around in, toss from side to side - and this was the reason why I wanted to get a Bric's X-Bag Crossbody. It is made of nylon so it can withstand rain, water, moisture, sweat. It has bovine leather accents which are hardy and tough and can last for years. Plus, it will perfectly match my check-in luggage.

After lunch, we went back to the shop and I was able to finally purchase the bag at a discounted price of PhP 2,920.00, from its original price of a little over PhP 5,000.00. The Bric's store in the airport is a different distributor from the one located in SM Aura and Shangri-la, and I find that their prices here are, indeed, better than outside. Haven't figured out, though, as to where I was going to attribute the price difference.

I inquired on the availability of the Bellagio Business Case hand-carry trolley that I wanted to purchase to match my Bellagio Tobacco check-in luggage. They said it was supposed to be available before December ends, and the price is way lower compared to the store in SM Aura. Naturally, I asked them to set aside the luggage for me already, and I will hie off to them as soon as they message me.

I'm sharing pictures of the bags on display and the bag I purchased.

Took a snapshot of this crossbody bag as it was on sale at PhP 3,650.00. I didn't purchase it though as the straps are thinner, thus making it hard for the bag to be considered unisex. My mom might be interested in it, though.

This is the bag I purchased. After my purchase, they only have 4 bags left. This would make a really nice gift this Christmas season. Do consider it.

And here's a snapshot of the bag as soon as I brought it home.

I really like Bric's over the other travel bag brands. It isn't as widely known locally, so using their luggage and travel bags gives me a unique sense of style. Observing the people in the airport, their go-to brands are either Samsonite, Delsey, Rimowa, and Tumi. With a Bric's, I feel comfortable that I wouldn't run into someone with the same bag. Quality is also not compromised with this brand. I have had a Bric's trolley that has been with me for years, and it still looks as beautiful as when I first used it.

Bric's X-Bag Capri 25" Spinner

I'm pretty excited for tomorrow!

I was looking around online and saw a Bric's X-Bag being sold for such a good price. According to the seller it had been used once. The color is pretty unique, though, from the available designs in the shop. The tuscan leather used in the current X-Bag lines is brown, the color of the leather used in this particular model is somewhat beige.

I did research on it, and I was able to find an X-Bag model that looked similar to it:

pictures borrowed from Polyvore

This is the X-Bag Capri series. Other models in its line up are the following:

Quite an interesting color-combination, if you ask me. 

We're supposed to go to New Manila tomorrow to inspect it, and hopefully purchase it. Will give you more details soon as I get home tomorrow. 

Rimowa Salsa Sports Trunk 32" Multiwheel

Mommy, Bianca, and I went to Rockwell yesterday. We were just going to go window-shopping, since there wasn't anything better to do on a stormy Sunday. 

We ended up going into the Rimowa store in Rockwell where I had a stark realization - that I might have purchased the wrong luggage!

I really wanted a Rimowa, but the PhP 60,000.00 price range quoted to me when I visited Rimowa in Greenbelt turned me off. Apparently, I asked about the wrong product. That price tag is for the aluminum Rimowas. I wanted a polycarbonate Rimowa which was about half the cost of that. 

I couldn't dwell too much on it, especially since my Bric's Bellagio was a gift from Kim, and we got a really good bargain for it. 

So I considered buying a Rimowa carry-on in blue to match my navy blue Bellagio. Mommy and Bianca wouldn't hear of it. The designs of the two luggage were on polar ends of the spectrum. 

On the one hand, I adore the vintage steamer trunk look of the Bellagio, which gives it a charming old world vibe, and on the other, the minimalist industrial of Rimowa is also quite timeless. 

I decided I would still match my Bric's Bellagio with the 2nd generation hand carry business case:

borrowed from bricstore.com

But that I would buy another set of luggage. I was looking at the Rimowa Salsa Sports Trunk 32" Multiwheel, and I love its shape. I so want one. 

borrowed from the bestthings.com

Another thing I realized last Sunday - Bric's prices are more expensive than Rimowa. 

They're both beautiful in their own right, and if you're having difficulties deciding between two things, then why not get them both?

Bric's Bellagio Ultra-Light Spinner

After our Hong Kong trip, we figured it was time to update our luggage. You might think that luggage is not important, that you can basically get one of those run of the mill suitcases in the department store, and nobody would care. Well, you're wrong.

Your choice in luggage says a lot about you. It was a lesson we learned in a rather odd way.

During our Hong Kong trip, we brought an XL Samsonite soft-case luggage, an XL Echolac polycarbonate luggage, a Bric's carry-on, and a locally manufactured carry on. While going around Hong Kong, we brought along the carry-on with no name. The locals in the MTR were looking at us from head to toe after they realized that our carry-on was insignificant. These locals, by the way, were bringing around Rimowa carry-ons in the MTR! They weren't even going to the airport, they were going to work! I wanted to tell them, "Don't look at us like that, you guys are commuters! We don't even ride the MRT in the Philippines." Alas, it remained in my thought balloon.

Mommy and I vowed this incident was never ever going to happen again, and so our quest for the perfect luggage started.

Naturally, our first option was Rimowa. After all, the commuting snobs of Hong Kong all seemed to approve of the brand. I noticed also that in the international airport in Manila, there were a lot of Filipinos pushing around their Rimowa luggage.

After further research, and several visits to the Rimowa store in Greenbelt, apparently, there are fake Rimowas. Can you imagine spending PhP 60,000.00 on luggage, and people thinking that you're Rimowa probably cost only PhP 12,000.00. A word of caution, best to buy only from the store.

In hindsight, I realized that some of the Filipinos in the airport lugging Rimowa might have been using fake ones.

We almost resorted to, sigh, buying either a polycarbonate Delsey or Samsonite, much to Bianca's delight because Delsey had a pink series.

Good thing I stumbled into Bric's store in SM Aura - during a weekend sale to boot.

Now, we're no strangers to Bric's. In fact, one of our purchases from Duty Free in Manila was a Bric's tote for Mommy. Throw in Jessica Alba and Amal Clooney being spotted rolling Bric's luggage out from the airport, and we were sold.

Mommy was the first to  purchase the luggage. She bought an XL Bric's Bellagio in olive.

borrowed from bricstore.com

I didn't immediately buy one because I was having difficulty choosing between getting a polycarbonate Bellagio or an XL Bric's Life Camo. The Life series is a combination of leather coated in PVC, so it gives a soft case feel to the luggage, but with the water resistance of a polycarbonate shell. 

borrowed from lyst.com

Kim on the other hand offered to buy the luggage for me as a birthday/Christmas/anniversary gift.

This evening, we went to the Bric's store in SM Aura so Kim can see the options. He preferred the Bellagio because of the polycarbonate shell, and even the staff at Bric's recommended that I get that model instead. 

Since Mommy and I cannot travel with the same colored bag, I ended up getting the XL Bric's Bellagio in navy.

borrowed from neimanmarcus.com

Blue Bellagio it is!

Our next trip is to Seoul-Pohang-Busan in March 2017. I'm excited!

Umbra Prisma Copper Frame

Just came back from Hong Kong, and since I've been there several times already, I've run out of souvenirs to get myself to remind me of the trip.

This particular trip, though, I came across a nice stall with a calligrapher. She was writing down English names in Chinese characters. For HK$30, I commissioned her to write my name.

The Chinese characters depicting my name meant he is to seek. Makes me feel like I'm some seeker of truth and knowledge.

I didn't know how to present this tiny 5" x 7" paper. I was thinking it would probably look best in a nice picture frame. The tricky part though was finding a frame that I would like. You see, my family isn't normal, in the sense that we don't have family pictures framed and displayed on a mantel, so I was never used to shopping for a photo frame. Having paintings framed, that's where I was trained well by my mom.

I went around Glorietta hoping to find a good frame to showcase my little calligraphy, and I was able to find one that I fell in love with in Dimensione.

I love the copper color, it lends a somewhat modern feel to the timeless Chinese calligraphy. I also adore the angles and lines that create the prism back of the frame, which supports it. The calligraphy, or photo, looks absolutely glorious floating right smack in the center of it.

Such a lovely addition to my office. I have a picture from a 2012 Hong Kong trip that's just on my magnetic memo board, and a picture of the One Serendra team attending a party - I would probably be looking for those also so I can display them in the office.

I guess starting to frame pictures is still a way to preserve special moments and memories that will never go out of style.

Akuna by Isaac Cruz

I've been sketching this image in my head for quite some time already, and I was finally able to put it onto canvas, and framed. It now hangs proudly in my office.

I had it framed in Frameworks Homefront. I wanted a floater frame for it - part of the challenge was explaining how I wanted the frame executed. I made sure that the framers would leave a space between the recessed matting and the edge of the frame because I'm planning to put LED strip lights to illuminate the painting.

I'm quite proud of it. It was Kim who named it Akuna. It was the first word that came to his mind when he saw the painting.

Just wanted to share my piece!

Akuna (2016)
Isaac Cruz
Acrylic on canvas
24" x 36"

Marcos Martial Law: Never Again by Raissa Robles

As soon as I read in an article that the copies of the books were available already in National Bookstore, I immediately went to the branch in Glorietta, which was just right across Park Terraces.

The book is priced at PhP 395.00. It is a very easy read. I've been reading it as a bedside novel, which is a challenge because the book is huge. 

As a student, I was diligent reading on the history of Martial Law. Although I was born in the early 80s, my family did not feel the effects of Martial Law at the time. My mother, though, had a coffee-table book on People Power which piqued my interest in the topic at an early age. In Ateneo,  I was lucky to have been taught by my teachers of what happened during Martial Law, and the thirst for knowledge on that era in Philippine history never lost its allure for me. I was fascinated by the excesses of the Marcoses - I used to have a copy of Some Are Smarter Than Others, and that book reported in depth the items that Imelda Marcos would purchase from abroad. It listed real estate, jewelry, shoes, clothes, paintings - quite fascinating, I tell you. I really hope that they do another run of that book again. 

In the day and age of information technology, it surprises me that millennials don't seem to have a clue as to what happened during Martial Law. This particular book gives you the story of the victims of human rights violations, the desaparecidos, and their families. 

It would be a good addition to every Filipino's library. 

The Goat's Keeper SUOZ189 - Swatch Chinese New Year Watch for 2015

My mom and I had brunch in Mom and Tina's in ABS-CBN yesterday, and we ran a couple of errands right after. She had to have her Fino bag cleaned in Fino Trinoma. While we were there, she had the urge to buy a watch, so we made rounds in the watch shops. While we were in Swatch, we were informed there was a promotion for the Chinese New Year commemorative watch for 2015, the Goat's Keeper (SUOZ189).

I was just happy that they still had stock available, since I had only begun collecting Swatch watches late last year. It was Buy 1 Get 1, so we each purchased a pair, and we only shelled out PhP 4,000.00.

Sharing pictures of the watch - I am so happy I got to avail of this promotion!

More Marina Ceriola Paintings

Marina contacted me Saturday morning - she has paintings for sale! She sent me pictures of 6 paintings, but these are the ones that I had reserved:

Both are oil on canvas, and measures 18" x 24". 

I messaged her today asking when she can pass by the office so I can pay for these already. 

The 2nd painting is a reproduction of The First Mourning by William-Adolphe Bouguereau. 

I had already given a heads up to Frameworks Homefront that I will going to them on Saturday to have these 2 paintings framed - I started researching online as well on Renaissance-style frames, in order to pay homage to Bouguereau. Frameworks was suggesting that I use a silver frame instead of gold, but I'm still partial to gold, what do you guys think? 

Kurangga 3 by Robie Perdiguerra

I went back to the Bigkis Sining Binangonan exhibit in Il Centro last Saturday to pick up my two Gener Blanco paintings. I was quite excited as I was to immediately drive to Frameworks Homefront to have these framed. I had saved pictures of the paintings in the Blanco Museum, and I was to show them to Frameworks - I wanted the 2 paintings to look like they were lifted from the Blanco Museum.

A good friend of mine from New World Hotel and One Serendra, Myra Bass, sent me a Viber message in our group. You see, that morning, Marina Monina had messaged me with paintings that she had available, and I sent these to the One Serendra Viber Group. Myra wanted paintings to be placed in her office in Raffles. I informed her that one of my stops was the exhibit in Il Centro, and she asked if I could send her pictures of the paintings that were available.

As soon as I got to the exhibit, I started taking pictures of the paintings that caught my eye. Of course, I sent her pictures of Gener Blanco's works. A piece that really caught my attention, though, and wasn't in the exhibit when I had gone there the week prior was Robie Perdiguerra's Kurangga 3. It is acrylic paint on a 13.5" x 10" canvas, and is a mother and child. It was enchanting, and Myra being a mom to a beautiful daughter studying in Assumption San Lorenzo, I had an inkling she might like it. I took a picture of Kurangga 3 and sent it to Myra via Viber. 

She loved it, along with 3 Blanco paintings that I sent. She asked me to purchase these for her. 

I brought them with me to the office, I thought Myra was going to work today, but she was, unfortunately off today. For today, though, the Kurangga 3 is on exhibit in my office, just for a limited time. 

I couldn't resist, so I took a photo of it on my desk, so that I could share it with everyone. 

My mom saw the painting and was upset that I didn't buy it for her. It was then I realized that she really enjoys mother and child paintings. 

I'm just hoping when Myra comes to pick up her paintings tomorrow, I'd be able to let them go. 

Frameworks Homefront

I was pretty busy last Saturday - my building, Park Terraces, had its first staff outing in Los Banos, Laguna. However, I still found time to drop by Frameworks Homefront to pick up the 3 small paintings I wanted framed.

A couple of weeks ago, I had finally decided that it was time to have my mini-paintings, which I placed on small easels, to be given proper frames. I researched which frame shop I would go to. Rotech, although it has been quite affordable with positive results, already closed their branch in Sta. Lucia. I didn't want to brave the crowd in Megamall to go to the Rotech branch there.

I chanced upon the advertisement of Frameworks on OLX, which directed me to their Facebook page. Their shop was quite near where I live - so I called them to set an appointment.

I left the paintings there and they asked me to come back after two weeks. Finally, after much anticipation, I have the frames in my office already!

The Birdhouse by Renee Avila seems like its floating. I had it framed similar to a painting I purchased in Gintong Sining in Glorietta. I had an inkling the result was going to be spectacular, since the green is so vibrant, the black frame made it pop even more.

ANG Ink's Merm was quite a challenge, being such a small painting. To make it seem quite original, I also placed it on a predominantly black background to make the color vibrant - but I angled the mermaid so that the canvas would turn into a diamond shape. The frame's inspiration is from my 2 Anjo Bolarda wood blocks which I had framed in a similar fashion.

Miguel Toni's blue blossom - I couldn't really decide how to frame, since most of the frames we tried on it looked washed out. We finally decided to use a silver wood frame to accentuate its black and blue motif without making the painting look drab.

I have two Blanco paintings which I will be bringing to Frameworks - the owners are quite hands-on. They were the ones helping me decide on the matting and frame, they were giving good suggestions for each painting.

Should you need the services of a frame shop, why not give Frameworks a try? Prices are very competitive, and they make the frames in their shop right behind their store.

FRAMEWORKS HOMEFRONT
#46 Kamuning Road, Quezon City
telephone number: 02.4264482 / 0917.826.4482

Bigkis Sining Binangonan - Gener Blanco Artworks

I chanced upon an art exhibit that had just been set up in Il Centro in Sta. Lucia last Friday the 13th. I was driving by when I saw paintings by the entrance.

Kim and I stopped and we saw glorious paintings from artists hailing from Angono and Binangonan, Rizal.

There were paintings from Glenn Blanco, eldest son of Jose "Pitok" Blanco.

The youngest son of Pitok Blanco also had a painting on display. Peter Paul, when he was still a toddler, was featured prominently in his father's paintings.

Another group that exhibited their works is Bigkis Sining Binangonab. One of their members is Gener Blanco, related to the Blancos of Angono. And the family semblance is quite evident in his artworks:

Bigkis Sining Binangonan's other artists also showcased their works:

The exhibit will be open until May 22, 2016. I went back to the exhibit last Sunday, and I purchased paintings from Gener Blanco. It isn't everyday that you can easily purchase a Blanco painting without batting an eyelash -  so I purchased Dragonfly and Landscape. I'll be picking up the artworks on the 22nd, the last day of the exhibit.

If you live near the area, please pass by, and help support our local art scene and artists, purchase a painting or two, too!