Frameworks Homefront

I have three small paintings, a 12" x 12" bloom painting by Miguel Toni Villanueva, a 9" x 12" painting of a bird house by Renee Avila, and the small Merm painting I bought from Ang INK. For the longest time, these paintings were displayed at the topmost cabinet shelf of my office, placed on small easels. The reason they were displayed as such was because I couldn't decide what type of frame I was going to pair with them. I've been to Frame Plus, Rotech, and an obscure frame shop in Sta. Lucia - and their offerings are kinda limited.

I asked for a quotation on frames similar to the following.

1. For the Renee Avila bird house, I wanted it framed like the Meditteranean seascape painting I bought from Glorietta back in 2014.

I had Frame Plus quote how much this would cost, and they told me it would reach around PhP 2,000.00.

Frameworks Homefront quoted me PhP 800.00. Why not?

For the Merm painting, I wanted the small square painting to be in the center of a rectangular white matting with black frame. See the Pernia painting in the center? The Merm painting is as small as a coaster, imagine it there!

They're kinda full so the frame job will take about two weeks. I am so excited already, can't wait for the paintings to be framed!

Frameworks Homefront

#46 Kamuning Road, Quezon City

tel. no. 0917/0922.8264482

Owndays in Estancia Mall

One of my favorite haunts currently is Estancia Mall in Capitol Commons. Kim and I absolutely love it there because there isn't that much people milling around. Most of the stores are SSI - they have Pottery Barn, Marks and Spencer, they have Old Navy, and Debenhams.

Kim and I also love eating in Jipan in Estancia. Parking is easier compared to Megamall or Glorietta, easily accessible to Jipan from the parking area, which makes walking to the restaurant easier for me.

One of the most recent shops to open is Owndays. I wasn't quite familiar with the shop - it sells sunglasses and prescription eyeglasses. Since I was due to purchase a new pair of eyeglasses already (I replace my eyeglasses annually) I checked out the place. Prices ranged from PhP 2,990.00 to upwards of PhP 10,000.00. The price, however, is inclusive of the prescription lens already. They also guarantee that the eyeglasses will be done 20 minutes after payment.

Now, usually, I don't get my prescription, it just isn't readily available, even in the most established optical shops that I've purchased from, so I wanted to see if Owndays could guarantee that I would receive my lens within the day.

Kim and went there last Saturday, I brought an old pair of eyeglasses I had so that it would be the basis for my grade - lo and behold, they do have my grade available. It took me longer to choose what frame I wanted to purchase, and I ended up grabbing a pair of Wellingtons for only PhP 3,990.00.

I was so happy with my purchase. Who would've thought that my unique grade would be readily available!

Owndays is a Japanese eyewear brand that was recently established. Their first shop was opened in 2009, and their expansion to other Asian countries in the past couple of years can only be described as aggressive. They don't sell branded eyewear, the glasses that they have are all original designs, manufactured by them, including the lenses. They also collaborate with eyewear designers for some of their pieces.

It's been a couple of days that I've been using my glasses, and I love its weight. It isn't as heavy as my older prescriptions, which may be seen as a con for others, but not having additional weight on my face is definitely a plus for me. Even if it is light, though, the build is just solid. They really have a good manufacturing arm, and the Japanese quality is prevalent in the end-product.

Don't take my word for it though, feel free to visit them in Estancia Mall, and try some eyewear for yourselves.

Owndays Optical Shop

Level 1, Shop 132 Estancia Mall, Meralco Avenue, Pasig City

tel. no. 02.9973061　

Save The Black Shop

2015 has been full of nostalgia for me. My youngest brother came home and stayed with us for 2 weeks - he left 3 years ago to study in Australia. My sister is about to graduate college and we're right in the middle of getting ready for her graduation outfits, so I'm getting sentimental because there's a good chance she might take further studies abroad.

In terms of shopping, so many brands I remember from my childhood have started to make their presence felt this year also.

Around April of this year, my baby sister asked if we could go shopping for a couple of corporate attire outfits for her org's miting de avance. She was 3rd year at the time, and she was running for her college org's president. Most of her clothes are (ahem, ahem) party wear, save for a couple of Mango and Zara cocktail dresses that were subdued but very short. I decided to bring her to the Black Shop in Glorietta so that we can get her first office-wear outfit. She ended up purchasing a sky blue shirt dress and a pink shift dress with a black sheer neckline cover. She wore the pink dress to her miting de avance. She was the only one who took the dress code seriously.

A couple of days ago, she called me aside and asked me to purchase more corporate outfits for her, because she volunteered to become a lounge attendant at the airport for the VIP lounge in NAIA for the APEC 2015 delegates. She's actually to be paid for the 4 days that she will be in the airport next week. Her problem was that she didn't have enough corporate outfits - and that was the prescribed dress code. We ran off to The Black Shop again to get her more outfits. I was chiding her that the cost of her outfits were more than what she was going to be paid - of course, she was doing this really so that she could put it in her resume.

We almost went to The Black Shop in Trinoma, had I not been informed that it had closed already. I started interviewing the people in The Black Shop in Glorietta and they told me that there were only two branches left - the Glorietta and Megamall branches. They were shifting away from mall retail locations and transferring to showrooms in Quezon City, Ortigas, and Makati. Apparently, rent in the malls were starting to become steep for them.

I was kinda worried that this might herald their closing, I was assured though that they would still be around. In the early 90s, I often remember my mom dragging me to shopping marathons in Makati - The Black Shop was one of the stores where I would patiently wait for her to fit her pantsuits. I started to get sentimental and started taking pictures of the shop.

All items were on sale - my mom who insisted to be brought to The Black Shop also after dinner actually thought that it was already their closing out sale. My sister was able to purchase her first pantsuit, a blue dress (which she planned on using also for her Ateneo Med School interview) and 2 crisp long-sleeved shirts.

This is her taking a selfie with the blue dress trying to pair it with the blazer from the pantsuit.

While they're still there, please pass by and visit The Black Shop. I'm sure a lot of mothers have at one point experienced buying something there to wear to the office, they have been around since 1990. People my age and the millenials probably shop for their office wear in Zara, Mango, H&M, and Marks and Spencer (especially when they're on sale - GUILTY) but nothing beats local! (Wow, did I really just say that?)

Save The Black Shop!

P.S.: If you were to buy a dress, pants, or blazer from The Black Shop, the kind ladies there will be the ones to assist you having it altered to fit. How cool is that? I'll be driving back to Makati in a couple of days to pick up my sister and mom's altered garments.

The Black Shop

Ground Floor, Glorietta 4, Makati

tel. no.: 02.8468025

Guess Eyeglasses from The Optical Shop Premier

Kim bought me a new pair of eyeglasses from The Optical Shop Premier in the new Glorietta 2.

Always quite a challenge for me to look for a new pair of eyeglasses, and I make it a point to get a new pair every year. My grade hasn't changed for quite some time already, so I am pretty much able to maintain having multiple pairs of eyeglasses. 

And there's a caste system to the eyeglasses. I always leave a pair in the office - this pair is meant to be my showcase eyeglasses. I leave a pair at home - this one should be the most comfortable pair. Lastly, there's always my go-to pair - the frame that can take a rough beating when I'm out of the house or office, moving about. 

The office pair, a pair of titanium eyeglasses I purchased on sale from Ideal Vision is to be retired for home use, and this new pair from The Optical Shop Premier is to be my showcase eyeglasses. 

I would have wanted to get a pair of Prada, Burberry, Ted Baker, or Ferragamo eyeglasses, however, my face is quite wide, and at the minimum, I require glasses that are size 54 up, depending on the frame. My go-to pair, black plastic-rimmed Zoo York glasses, are 56. The titanium set, although a smaller size, is very flexible, thin and light, and doesn't pinch my temples. 

This pair of Guess eyeglasses are quite comfortable also, and have the right allowance for my temples. My eye condition makes me prone to migraines, so having a comfortable pair that ensures that no other possible cause of strain on the eye, nose bridge, or temple is very important. 

The model number is Guess GU 1813, its a nice bronze color, and the box is quite cute with the indented dots on it. 

The staff in The Optical Shop were quite helpful. Their optometrist had good bedside manners.  They have more models, so if you're in the market to be buying a pair of eyeglasses, why not pay them a visit. Better yet, be like Kim, and give the gift of clear sight to your loved one!

The Optical Shop Premier

2/F, The New Glorietta 2, Glorietta Complex

Makati