artful living

the shoppe smells strong of paint and wood. from a distance, i hear one cell phone playing soft music, one of my F.A.R.M.ers listens as he does the F.A.R.M. beings.  as i look from my swivel chair, behind my laptop, i had the compulsion to touch it all, take it all in:  my walls lined with vintage buttons still on their original stock cards with their respective stock nos., the mosaic tiled table stuffed with textured buhi fabrics, behind me shelves hold rows upon rows of shoe boxes filled to the brim with buttons ready to be taken and coaxed for any upsurge of inspiration. . .sometimes, i get to listen to the clinks my fave buttons make when i get to take them out their jar-homes.  this place simply tells myriad stories, thicker than the paint in the air.

the wooden panelled divider which serves as my design and display area and christmas wall (funny how jay says it:  so, it is not going to be a christmas tree, but a christmas wall, as i told him my decor plans for the holidays.  bwahahaha!) separates my shoppe from the gallery, where art works are hang and shown and sold.  

that room overflows with furniture, pattern, wood and a cacophony of things and memories collected from travels and friendships across time and space.

years back, this area was just a place where things i rather not look at, are kept.  now, it is a space where all the stuff my life is made of, well, nearly all, are seen and are regularly visited  by the self, by friends and by strangers.  strange how time dictate upon one's story.  bwahahaha!

i have always dreamed of having these three things in my life and i remember writing them down on one of my old journals:  a garden, a gallery and a foundation.  little did i know then, that i was actually up for the pursuit and the adventure and more.  it took a couple of years to make me realize that those visions are becoming, right before my very eyes.  and i get to know this for sure:  the universe conspires to let me live my dreams, as if it sees through me, my passions and my heart's desires.

i had the dream, and i was not afraid to make them come true.  my farm (La Huerta de Rosario), my gallery (Cafe des Artes), my shop (The F.A.R.M. Shoppe) and my bevy of scholars. . .they all have allowed me to live this one artful and beautiful life.  and i am grateful.

life is indeed good!  bwahahaha!

shine bright like a diamond!

i find it funny that i know people who feel embarrassed when they receive compliments.  they, however, remind me of how i would feel when somebody would say i got beautiful eyes, or that i did great in anything.  it had to take some time listening to ernst, my friend, who would not have a negative word about me, even when he sees me just off the sheets when we used to have early morning chats.  well, of course he has not seen me blow my top off over the stupidity of a lot of motorcycle drivers.  bwahahaha! 

but seriously, he was the one who would always point the good in me and never got tired doing so.  i once asked him why i never hear those compliments from people here in my turf, and he joked when he told me, maybe men in the philippines are blind?  bwahahaha!  

anyway, this weekend brought this thought back to me, because as i work my way to being fit and trim, i realize that there are also people who are genuinely happy for others. so for this weekend, i have made myself know these for sure:
there is just no justice in downplaying my gifts and minimizing my successes, nor in trying to skim over my strengths with, "oh, that was nothing."
it was nothing?  it was the spark of the force within me!  for crying out loud.  bwahahaha!

i was created to be shining bright!  we all were.  (shine bright like a diamond!  bwahahaha!  so apt.)
there is simply no time to be listening to the whiners, the discouragers, the critics, the good-in-your-life-makes-me-feel-bad crowd.
there is simply nothing to worry about.  those gifts, those successes, they are not reasons for an apology, they are reasons for gratitude and celebration!
so i hold my head high and keep that joy in my heart.
i let my light shine!  it is the proper response to what the force has done for and through me.
and if anyone tells me to tone it down - they can take that up with him.  bwahahaha!

meanwhile, i know life is good and i shine bright like a diamond. 

it is okay to be happier

the past week was mostly spent relaxing.  the previous one was really stressful, so i always make sure my body and spirit recuperate fast by indulging in small pamperings.

this brings to mind an instance when i had to tell on somebody who would always sssshhhh me, when i break into my famed thunderous bwahahahas!  if i could have my way, she would not have a strand on her as an aftermath of her sssshhhh-ing me.  bwahahaha!  her act or shall i say reaction to my happiness and joy seems to be saying:  to be happy is to sin!  no, no, no!

pursuing happiness is, to my mind, life's quest.  when one tells me otherwise, i have to snoot and show her the palm saying:  talk to the hand, the face is busy.  all depends on how one pursues happiness.  if one's bolts and nuts are in the proper places, am sure the right things and non-things would bring about true happiness (am not sure am making sense to some, now, but to the self, am clear.  bwahahaha!)

the wise king solomon has been quoted to say:  i know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.  hmmm, i recited that line aloud without batting an eyelash.  bwahahaha!

i so believe that our emotions are also gift from the force.  it is okay to be sad, mad, hurt or angry.  and i also want to say, it is also okay to be happy.

happiness (again, to me)  is a human-on-earth experience of joy in heaven.  so why scrimp on it?
i have been under all types of emotions.  of course, there is this nature in me to have a negative bias, like when i would know what a threat of a charging bull would have, but i learned to renew how my mind processes all other things.  some of them are surprisingly practical, but most of them are spiritual.

pursuing happiness is an exercise for me ( not that it burns my excesses, bwahahaha!), and faking it simply does not work.  everyone must discover and pursue what truly makes them feel happier (i always say this to my students) and note, the word is happier, not happy, because the goal is simply to be growing in happiness in ways that give honour to the force even when one is going through a hard time.  (no pun intended on the last part.  bwahahaha!)

so there, be happy and have fun doing it!  bwahahaha!  life is good!

my fashion statement

 while this is my first attempt at showing off what i believe in, on the runway, it is definitely not the first in my attempts to show i care about my planet.  my love for the environment is the fuel that propels me to create.  the truth is, my insatiable passion for the environment and my driving motivation to bring about real, positive change, drove me to join this fashion show:  Designer's Statement.  

i felt that if i wanted to have a broad impact as an individual, i would need to break out of my local confines and reach out to people in new ways.

my aim is to show that what we wear has a wide-ranging effect on the environment.  for me, it is not my love for fashion that made me passionate about the environment. rather, it is my passion for the environment that made me love fashion for its potential to create change.  what we wear to make us look good, should also make us feel good!

i have taken up the challenge of combining style with sustainability, and began a trek down a path to a more fulfilling lifestyle.  it is about incorporationg more environmentally and socially responsible principles and practices throughout the manufacturing process and life cycle of the product - from materials to construction to design to how i care for my clothes and what i do with them when i do not want them any longer.  by creating this fashion line, i know that my style is no longer in conflict with the way i wanted to live my life.  i could finally look good, feel good and do good - simultaneously:  a win-win-win situation!

i hope what i have created will not only help people see style in a new light but also inspire them to make a difference.  so i dedicate this line of bags, clothing and accessories to everyone who cares about their mother and want to look good while doing better.

may we all lead by example and do so in style!

nb:
clothes are made from 100% upcycled used silk and satin, embroidered and sewn with loving care by the rural women of my beloved hometown, baao.
bags are made from fabrics handwoven using recycled threads, by rural women of buhi, embroidered and pieced together by the rural women of baao, with handles of patent leather, attached by artisans in pili.
accessories are made from used and discarded buttons and fabrics, made by out of school youth of baao.
each piece of F.A.R.M. is a product of cooperation and creative unity.