Out and About: Manila Fame The Lifestyle and Design Event October 2014

Nothing makes me more proud of my heritage than to see the beautiful, hand-crafted furniture every year at the Manila Fame show.  I have been attending the shows for 6 years now, and the Manila Fame Event never fails to give me a surge of excitement each time the doors open to the exhibit halls.  They have always made the designs beautiful, theatrical and bigger than life.  Never settling for average or good enough designs.  

If you're looking for beautifully designed furniture and accent pieces for the home, this is the place you'd want to be twice a year every year.  Manila Fame holds trade shows every March and October and is the best venue to do some serious furniture buying.  You'll see a lot of foreign buyers during the Manila Fame event too, this is  because Philippine-made furniture are sought after in global markets.  Doesn't that make you proud to be Filipino?

Missed the show a week ago?  Let me share with you some photos during the October Manila Fame Design & Lifestyle Event.  The Design Philippines scenography  is under the creative direction of Budji Layug and gave life to three stories: Soulcrafts, Luxe and Gen C.  Furniture and  home accents on display featured the latest designs from a collection by designers Stanley Ruiz and Eric Paras with special participation of select brands of Design Philippines and Manila Wear.

H&M's VIP Night at SM Mega Fashion Hall

H&M Philippines opened it's first flagship store yesterday at the SM Mega Fashion Hall to 1,100 VIP guests.  The store showcased their latest collection in an unforgettable night of glamour, fashion and music.

Hatch 22 Cafe & Bakery with the bride-to-be

I just received the best news, my good friend Bambi just got engaged!  Oh, I am so happy for her my heart is bursting with joy!

As we were talking over the phone, I kept having flashes of our adventures in Boracay a few years back with our friend Marge.  Many life conversations took place in our favorite restaurants and special life celebrations with our friends from Assumption.  It also dawned on me that after she gets married next year, she will be leaving Manila and will be settling down in San Francisco, USA.  She has not left yet, but I am already beginning to miss her.

You see, Bambi is the type of friend who brings our group together when our friends would come to visit Manila for vacation.  When our busy schedules could not accommodate planned lunch dates, we found that it was better not to plan them at all.  Oftentimes, unscheduled lunch dates would work better for us.

So here we are, it's mid-afternoon and we're having late lunch at Hatch 22 Cafe & Bakery in Rockwell.  It seemed like ages since we last saw each other and for a good four hours, we chatted up a storm, talked about her engagement, pre-wedding plans and of course, the love of her life, Ricky.

A book to help Bambi with her wedding preparations, from celebrity wedding planner, Jo Gartin: 

Jo Gartin's Weddings: An inspiring guide for the stylish bride.  If you happen to be planning your own wedding too, check out Jo Gartin's website, Love is by Jo Gartin.