Finding inspiration in art, design and pursuing personal passions on Modern Living TV
Serving up your weekly dose of the best lifestyle finds, trends and interesting personalities, Modern Living TV’s sixth episode introduces guests to creative and inspiring women like Patricia Gonzalez and Margaux Alampay who came up with a more empowering approach to swimwear design, Melissa Yap-Yeung, a social entrepreneur and artist who went to Marawi to teach art to the young people of the war ravaged city, and Maricar Dela Rama, a home styling expert on how to create simple but elegant tablescapes at home as well as features the latest art fair to be held in the city.
NONESUCH AND RARITIES
Stephanie Zubiri-Crespi talks to the women behind the latest art fair in town, Nonesuch and Rareties. The fair features a vetted selection of art, furniture, jewelry, books, maps and prints, rare objects and other collectibles in a unique setting.
The Nonesuch Fair is inspired by well-known fine arts and antiques fairs such as Masterpiece London and the European Fine Art Fair. To complement the fair, the organizers also created The Nonesuch Salon- a speaker’s series of talks that enhances visitor experience of the fair. Starting an antique or a rarities collection is a hugely rewarding experience. Not only are you creating a showcase that you can proudly display in your space, these awesome pieces are something that you can pass down to your children and eventually become part of your family’s story. The event is staged by renowned stage designer and Fulbright scholar, Gino Santos.
WOMEN WE LOVE
Best buddies and business partners Patricia Gonzalez and Margaux Alampay talk about their empowering approach to swimwear design. While most entrepreneurs are fuelled by their drive for successful ventures, but for Patricia and Margaux, they are fuelled by three unlikely reasons when they put up their business – friendship, women empowerment and motherhood.
“Margaux and I met 10 years ago as two young single women through a program called Peer Fashion. We were invited to grow it in the Philippines as it started in Atlanta. It’s about giving girls the tools for empowerment and self-confidence, so we provided workshops on etiquette, public speaking, and fun things like fashion and beauty,” starts Patricia.
She adds, “We didn’t really know anything about it but we said ‘yes’ because it looked like it was something good to do. But as we became more involved in the program and we got to know the people behind it, we started to get exposed to this almost foreign concept of modesty, purity and authentic femininity.”
“These concepts were super new to us at that time, and they weren’t really values that we were living out,” shares Margaux.
And because of everything they learned, the words “modesty” and “confidence” took on new meaning for Patricia and Margaux. However, “confidence” for some women, is something that is hard to come by especially in a society where slim waists and flat tummies are the standard for beauty. So Patricia and Margaux thought of how they can combat all these insecurities through a business.
“When we thought of the business, it was at a time in our lives when we were starting our own families. I had one baby and Pat was pregnant, so we knew we wanted to start a business that we could be more flexible with our time and also be able to spread the message of the values that we believe in.” says Margaux.
“We thought of swimwear because it was so hard for us to find modest swimwear that we wanted to wear, that made us feel young and stylish. So we wanted to provide that in the market because we didn’t see a lot of it at then.” she adds.
Offering swimwear and clothing designs inspired by real women, Coral Swimwear and Pearl Clothing, Patricia shares, “We only sell one-piece swimwear, but we try to keep all our designs on-trend as well. Margaux is a designer and she always takes in consideration details like how does the swimsuit look on different body types.” As for Pearl Clothing, “So when we were finally upfront about our message like ‘Ok, let’s think of real dilemmas like what problems does a new mom has when she gives birth and she needs to breastfeed?’ They have very little stylish options on the market.”
Tapping this “need” and turning it into a successful business that also promote women empowerment is something that these mompreneurs are happy to achieve.
INTERIOR DESIGN 101
Jie Pambid and home styling expert Maricar Dela Rama show us how to set up a simple but nonetheless elegant tablescape.
If you’re the type of person who loves to entertain or if you are the type who likes have friends over for some good food and good conversation especially if you’re a true blue blooded Pinoy then the dining room is your room of choice Pinoy spend hours in the dining room over good food but some of us are daunted by the fact that every time we entertain we have to set the table.
Modern Living Home Style editor Maricar dela Rama shares the basics of table setting. “So for plates of course the most expensive would be the porcelain and then you have your ceramic plates, your glass and even your wood plates so there are really different levels and it depends on you on your budget, how much you want to spend for your plates,” she starts. Maricar then proceeds to discuss the other details of table setting like choosing the right centerpiece, “Personally, I would put my center piece first and be mindful that the center is your largest space in the table so if you can play around with your center piece, you can have it all aligned in the center or you can have something very tall.”
One thing that you have to remember, entertaining guests need not be so stressful as long as you know the basics of how to create the perfect table setting.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Meet mother, artist, and social entrepreneur Melissa Yap-Yeung as she shares with us her brief but remarkable sojourn to the city of Marawi to reach out and teach art to the young people of the war ravaged city.
It is said that art is an end in itself but to create art to help heal the young people of a war-torn place is totally noteworthy on a different level. Artist and social entrepreneur Melissa Yeung-Yap shows us how to make a difference in this not so sunny times were in.
Melissa has been conducting art therapy sessions for underprivileged children and those affected by disasters since she was 13 years old. “So during the opening of the exhibit my friends from Ateneo were here and with Father Benebres they were planning a trip to Marawi so they were kind of look for activities for the kids and they said ‘oh Mel why don’t you give art workshops’ I’m like of course game and then there so we did go,” shares Melissa.
She adds, “I was more fearful before going there but when I was actually there with the kids kinda forget where you are. And then when you look at it again like its generally peaceful because we were at the relocation at the evacuation sites and the schools are just reopened so they were it was generally peaceful we had a security escort with a lot of soldiers with us the people are calm and the kids are really you know being kids there happy and yeah amazing.”
One of the most adverse effects of war is the way it disrupts and ruins children’s education. There are a lot of studies that establish why education is really the best weapon against poverty and conflict.
Melissa hopes to help the children of Marawi regain their confidence and sense of wonder so that they can go back to school with a better outlook in life.
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