The red walls and huge circle windows of Gallery Big will entice you to step in and get yourself…read moreschooled about contemporary Filipino art. They house up-and-coming artists and masters of the art as well. The gallery is just a small nook on the second floor of LRI Design Plaza but it sure is full of paintings and sculpture that you could draw inspiration from! Galleries such as this show you how Filipinos never run out of truly talented artists. They didn't have a primary collection that day. The gallery was a hodgepodge with at least one piece per artist. I especially liked Randy Solon's painting that made use of small canvases that were put together. It reminded me of the knights in chess. They have an upcoming show this June called Life Still, a solo art exhibition by Xander Calceta. With Gallery Big, they showcase new acquisitions, rare finds and art for less in their space. I absolutely like it when they show that they have rare finds. Some of which were sketches of artists in the 80s!

The Manila Collectible Co. store is one of a kind. It is unique in its history, concept, and…read morenature. Owner and manager Charisse Tugade (a Filipina who grew up mostly in the US), conceptualized and opened the store to feed her passion and personal advocacy of proliferating knowledge about Filipino pre-Hispanic culture. The Manila Collectible Co serves as an approachable museum and "culturespace" -- a very informative center for education on Philippine pre-history, Filipino indigenous people and their culture, and uniquely Filipino products -- all sourced from all over the Philippines. As a museum, TMCC offers exhibits on woven crafts, baybayin (an ancient Filipino system of writing), and manunggul jars (replicas of which she also sells), among other things. As a culturespace, she offers pottery painting classes for children, weaving workshops, and has partnered with several groups for frequent pasyals (tours), workshops, and special performances. As a store, TMCC carries food and beverages, textiles, finely-produced costumes and accessories made out of these textiles, and quality trinkets -- all amazing souvenir finds for foreign visitors, as well as locals who never really realized how talented their fellow Filipinos are. I've bought several things from TMCC. Favorites are the Tsokolate con Crema, and Dulce de Leche spreads; an authentic Ilocos towel (which are super soft, lightweight, absorbent, and beautifully woven); and Real Tan organic browning oil. My next target purchase is an exquisite ikat clutch from her Bai Riasha line.

As a fan of all things Filipino I always go out of my way to check out cultural shops and try as…read moremuch as possible to support them! Manila Collectible in Intramuros is one of those great finds! They carry a lot of handwoven bags in shapes I've never seen before, national costumes for kids (but not the usual ones!) jewellery boxes and a lot of textile. It's great to find these things in Manila especially for those who can't make a trip out of the city. Its fun inviting atmosphere makes you want to spend the whole afternoon here. They recently moved to a new location in Fort Santiago, I haven't been but their old store was amazing. They had a set of stairs lined with manunggul jars and behind it an excellent view of the cathedral. The other set of stairs led to a rooftop deck, open for events and parties. If their new location is anything like this one, I'm sure you wont be disappointed!

One of the many galleries in Serendra that show cases modern and contemporary paintings by Filipino…read moreartists. The gallery houses mid-career artists and masters showing their distinct style and vision. It's the biggest gallery in the area among the cluster of small-spaced ones. The paintings on display that day were big, too. I like how all galleries in Serendra support and showcase Filipino talent. These galleries have provided me some inspiration with my work when I feel so blocked. I was also told that their gallery show art that they have collected for decades! They also do shows here and join art fairs. They did shows in Art Expo Malaysia, too.

I like being surprised by a place that I thought I was familiar with. All these years and I thought…read morethe area of MoDesign and BoConcept was just floors upon floors of really well-crafted modern furniture. I recently found out that on the third floor of their building, a small space called Mo_Space was there specifically for the art enthusiast. The place is just really small, I bet it's just around 10 x 20 feet. I'm not good at estimating so bear with me. When I decided to drop by today, I chanced upon seeing the many sketches of Kawayan de Guia which was entitled as Bezoar (Non-Linear Drawings). Today was the last day so I was glad that I was able to see how some of the details of her art process. It is, after all, a fundamental skill that most artists have to at least have an idea on. I look forward to seeing more artists from their roster exhibit here. They're open until 8:00 in the evening, so when you feel like you need a dose of inspiration or insight after work, this would be a great place for that especially if you just work around BGC.

Fort Bonifacio is known primarily for its dining, retail, nightlife and residential locations, but…read moreone thing that people hardly ever notice about it is that it actually houses a beautiful art gallery in the form of Mo_Space Gallery. Located just above BoConcept, Mo_Space is an artist-owned, non-profit gallery. Most of the artists that exhibit at Mo_Space are known for their edgy, contemporary take on modern art. Big names such as Kawayan de Guia, Catalina Africa, Jeona Zoleta, Kiri Dalena and Fernando Modesto have exhibited their works at Mo_Space, whose advocacy encourages artists to freely create art, instead of doing it for the money. I love Mo_Space's location because it affords one a fairly comprehensive view of Bonifacio High Street, giving you the feeling of being 'above it all,' while still being fully immersed in the dynamic energy of Fort Bonifacio. The well-curated exhibits at Mo_Space make it a must-visit location when you are in the area, regardless of whether or not you are there at an exhibit launch.

When I'm meeting someone at a mall and I find myself tremendously bored I tend to go around…read more looking for a store that would have something that will help me pass the time. Windows shopping basically. Glorietta has this art space on the third level of Glorietta 4. Paseo Gallery is one such place. I don't know how new this place is, but it seems like a new comer compared to the rest of the galleries that I find around the area. I'm not entirely sure because I forgot to ask, but most of their pieces seem to be made by Filipino artists. I wouldn't be surprised though if they exclusively dealt with Filipino artists. They have a wide variety of pieces that caught my eye. They have works on paper, canvass, and a few sculptures. If you find yourself in Glorietta, even if you're not in the market for a fine piece of art, at least drop by as most of their pieces will be interesting enough to help pass the time.

This store has been around for over 15 years run by Arsenio & Marina San Juan, serving the offices…read moreand academic community of Rodriguez, Rizal with prices STILL much MUCH lower than National Book Store!

Philippines review #33…read more I'm 7300 miles away from home, in a hotel around the corner and want to wrap a few Christmas gifts. I already have the basic building blocks needed for gift wrapping, but need a few of the little things to bring it all together. Scotch tape, some type of ribbon, scissors, a pen, etc. As I'm walking through the Century City Mall on the 3rd floor, I see this store and decide to go in to check it out. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/office-warehouse-makati-4?select=trHyh_6px_UPckCfddN4fg It's a small store, but boy-o-boy they have a lot if different items stuffed into this small space! You name it, they probably have it. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/office-warehouse-makati-4?select=EP9PyNY1WBPDZtGFEzJA2g I look around the entire store (doesn't take long) and am able to find exactly what I need in a matter of minutes. I head to the check out counter and the one employee manning the store. He has a pleasant, friendly demeanor, which always makes for a better retail shopping experience. OVERALL: While I didn't find the type of store I was originally looking for, this office supply did the trick nicely as I found exactly what I needed and at reasonable prices too.

This printing place's name always slips my mind. I'm horrible at remembering numbers, and this one…read morehas far too many on its name, but I do remember Studio 58 Lab 10's service pretty well. If you're an artist/designer and need your artwork printed for an exhibit/show/archival purposes, this place is known for producing high-quality prints in small to large formats. I had my exhibit piece printed digitally on canvas years ago, and it came out beautifully. The colors are accurately reproduced, and the materials they use are sure to last long, as my artwork still hasn't faded after more than 3 years. For film aficionados, they also offer professional film processing, and are among the few places left in Manila that still do this. Turnaround time here isn't always speedy as sometimes they have too many jobs queued up, but they're pretty reliable. Best to have your prints made at least a week or two before you need them, especially if they're big, major projects.

If you're a professional photographer or a serious hobbyist working with film and you have…read moreimportant rolls you need taken care of, the only photo lab who can do justice to them is Studio 58 in Makati. Even if the whole world thinks that film is dead, it still lives in the fiery hearts of passionate loyalists. These same people of course, won't take kindly to scratched negatives or mucked up film processing. This is why Studio 58 has survived for so long even if some of its contemporaries are nothing bit a blip in history now. They exude quality and have remained consistent all throughout. The most important service they offer is processing for slide or E-6 films. While most film shooters are happy with cross-processing slides, nothing beats the vivid awesomeness of E-6. Since it's niche now, you usually would have to wait for a whole batch of films to be processed so that they can maximize the chemicals they're using. If you have at least five rolls though, you're good to go!