Former Ms. Universe-Philippines Shares How to Improve One’s Image [Hedgren Style Clinic]

Hedgren, a Belgian bag brand for urban professionals, hosted a two-hour personality and style training at The Northwing of SM City Cebu last June 25. Themed The Power of Image, the event is part of the successful Style Clinic series, which is a set of programs aiming to help professionals get a better sense of style and self.

This year's Style Clinic was facilitated by former Ms. Universe-Philippines Abbygale Arenas De Leon and attended by a number of interested professionals from Cebu. 

Ms. Abbygale did a very engaging talk about acting and looking appropriately, whether in and out of the office. She used the acronym POWER to easily discuss and remember the basic tips on how to improve one’s self confidence.

Perfect smile 

Open Stance 

Warm Body Language 

Excellent Appearance 

Revamp Outfit of the Day 

Here are a few pointers I found very applicable

1. To master the perfect smile, say "A"(ey) or "eight" instead of "cheese"

2. Whether casual or formal meetings, make your handshake count

3. A handshake can have 1 -3 pumps. Don't go over 3

4. When making eye contact, look at the person's right eye instead of staring directly at both eyes. Triangulation lessens the awkwardness

5. Standing on both feet shows more confidence than putting the body weight on one foot only

She also discussed the appropriate accessories that should go with your outfit and event. 

To culminate the talk, 10 volunteers were asked to come up the stage to execute their newly learned self-image principles and showcase a Hedgren bag that will match their current outfit.

Cebu Blogging Community class picture with Ms. Abbygale Arenas De Leon.

Some photos were grabbed from SM City Cebu's Official Facebook page

Win an iPhone6 by Joining Yamba's Beta Test [3 Winners]

Longing for an iPhone6? Here's your chance to win one!

www.Yamba.Rocks, a new social networking site, is giving three of its website's beta testers a shot to win a brand new Apple iPhone6 device.

How to win?

1. Register as a beta tester here. Only those who registered from June 30 to July 5 will be qualified.

2. Play around the site and be curious. Start posting, commenting, sharing and following from July 6 to July 20.

There will be three winners:

1. The one with the most VIEWS within the testing period
2. The one with the most FOLLOWERS withing the testing period
3. The one with the most UPLOADED POSTS within the testing period

The winners will be announced and contacted on July 25 through Yamba. Winners need to claim their prizes in CEBU personally.

What are you waiting for?

Sign up today, invite your friends, and work your social media charm from July 6-20 to WIN an iphone 6!

Suw(h)at: Handmade Notebooks and Journals

Collecting notebooks has been one of my guilty pleasures since I was a little kid. It started with stationery and cute envelopes, like most little girls. Then the hobby turned into collecting different colored pens then finally, notebooks.

Most people buy notebooks to write on them but I on the other hand just collect them. The ones I fall in love with are too pretty to write on so I usually just display them on the shelf.

But when the need arises, I do dabble on a few of its pages - sometimes writing random ideas, bad poetry, important text messages, song lyrics, or sometimes my grocery list.

Suw(h)at Handmade Notebooks and Journals

W(h)at?

Just last week, I got acquainted with this new brand of handcrafted notebooks and journals: Suw(h)at. The brand name, which came from “so what” and the bisaya word suwat (write) is a Cebu-based startup which was launched only a few weeks ago. I’m not sure if I got this right, but I think the emphasized (h) also meant the products are “handmade.” 

The designs of the notebooks are inspired and patterned after fiction-based fandoms. The first batch’s design is based on the TV series Game of Thrones. Next lines were said to include other pop-culture themes such as Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. They said they’ll be releasing a new line of notebooks every month. 

W(h)y?

According to their website Suwhat.com, they “seek to empower individuality and thoughts through carefully crafted and personalized paper products.”

W(h)o?

This craft startup is the brainchild of three young enthusiastic individuals: (from right to left) Erika Lagunzad (the brains), her boyfriend Remil Jusayan (the hands), and their co-worker Ashley Uy (the mouth). 

They started the business thinking their market consisted of students. However, after launching their brand, they got more inquiries and purchases from the working populace and those interested in fan-based merchandise.

W(h)ere?

For now, the orders are made online. They also limit buyers to those in Cebu city since they want to hand-deliver the notebooks to the buyers. Meetups are made at IT Park, Lahug, where the three work during the day.

W(h)at I love about Suw(h)at

The people behind the brand

Why? They are practically fresh out of college: Erika and Remil being 22 and Ashley being 20. I admire how they, even at a young age, are really passionate their business endeavor - from idea creation, production, marketing to delivery. Amazing effort! 

Makes me think what I was up to after college. Hmmmm...

The originality

Aside from being carefully handcrafted (which makes each notebook original in its own right), some of the notebooks have quirky original quotes on the cover written by Ericka herself. Some examples are “The Names of people I want to ‘accidentally’ hit with a car,” “I always finish what I sta…,” “I can’t say anything nice so I put it in writing” and “An Expert’s Guide to Minding your Own Business.” 

I got “A Better Love Story than Twilight.” I'm not really sure if this is really an original line since I think I've seen this on 9gag memes before. Nevertheless, it's funny! Hahaha sorry Twilight fans.  

The versatility

Although they have a monthly line of featured notebooks, Suw(h)at is open to custom orders for a minimum purchase of five pieces. This versatility makes them very attractive to notebook hoarders (such as myself) or those who want to give the notebook as a personalized gift. You can also customize the size, number of pages, etc.

The cost

And I say this from a working individual’s point of view. Their notebooks start as low as P100 so I think it’s not bad - knowing that the notebook went through someone’s hands to create. They also give discounts when you buy a set of five.

Suw(h)at notebooks: a review

The size? Perfect. It could fit even my small bag.

The binding? It looks well crafted. I’m not really sure what the best binding method is. As long as the pages stay together, I’m happy

The pages? They use high-quality ivory paper which is a huge thumbs up for me. I don’t write straight without lines but that’s okay. 

The cover? I like that it’s hardbound and I think the printing is great. I just wasn’t too thrilled about the glue blots that didn’t dry. I know they were did in a hurry thus the flaw.

It could be said that the imperfections could highlight the originality of the piece but I’d rather have uneven pages than a notebook cover that didn’t dry quite well. If there’s something that needs to be improved, the drying process would be worth looking into.

The paper tag? (or whatever else it’s called lol) I love it. It shows how great their marketing and advertising efforts are. You can see their website, Instagram profile and Facebook name.

Suw(h)at website: http://www.suwhat.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/suwhatcrafts

Instagram: https://instagram.com/suwhat_crafts

Preferred hashtag: #suwhatna

In conclusion:

Since I’ve posted the photo of the notebooks on my social media feeds, I’ve been getting nothing but positive feedback and inquiries. If you’re into notebooks, go ahead and order!

Rediscovering Cebu with Gabii sa Kabilin 2015

My family and I are fascinated with Philippine history. Sometimes, as part of our routine bonding activities, we actually talk about the Spanish regime, Jose Rizal's secrets, what became of the Katipuneros and many others. Yes, we're that family.

I didn't grow up in Cebu but we knew a huge deal about it, being the oldest city in the country. Since we moved here I knew I wanted to visit every single museum there is but unfortunately, due to its location, I wasn't able to get the perfect timing.

When I heard about Gabii Sa Kabilin by RAFI, I knew I had to join. I wanted to see the city in all it's past grandeur. The only problem was - I didn't have anyone to join the tour with (For security reasons I decided not to go alone).

Some 5 years later, I asked my friend Camille of Wander Woman Wanders if I could join her and her Japanese friends on the tour. I might not cover all the sites (since there are about 30+ participating sites every year) but at least I could get a glimpse of the time that was.

And so finally! Armed with a fully charged phone/camera and my trusty walk-athon footwear, I journeyed back in time to Cebu's rich culture and heritage.

After getting the ticket, we were given a printed version of this to guide us to our next destination

Here are some photos I took of the museums or institutions we visited.

1. Don Sergio Osmena Sr. Memorabilia and CAP Art Gallery

2. Magellan's Cross

3. Basilica Minore del Santo Nino

4. Archdiocesan Museum of Cebu

5. USP Rizaliana Museum

6. Colon St.

7. Yap-Sandiego Ancestral House

8. Museo Parian

9. Fort San Pedro

A few notes about Gabii sa Kabilin

• It happens every last Friday of May to culminate the Philippine's Nationa Heritage Month, from 6 pm to 12 midnight
• To get to participating sites, guests walk or ride buses or horse-drawn carriages for free
• One ticket (This year's ticket costs P150) gives you free admission to all the sites and allows you to enjoy cultural shows, contests, food fairs and all other activities
• Children aged seven and under, accompanied by adults, get free admission
• If you haven't bought a ticket before the tour, tickets can also be bought at all participating sites during the tour itself
• For more information on this annual event, visit http://www.rafi.org.ph/culture-heritage/gabii-sa-kabilin