Cristy in the City: arts and culture

Live, love and shop local with Bakal Lokal

There are tons of nice Christmas presents you can give to yourself, family and friends from Bakal Lokal, an online and physical store that is the brainchild of Youth First Initiative Philippines in partnership with DOST-VI. If you love to shop in your pajamas, Bakal Lokal's online shop is very navigable and easy to use but for people like myself who enjoy the tactile experience of browsing products, I highly recommend visiting the Bakal Lokal brick and mortar store located at AAMC Barbo Building in Jalandoni Street, Jaro district. The shop is very cozy and the handmade goods are displayed in a very attractive modern rustic style. The goods are mostly manufactured in small batches so everything looks one-of-a-kind. Definitely no soul less, mass produced products at Bakal Lokal. Every product feels handmade and that's why I love it. Your recipients will love it as well.

After you are done with your shopping, you can even grab a favorite brew at the in-store cafe. Hitting two birds with one stone I should say!

Happy holiday shopping! Remember to shop and promote homegrown products made with love in Iloilo.

My tabletop bookshelf from Lar Furniture sourced from Bakal Lokal

Produkto Lokal Hub

AAMC Barbo Bldg., Jalandoni St.,

Jaro, Iloilo City

Email: hello@bakal-lokal.com

Tel no: 328-1898

Lungsod App on Android

December 08, 2022

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arts and culture

The art of Alima Embroidery

“That's the thing with handmade items. They still have the person's mark on them, and when you hold them, you feel less alone.”

― Aimee Bender, The Color Master: Stories

The handmade movement is making its way to local Ilonggo weekend markets and bazaars. In today's hectic world where everything is mass produced and impersonal, the slow life philosophy is creating a space for makers and artisans to express their creativity through one-of-a-kind handcrafted gifts, meticulously fashioned by hand and heart. Unlike mass produced items, what makes handmade pieces special is the investment of time, quality materials and talent to create unique, one-of-a-kind items to be appreciated for years to come. Steeped in tradition and heritage, handmade crafts bring back warm memories of the past when almost everything was made by hand.

One of the purveyors of the handmade movement in Iloilo is Alima Embroidery. "Alima" is a Hiligaynon word for hand that symbolizes the artist's craft. Van, the artist behind the handmade brand is inspired to create motifs such as Iloilo City landmarks, Philippine botanicals and wildlife, Filipiniana, stylized portraits as well as woodland and landscapes.

Alima Emroidery showcases its embroidery portfolio for rehoming and commissioning on its Instagram page as well as on its Facebook page. Bakal Lokal, a local digital e-commerce platform with brick and mortar shop located at Produkto Lokal Hub, AAMC Barbo Building ,Jalandoni St. In Jaro district also features some Alima Embroidery items for sale.

Aside from offering custom made embroidery works, Alima Embroidery is also spreading the love of handmade by selling embroidery beginner's kit featuring select Philippine blooms such as the exotic Waling-Waling orchid and Ylang Ylang. This kit is perfect for those who want to try embroidery but do not have time to gather materials. It makes a great weekend project or gift for a budding thread artist. Customers can order by sending a DM to Alima Embrroidery's FB or Instagram page.

August 17, 2022

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arts and culture

History and tradition at the Brandy Museum

Next to the Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art (ILOMOCA) is the Philippines' first Brandy Museum dedicated to showcasing the rich history and tradition in Spanish brandy making that dates back to 711 AD. Stepping inside the museum will give you a glimpse albeit in a nutshell of how brandy is distilled from wine or fermented fruit mash. The elegantly designed museum showcases vintage and antique wine making tools, interactive displays and samples of Spanish brandy from all over the globe.

If you're a brandy connoisseur, the museum is the place for you to partake of exclusively held brandy appreciation classes and even enjoy coffee brandy infused drinks and pastries like cupcakes and macarons from the Brandy Museum Cafe.

I took home a bottle of Emperador Coffee Brandy which retails at P149. I don't drink but I'm sure it will come handy for coffee inspired baked goods and yes cocktails. Now let me fetch the recipes!

Emperador Brandy Museum

Festive Walk Mall, Iloilo Business Park

Mandurriao, Iloilo City

Opens 10 am to 9 pm daily

June 09, 2022

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arts and culture

Super Inday and fabric stories at Hulot Gallery

Thread, fabric and beads meld together to create tapestries of stories culled from personal experiences of hope and redemption. Dubbed Super Inday: Stitches and Stories Behind Bars, the art installation and exhibition features thick swathes of tapestry collage held together by a bold thematic crimson hue and intermingled with stitched objects fashioned in bright colors and meticulous patterns.

One of the striking features of this exhibition are the soft fabric sculptures that express a gentle ambiguity of the female silhouette, some anatomically incorrect. At closer look, the oversized dolls (that how lovingly I refer to them) seem to represent a state of consciousness that transcends the cold metal bars of a penitentiary. The mind and emotions cannot be chained and hence seek expression in handmade fabric avatars that represent unboundedness. This is when stories and emotions come to play and soft sculptures or art dolls as they are called are elevated to an almost spiritual, ethereal significance. To the untrained eye, the art dolls resemble Caribbean inspired shamanic voodoo dolls but to those who seek the story behind the fabric, the dolls are little alter egos created in whimsical, folklore inspired form. To create is to seek freedom, healing, and resilience both for self and others.

The women prisoners who are behind this inspiring art installation and exhibition to some degree have achieved a defining sense of self and empowerment and fabric is the avenue they choose to express their desire for liberation. Art sets one's spirit free.

Discover the stories behind the fabric. Get inspired by your inner Super Inday at the Hulot Gallery of Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art.