What happened since the last time I blogged here? Lots! LOL but I’m not here to talk about them right now since I only have time to share with you Arnold’s latest project, an animated film starring his very own Andong Agimat!

Arn’s never animated before (except for the flip books he made in grade school — I’ve seen them, all his text books have little aliens and rocket ships flying all over the place) so I have to tell you that my jaw literally dropped when he showed me the first sequence he made.  Pardon my ignorance but I never thought something like it could be done right here at home, and he did it all by himself too!  Every morning for the past two weeks he would wake up early so he could work on the project — that’s how excited he was. As for me, I was ecstatic to see him drawing again because these last two years he was so preoccupied with making films that I was already thinking of how to re-purpose his desk. 😉

Please check it out, it’s only 4 minutes long but it’s lots of fun to watch! Here it is, I’m proud to present to you

ANDONG AGIMAT: KANYA ANG KALYE, an animated film by Arnold Arre

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4tTsS7e6Oc

By the way, I finally gave Arnold’s website a makeover.  Please come by so you can see all his latest work!

Finally — a cleaner, fresher, more “grown-up” look ((Well I am 36 y.o. after all)). And best of all, look at all that space! I got so used to my last layout’s narrow posting area that I can’t get over how roomy this is. 🙂

But what exactly happened, you ask? Weeeell, I neglected this blog for too long that spam comments corrupted my WordPress installation and so I had to do a total overhaul. It gave me an excuse to de-clutter and fix this page though so no worries, it’s all good.

***
Anyway, much went on since my last entry before the unintended hiatus.

1. Three issues of WE have been published (I hope you can check them out, dear brides and grooms to be)

2. WE’s E-I-C Marbee Go and I started blogging at www.weheartweddings.com

3. I designed the album packaging for our dear friends, the Itchyworms. (Yes, there really are “Itchyworms” canned goods and other items in the supermarkets, LOL.)

4. I’ve concentrated on managing and marketing our online shops, Poptastic Tees and The Paper Basket. If you live, or have relatives, in the States, I really would appreciate it if you can point them to the stores. 🙂

5. I also worked on many other stuff like wedding invitations (not really my thing but I would do it for friends… and for my brother of course who’s getting married in December), some more gocco-printing, helping out Arn with his projects, etc.

***

I’d also like to invite you to Superficial ll: Frailty – a group show featuring the works of 33 female artists opening September 13, Saturday 7pm at Pablo Gallery, Cubao Expo.

The participating artists are Carina Almonte / Jessica Antonio / Cynthia Arre / Bru / Mara Bernaldo / Mica Cabildo / Bea Camacho / Denise Castillo / Abi Dacayap / Liza Flores / Lala Gallardo / Marie Gan / Garovs Garrovillo / Abi Goy / Honey Hipe / Wiji Lacsamana / Ene Lagunzad / Hannah Liongoren / Mitch Mauricio / Feanne Mauricio / Jhoan Medrano / Gabie Osorio / Katwo Puertollano / Genie Ranada / Sunshine Reyes / Pepper Roxas / Sharon See / Mia Singson / Joyce Tai / Lette Teodosio / Pauline Vicencio / Shawn Yao / MM Yu

More details here.
***

Taken when I was designing either Pillbox or Fruitcake, 1996

Lastly, it seems that all of Manila is a-buzz about the upcoming Eraserheads reunion concert. Naturally Arn and I are going ((AND through the generosity of our dear friends Buddy & Nest who invited us as early as July, before the complicated ticketing details were even announced.)), given our history with the band so if you’re going, we’ll see you there.

Nest & Budz Loveteam, photo taken in 1997

I’ve been wanting to do a home office makeover ((Whatever for did I watch all those episodes of Merge, Clean House, and Design Remix when we still had the Lifestyle channel?)) for the longest time, and it was last month’s termite invasion that pushed me to finally do it. I’ll tell you why later.
.
First, let me show you what the soho used to look like. ((Before you label me a slob though, can I just remind you that — ahem — Creative Minds Are Seldom Tidy.)):
.

Ugh, is that a mess or what. Believe it or not, we worked in this kind of environment for close to three years. Arn later relocated to a breezier section in the house since he likes working closer to nature so this office is essentially mine now.
.
The makeover idea was sparked when I decided to lose the highly under-utilized green couch (on the right, behind all the clutter) and replace it with a table I found sitting in our compound’s common garage. I decided that I needed a spot to do my art and paper crafting, especially since I already had the supplies but just did not have the space for it. I was actually fine with that slight change for the meantime… and then we discovered that the termites had eaten into the built-in wardrobe ((This office space used to be a bedroom and the cabinet was meant to house clothing, hence the size and depth.)) that housed a lot of our files! Eep! Obviously the best only solution was to tear it down.
.

It was a beautiful piece of woodwork but unfortunately, it’s just not meant to house “office” files.
.
Obviously the next problem was where to put all the stuff that was in the cabinet. (And what a whole load of stuff that was!)
.

Dear oh dear. Just looking at that photo makes my head hurt.
.
Three major criteria we considered in buying new storage supplies were (a) termite deterrence; (b) sturdiness; and (b) pocket-friendliness. The industrial shelving and plastic containers we bought all met what we were looking for, and it really helped much that the SM in our area had a 3-day sale last weekend.
.

The office taking shape slowly but surely. Yes that’s a Print Gocco PG-5 Abbas is sitting on! Bought it for 6,825 yen at a Tokyu Hands in Shibuya a couple of years ago. See I couldn’t even use it before because I didn’t have a proper work surface.
.
Suddenly there was so much space and I excitedly put everything in order once the paint dried up. It took about a week and a half for everything: construction, cleanup, and sorting/deciding what went in and out of those boxes and shelves because there were just too many things to go through.
.

Looking good, looking good… now, everything’s within reach unlike before when they were stuck in the depths of that gigantic cabinet.
.
And oh, I also found a way to save the handsome narra cabinet doors – we saved what we could of the wood and then had them built into a book case for all my magazines and reference materials.
.

This way, those slabs of wood can still live in their “home”. 🙂
.
Here, now, are the token “after” shots of my improved soho. I can definitely see myself working more efficiently in this space… well, granted that it stays neat and orderly. 😉
.

Now to buckle down and work, work, work.
.
Cost breakdown:
– Carpentry work: P400/day for 7 days= P2800
– Zen floor tiles (10 pcs) = P465.12
– Paint, primer, paint remover, cement= P545
– Varnish (for bookcase and table)= P190
– Industrial shelving: P2,200 x 2 = P4,400
– Plastic containers (on sale) = P3,000
TOTAL: 11,400.12. ((I would’ve wanted to stay below the P10,000 mark but we wanted to invest in sturdy shelving and storage and I think that decision will save us more money in the long run.))