Aparadors

Why are aparadors so special? Such is the mystique of wardrobes that it figures in the title of C.S. Lewis' first book in the Narnia chronology The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. In the book the wardrobe is so large you can literally walk in it and it's a magical wardrobe that takes you to another world! 


Wardrobes have a certain mystique that evokes nostalgia, possibly because we remember our grandmothers who had so many wonderful things in their wardrobes. This point is illustrated in the book Aparador ni Lola: Past Lives Precious Objects edited by Emmie G. Valera from Anvil Publishing that tells stories that are heart-warming tributes to lolas and their "aparadors that held delightful little treasures and well-kept secrets." 


It is this sense of wonder and anticipation and excitement at the possibility of finding something special inside that G&G captures with its aparadors that now house our beautiful products. The aparadors are vintage wardrobes donated by Ms. Marivic Limcaoco and finished in distressed white to give it a modern feel. 



When you look in a G&G aparador you'll find wonderful finds: denim bears, robot charms, monogram gift tags in handmade paper, travel sets, newspaper bags in pop up colors. There are deliciously scented soy candles, striped travel pillows, clutch bags, and many more.

Here is one of the aparadors on the ground floor of Eastwood Mall at the Atrium. We'll be there until Sunday, November 20. When you see the white wardrobe, green turf, and unique products you'll have found G&G.

Thanks again to Marivic for the wonderful aparadors! Should you know anyone who would like to see their old aparadors go to a good cause we welcome donations. Help us put a G&G aparador in an area near you. 


Stay tuned for our upcoming aparador venues. And if you should see a G&G aparador, come, take a look inside and see what treasures await!

Be One for Others

Gifts and Graces is proud to partner with the UP Sigma Delta Phi Sorority in their BE ONE Movement campaign and their WE card project.

Sigma Delta Phi is the oldest sorority in UP and is made up of dynamic women leaders. According to Sigma Delta,the idea behind the BE ONE Movement is for young people to go out and Be One force, focusing on others and working for positive changes in society. Coming together as one, the youth will be able to make changes and will have the power to transform our community. 

A great way to practice this everyday heroism as individuals and as a team is doing volunteer work through the WE Card project. On November 15, 2011 Sigma Delta launched the WE Card which is now available to students from UP Diliman and other universities and high schools. Participants will have the opportunity to volunteer for any of the 20 partner NGOs until February 18, 2012. NGOs will give out stickers for corresponding volunteer work. Sigma Delta has a special prize for the one who collects the most stickers.

As a partner organization, Gifts and Graces is happy to give participants the opportunity to experience volunteering for a fair trade social enterprise that empowers the disadvantaged and helps them become productive members of society. We believe in giving a hand up, not a hand out and helping the marginalized overcome poverty through livelihood.

Read our Conversations and blog posts on past volunteers Chiqui Go, Michael Golsworthy, Jessica Chittaphong, and Colette Forma to read about their experience volunteering with G&G.

For the WE Card project, these are the volunteer opportunities and the corresponding stickers to be awarded. Volunteers will be working with our Marketing Manager as well as our current AYAD volunteer for Marketing and PR Aun Ngo.

     -  Assist visitors/clients at a Gifts and Graces pop up store or bazaar booth 

        – 1 sticker for every hour of service

     - Update the Gifts and Graces website – 1 sticker for every hour of work

     - Document Gifts and Graces products including preparing product sheets 
       - 1 sticker for every hour of work

     - Gather and write stories for the newsletter, blog, website, including interviewing    
       stakeholders particularly community producers – 1 sticker for every hour of work

     - Produce an AVP – 10 stickers for every approved AVP

 
We hope to get a lot of volunteers through this project. We are always in need of good people. The youth especially have a lot of energy, enthusiasm, and fresh ideas. 

Please feel free to share this post with family, friends, colleagues to encourage volunteerism and be one with us.

A new line of bag charms

Robot Charms

We are proud to present a new line of fun and funky bag charms we call our robot charms. We call the big red headed one with palazzo-like pants MC Hammer. I especially like the gun metal guy. Show your quirky side and collect them all.  These make a great gifts too not just for girls but for guys too.

We are doubly proud to say that these charms are made by the special needs individuals of The Learning Center for G&G. Get them now at a G&G bazaar near you!

Ex Libris

Reading is a Pleasure

In a brief but not so unrelated departure from fair trade and the work we do at Gifts and Graces, (I'll manage to tie it all together in the end, I promise) let's celebrate one of the greatest pleasures of life - reading. We write this blog post in celebration of the Philippine Book Development Month this November.

There's nothing like curling up with a good book: there's nothing quite as satisfying as being transported to a different time and place, empathizing with and relating to characters - caring what happens to them, and living an adventure, romance, sci-fi, fantasy, or thriller. Really good books make you laugh out loud, make you upset, make your heart beat faster and keep you up at night, keeping you from sleep as you turn page after page after page.

This November, the National Book Development Board has lined up several activities to promote reading. They all look exciting and two in particular caught our eye - The Great Philippine Book Cafe! 2nd Manila International Literary Festival November 16 - 18 (thanks Zee Perez for the link!)

and 

Venus in Orbit, a night of spoken word poetry and music by women presented by The NBDB Book Club and Bigkas Pilipinas. On November 13, 9PM at Bacci Ristorante in Makati City. (entrance is free!)

The pleasure of reading isn't limited to reading fiction. I came to discover graphic novels in college and to this day I love me my Sandman. Of course there are also magazines, trade books, and even the labels of shampoo bottles haha.

In the spirit of reading, we have come up with our own reading list based on what's on our own book shelves - books that have made an impact on us professionally and personally that are related to what we do at G&G. In time we'd like to make it a recurring feature in our newsletters. We'll be talking about books, articles, even blog posts on development, community building, poverty reduction, design, and marketing to name a few. Here are two books to start with: (also to be featured in our October newsletter)

On Poverty and Development

The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities of Our Time by Jeffrey Sachs

When I read this book I was blown away by the "simple" steps required to bring people out of extreme poverty. Jeffrey Sachs supports his assertions with real cases. The idea of getting people on the first rung of the ladder of economic development and increasing per capita income per family has remained with me.   -Greg

On Design

A Whack on the Side of the Head: How you can be more Creative by Roger van Oech

As a designer, reading what this book says is an affirmation of how random and whacky the inspirations for the process of creativity are. One of the things pointed out in this book is that from childhood we are taught to find the "right answers" such that our minds eventually become cluttered with ready made answers that we lose the opportunity to ask questions that lead to new directions.   - Marge

Happy reading and happy book month everyone!

A Conversation with Jessica Chittaphong

This month in Conversations we have Jessica Chittaphong who was with G&G from June to August 2010 through the Ambassador Corps program of the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. When Jessica volunteered she had just completed a double degree B.A. International Relations and Global Studies and B.A. Asian Studies: Japanese Concentration. Today she has completed her Masters of Science (MSc) course at the London School of Economics in Global History with a focus was on globalization and Asia, as well as comparative world history. Whew! 

Here Jessica tells us what surprised her about the Philippines and what her trip to the Philippines and her volunteer experience taught her about herself.

G&G: Tell us your Name, Age, Nationality, Occupation

JC: Jessica Chittaphong, 28, American, Student

G&G: What made you decide to volunteer?

JC: I decided to volunteer at Gifts & Graces because I wanted to see social entrepreneurship in action and get some real experience. I firmly believe in helping people break free from the poverty trap by using their own ingenuity and keeping their dignity, instead of just inefficiently giving out hand-outs. The latter has proven to be unsustainable and does not provide people with new skills or instill them with a will to work.

G&G: What are two interesting things about the Philippines that the average person doesn't know?

JC: One, the Philippines has an almost disturbing amount of gigantic shopping malls! Two, One has to be a world class driver to drive on the streets of Manila!

G&G: As a volunteer how did you use your skills and experiences to help G&G and its advocacy?

Jessica at the G&G booth
at the Franchise Expo 2010

JC: As a volunteer, I used my research skills to estimate G&G's Social Returns on Investment. It was not all that acurate and I still had a lot to learn, but it provided the organization with a place to start. I also used my social skills when presenting and selling items at various expo's and fair trade shows. That was really fun because I got to meet a lot of people and everyone was curious to know what an American was doing selling painted newspaper bags.


G&G: What did you learn about yourself?

JC: During my time with Gifts and Graces I learned a lot about myself. I have a clearer understanding of what my strengths are, but more importantly I recognized what my weaknesses are. Challenging yourself is important, however; it is also advantageous to know one's limits. In the Philippines I also found out how much a person could adapt to any environment. I was in a foreign land, at night I could not get to sleep because it was so hot, and I almost got washed away during a flash flood. But because of the connections I made with the wonderful people I came in contact with and a positive attitude, even after only 3 short months, I thought of this foreign country as home.

G&G: Why should other people do volunteer work? What did you gain from it?

JC: Other people should volunteer because it definitely adds perspective to your life. Seeing all those people, who didn't really have a lot, working so hard, motivated me to try my best as well. When you are working for something bigger than yourself, you get a sense of satisfaction that you can't get elsewhere...and sometimes you get addicted to it.