Art light

"There is one fundamental fact about lighting:
Where there is no light, there is no beauty."

~Ruby Ross Wood (1881–1950), New York interior decorator

The largest piece of decoration inside Earth Kitchen is a natural fiber screen designed with their logo, which can be seen on the sign outside the restaurant. It's a lovely piece of art and also happens to be an enormous floor lamp.

Industrial

Yet another addition to my collection of lamp and chandelier photos: π restaurant's unique and creative chandelier using wire cage lamps.

Sparkling

CITY DAILY PHOTO THEME DAY: DETAILS • One can spend an entire day at Cafe Juanita examining all the knickknacks which make it one of the most crazily decorated restaurants in Metro Manila. Whoever thought of draping a sequin shawl over a milk glass chandelier (and dumping some blue LED lights in the middle, too) is either a genius or a madman. Probably both.

Loopy

The chandelier at Hossein's Restaurant—which serves very good Persian, Arabian and Indian cuisine—in Trinoma mall.
 
Just because I like it and the shadows the glass loops throw against the ceiling.

Square shells

Anyone who's visited My Manila for any length of time would know that I have a thing for light fixtures, whether they're chandeliers, table lamps, or wall sconces. The chandeliers at the Banyan Pavilion of The Blue Leaf, where our friend's wedding reception was held, may be simple but they're huge. The look like they're made of capiz shells too.

Let there be light!

In a few more hours, I will be looking at more lights than this single abaca fiber lamp at Ninyo Fusion Cuisine & Wine Lounge.

Have a fantastic New Year's Eve!

Plastic planets

Globe-shaped floor lamps are installed around the UP-AyalaLand TechnoHub's central plaza (see yesterday's post). The lights change colors every few seconds. Needless to say, kids love them. Adults too.




Don't make the mistake of leaning on one, however. The light fixture is on the ground and the globes are really just large lampshades; they're made of some kind of light, translucent plastic material and even a child can easily topple them over. How do I know, you say? Someone made that mistake the night we were there. I could see the guy's embarrassment from his body language from across the plaza.

Bottled light

If old shoes used as planters (see yesterday's post) aren't quirky enough for you, how about a chandelier made of old beer bottles? Too bad it was daytime when we went to Resurrection Furniture and Found Objects Gallery—I would have loved to have seen what it looks like lit up. And I think that Red Horse Beer should buy this piece by Nathan Apilado.

New beginnings, part 3

Let there be lights in the vault of heaven. The central chandelier at the new Commonwealth branch of the Loyola Memorial Chapels, where the wake of the mother of one of my dearest friends was held.

Ornate whimsy

With my fascination for lamps and lighting fixtures, a lamp was bound to catch my eye in the 1937 home of Alejandro and Ramona Legarda. I just love the young person with a monkey cavorting all over this particular metal chandelier. • LEGARDA ANCESTRAL HOUSE #6

Details

These are the magnificent friezes, columns and chandelier in the main lobby of the National Art Gallery of the Philippines, which used to be the Legislative Building of the country. I know that the architectural details have been there since the early 20th century, when it was built during the American Colonial Era. Unfortunately, I do not know anything about the chandelier, not even whether it is old or new. If I may hazard a guess, I think it's both. The main chandelier looks like an antique but the organic glass shapes and curvy rods with balls at the end are a newer addition. In fact, the addition reminds me so much of Filipino artist Impy Pilapil's work. What do you think?



If I ever find out, I'll let you all know, of course.

Leaves of rice

The Pahiyas Festival celebrated in Lucban and in other towns in the Philippines is a harvest festival. It is always held on May 15, the feast day of San Isidro Labrador (St. Isidore the Laborer or Farmer). The highlight of the festival is a procession of revered religious icons followed by the town's prettiest girls in fancy gowns, which begins and ends in the parish church. The houses along the roads where the procession goes through—the route is changed every year—are decorated just for the festival and this is what pahiyas (ornaments) refers to. The decorations are composed of the fruits of the harvest and Lucban has a special kind of ornament made of rice, called kiping, which is why the festival attracts thousands of tourists every year. Grains of rice are pounded to a flour and mixed with water and food coloring to form a paste, which is then brushed over leaves and left to dry. The result is thin, translucent, jewel-toned leaves which are used to cover the houses' facades or strung into elaborate designs, like this almost two-story high chandelier which graces the entrance of Buddy's restaurant in Quezon City.




Smaller kiping lanterns are hung all around the restaurant's interiors, and the flower pattern at the building's facade is echoed by the beautiful light fixtures on the ceiling.




A photo collage about Lucban—the higantes, the procession led by the statue of San Isidro, Mount Banahaw, the parish church, and a house richly and colorfully decorated with pahiyas—curves along the wall of the staircase which leads to the second floor.

Basketball-crazy

The 73rd season of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) games began last month. Since the Philippines is a basketball-crazy country, many of the basketball games are held in the Araneta Coliseum, to accommodate the large number of fans who watch. One of several restaurants on the periphery of the stadium is Café Bola, with its circular logo and light fixtures.




Talk about thematic: even Café Bola's food is spherical! This is their Seafood Bola with Parmesan Cream & Ham sauce.

One night of surprises

Thanks to a classmate from my university days a long time ago, Chinoy Eater (who irritatingly still looks like she's in her early twenties—no fair!), I was invited by Patricia Tan of Events 100 to "One Night Only" last March 4. The minimalist invitation only said that it was cocktails at the Hampton Room of Astoria Plaza in Ortigas Center, Pasig City but Patricia mentioned in her email that it was also a celebration of Astoria's 9th anniversary. Intrigued, since I've never been to such an event, I asked my husband if we could go and he said yes, so we did. When we got to the hotel, the first thing that caught my eye in the Hampton Room was the wonderful light fixtures, an arboreal fantasy.




The room was set up with a small stage and a large video screen, so I immediately figured, correctly as it turns out, that it was a media event. Before the presentations, we were invited to have some cocktails. I just loved how the hotel staff laid out the forks to look like a palm frond, complete with green lights to heighten the effect.




My husband loved their crème brûlée. Isn't the presentation just so pretty? And the mirrored surface of the cocktail tables made everything look dazzling.




The purpose of the media event was three-fold. First, Astoria launched its new logo, cleverly embedded in an ice sculpture. Second, they introduced their newest celebrity endorser, Boy Abunda, who is one of the most famous and sought-after talk show hosts in the Philippines. And third, they announced the re-opening of Astoria Boracay. Located in the world-famous Boracay Island, with its fine white sand beaches, in the province of Aklan, the resort used to be known as Boracay Gold Crowne. The Astoria group acquired the resort in 2008, extensively renovated it, and the new rooms and facilities will be available this April, just in time for summer. In the photo are Astoria Plaza Hotel Manager Ping Regalado, Boy Abunda and Vice President for Operations Vivian Ng.




For attending the event, the guests—tri-media practitioners and bloggers, all—were given laptop bags and made official members of Astoria's First Club, which means that we will be invited to anything new that Astoria has to offer (more photos for me—whee!). And the best surprise of all, we were also invited to stay at the new Astoria Boracay for three days and two nights—double whee! Would you believe we've never been to Boracay? I know, pathetic. So we are definitely looking forward to the trip later in the year. I'm already so excited! I wonder if the resort will have chairs as unusual and lovely as these ones in Astoria Plaza's lobby…

Raise the red lantern

I really like these bright red lanterns at Hap Chan (Chinese for 'gathering place'), a Chinese restaurant that has several outlets in Metro Manila and beyond. I used the 'accent color' feature of my camera—it lets you choose one color to focus on and bleaches the rest of the scene into monochrome. While shooting, not processing after the fact. Pretty smart for such a little thing. I wonder if its sensitivity can be adjusted…

Trash and laundry

I posted photos of North Park's congee last year. Now here's a photo of their funky lamps. I actually like them but they also kind of remind me of a crumpled ball of paper. And the ceiling drapes, good for diffusing light and improving acoustics in a box-like room, remind me of bedsheets hung out to dry. Or maybe I'm just feeling domestic right now.

I recently discovered a lovely photoblog about the Philippines. Bobby Wong Jr. likes to travel around the country and takes the most gorgeous photos and posts one every week. Looking at his images of this beautiful country, I was reminded once again why I haven't given up on the Philippines. And as my thanks to Bobby, I invite you all to visit his blog:

Woven light

Kabisera ni Dencio's, a restaurant at Bonifacio High Street, is a showcase not just of Filipino food but also of Filipino furniture and handicrafts. Even the lanterns on the walls, made largely out of textured resin, have a touch of Philippine handicraft with its freeform natural wicker weave.

A bouquet of electrical flowers

Last October, I posted a photo of the unusual and pretty lamp of Bizu Patisserie in Greenbelt. I saw it again in their Promenade branch but against walls of a different design. Back then, I called it a splash of light but Olivier of Evry Daily Photo saw un beau bouquet de fleurs électriques (a beautiful bouquet of electrical flowers). I like his description better—so much more romantic. Maybe because he's French?


And because I'm sure that people will ask where the pastries are, they're here, here and here. Enjoy!

Self-illuminated

Aside from the suspended Christmas trees, Power Plant Mall in Makati City also decorated its hall lamps for Christmas. Gives me an idea for our chandelier next year, but I'll probably be either too busy or too lazy to do it.

A splash of light

Bizu Patisserie's walls are almost as luscious as its desserts.