Glow by Lady E

  A couple weeks ago, we found a Calabarzon Exhibit in the mall while buying a snack .  I told the lady that we will just check out the fair while she cooked our orders. I found a booth that caught my eye.  Specifically these:  Then I looked to the right and found these: I went to look at the accessories and the lady said that they were all made with cacao shells.  And the bags were made with cacao leaves.   Cacao shells? Nibs? Leaves? I was hooked! For one, my son and I love cacao.  Aside from chocolate, we have tea, nibs, and tablea, a local product that is 100% cacao. (My food platform features some recipes using tablea.)  And now I can wear them? And there’s a story behind the pieces? Of course, I had to get a few.  These beautiful things taught me to look for beauty after everything is used.  After the fruit is taken. After the shell is emptied. After what was once valuable is set aside. Because even then— there is still somethin...

  There’s a point where beautiful things stop being enough. I began noticing what they’re not saying. What they don’t carry. What they leave behind. And once I saw it— it’s hard to go back to wearing things that feel empty. A few pairs of earrings were the catalyst.  I didn’t pay much attention.  But something about that museum visit lit a fire in me.  As if my ancestors were whispering to me through the fabrics that they wove with their hands.  And then we went to Vigan .  And I saw many handcrafted goods. Some were for the kitchen.  Some were decor.  And some, for wearing. I entered a store that sold inabel pieces.  They were beautiful.  But very expensive.  After owning a piece,  I now know why. I treated my inabel skirt as something very special.  I initially wanted to save it for special occasions.  But one day, I visited the boutique that made my skirt. I was talking to the sales attendant when this elderly...