For a while now I've been stalking a few artists' accounts on Instagram, mostly for their art-related posts but also partly because I have been vicariously living through them. They meet up for art dates, have the opportunity to sell their own art, and have the luxury of being able to visit Stickerrific in a relatively regular basis. Compared to me who lives in a city with literally only one tiny art supply shop in a hard-to-reach area, they're basically living the dream.
The few high school friends I have have always been the artistic type. Although we did draw together when we were younger, art was not something we really bonded over until recently. I suppose for a long time there were other things to worry or talk about and art was more of a private hobby than something to share. We also didn't know as much about art materials as we do now, and of course there was also my long art hiatus. Recently, however, we've been talking a lot about our own art adventures, discussing materials and sharing tips. We even laugh at how much we took for granted the stationery we used to have back when we were kids at school. Did you know that our school provided us with Sakura products for art class? That was part of what we paid for, sure, but they could've gotten away with the really cheap pan sets that every Filipino 90s kid would recognize and they didn't. They gave us a 12 color Sakura Mat set and we all just took it for granted!
The rotational power service interruption in our city forced my friend and I to go out on art dates at the local mall. Unlike our own houses, malls have generators, so if the power goes out, at least we won't get stuck doing nothing in the heat. We quickly realized, however, that there aren't any places in the city where we can actually have "proper" art dates. Cafe tables are too small or too low or too high, and the good places are usually full of people. Art dates might look fancy on Instagram, but know this: reality is not as glamorous!
We also have limited choices when it comes to art supply stores where I live. I've written about Stickerrific before. As far as I know we don't have that kind of place in our city. We probably have some sort of craft shop somewhere but anything that actually comes close is a plane ride away. We have Morning Light, which is a wonderful place run by very helpful people, but they still don't have everything and it's out of the way so it's not somewhere I can easily visit. Fully Booked is too overpriced, so the only other option would be National Bookstore. But while some branches elsewhere in the country hold pleasant surprises, the ones in our city never seem to carry the good stuff.
I've been planning for this trip to Deovir since we booked a ticket to Manila for March. I've only been to the SM Megamall branch once before and this would be the second time I've gone to the SM North EDSA branch. Perhaps it's just my excellent timing, but I find that SM North seem to have better Holbein stock. I almost wept at sight of all those beautiful paint tubes. Fortunately most of what I wanted were within the budget I forced upon myself and I even got some things I needed that I didn't expect to find there!
My other stop was Scribe Writing Essentials at Eastwood, where I planned to buy a few washi tapes and a Platinum Preppy for my friend and I. Scribe carries journaling and calligraphy supplies like Stickerrific, except they have an intimidatingly posh atmosphere compared to Stickerrific's homey organic feel. They have Kuretake products, Midori journals, various inks and pens, and the Glorietta 5 branch even had Kuretake Gansai Tambi! The Eastwood branch didn't have much in washi tape selection though, so I only got one. That's probably better for my wallet's sake.
While waiting for me to finish staring at the stuff in Scribe, my mother ended up at Recession Coffee. This place has a risky pay-what-you-want gimmick; you can literally pay only 50 pesos for your cup of coffee if you wanted to. I imagine some people would take advantage of that, but the place is nice and cozy with nice lighting for art dates and such, so I think they deserve at least what you would usually pay at other coffee shops.
I wish we had something like this back in Davao, just as I wish we had Stickerrific or Deovir. But maybe what we do have isn't so bad. At least it's easier not to spend money on art supplies if there aren't any places that carry what I want or need.
Oh, and don't talk to me about ordering online! Dealing with the local post office is a nightmare I'd rather not relive if I can help it.
A sketchbook is essential to your art supplies if you’re a budding artist. You can purchase your art materials at the trusted Art Supplies Melbourne. Unlike ordinary art journals, sketchbooks have several advantages. First, they’re highly portable and easily transported from one place to another. Second, you can use them for different media. Colored pencils and pencil sketches work well on thin 20-pound paper, while markers and watercolor paints need thicker paper. By checking out this comprehensive guide, you can learn more about the types of paper to use in your sketchbook.
ReplyDelete