Only When

Only when the last tree has died,
The last river poisoned,
And the last fish been caught will we realize… we cannot eat money
-Cree Indian Proverb

Stocks Down, Way Down

Have you checked your portfolio lately? Yes, its screaming bloody loss. I lost almost half on one company, a banking one.  My folks said to wait it out, but hey as long as they’re cheap, I’m going to buy. Its not like its going to remain like that forever.

Why I love Seeing Red in The Stock Market

On my trading portfolio for the past few days, the dominant color is the dreaded one, RED. I’m not really worried though. Some people would think I’m crazy, but the thing is, seeing red in your trading portfolio is not an indicator that your stocks are becoming undervalued (unless they were overpriced in the first place, when you bought them).

The period in-between 2008 to 2009 will a turbulent time, and the spare money I have will not go to waste. I keep on buying stocks as they go negative from time to time, especially the ones from the lucrative companies.

But I’m sure in a year or two, those who played it smart and not just safe, will see their money flourish.

Multiply Stores On The Loose!

I’ve been surfing around looking for people who are fashion students and what not, but all I see are multiply stores trying to sell cheap OEM stuff from china. Don’t they know that per copied design they sell, there are at least 5000 more of the same design?

It is really sad, that so many people are going for the cheap fake stuff knowingly.

A few months ago I didn’t know that I was buying into knockoffs, and when I researched on EBAy I found out that these stuff are actually made from sweat factories. Yup that’s right. SWEAT factories. The place where they wipe their nose then continue sewing your to-be dress. or the place that overworks poor people til they die, and yes this actually happened. I will post on this soon.

People who buy fake stuff, read this:

““blood and sweat factory.”  In other words, more than just sweat is left on the factory floors in China.  According to Wikipeida: a “sweatshop is a factory, usually in a third-world country, where people work for a very small wage compared to their first-world counterparts, producing a variety of products such as clothes, toys, shoes, and other consumer goods. The term is usually used as a pejorative, and connotes a factory in which the workers may be kept in a harsh environment with inadequate ventilation, and may sometimes be abused physically, mentally, or sexually, subjected to long hours, harsh or unsafe conditions, and the like.” ” -http://zonaeuropa.com/20051030_1.htm

Rajo Laurel on the Daster

At the last episode of Project Runway Philippines, where Rajo Laurel commented on VeeJay Floresca’s take of the daster, or the unofficial old maid’s dress, where he said that

the daster has never been glamorous

or something, well that struck a cord.

The thing is why would he say something like that? Aren’t designers supposed to make old things and new-ify them so that they would match the taste of the newer generation?

Seriously, that comment irked me a bit, as I look up to him as one of the few to have made it through. I am not saying he is the best in designing, but he is the best in marketing himself. Which really says a lot, since this is a third world country after all.

Anyway, to the designers out there, don’t comment about what a designer cant or can remake or take a good outlook or interpretation on because as artists you CANNOT limit yourself. I may not know much about technicalities yet, but at least I know that aesthetics does not have a beginning nor end.

*I love Rajo Laurel to bits, as with other designers, as I think of them as great examples.

Thesis Finished

Finally! No more monkeysss.

I can finally concentrate on fashion and be happy again

Wearing Chinese Counterfeits

Once upon a time I tried buying from an “OEM” site, being caught up in the hoopla of cute clothing. Although I can admit that I absolutely adore the “Asian” style that has plagued the market, and despite its lack of uniqueness, I still tried buying from these stores that are selling these kind of clothes.

Some of these sites are wholesale-dress, causeway and CCT. (Yes buyers these are the stores where your importers are getting their stuff from)

Of course I didn’t know at that time that these items were FAKE, absolutely cheap look-a-likes of the original creations that the hardworking designers pored over for hours and hours just to make the design marketable.

Some people may be idiotic enough to think that since Asia is a generally poor continent, designers don’t give a damn over these copycats of their designs. And some are even abysmally stupid to think that there are no anti-counterfeit laws in most Asian countries, as well as Asian designers who care over their rights.

But actually designers do care. In fact the only problem is the fact that CHINA is so loose with the laws that many of their manufacturers just wait like hungry, disgusting monsters over the next designs so they could counterfeit it in their sweatshop factories (despite the claim of these knockoff companies that their sewing factories are “clean”).

Sadly so many people are letting this go on, despite the fact that they know they are buying fakes.

Apprenticeship Under A Friend?

It’s quite important to be an apprentice of someone who is in your field; if not near the field you want to break into. But no matter how little your pay is (if you’re lucky enough to have one) or how toxic your sched is, the thing is these apprenticeships from the most “up there” companies don’t come easily.

In other words, you’ll be sucked dry by the end of the month.

This is why a lot of artisans nowadays choose to go under people who are their “friends” so that they will get the better treatment. But I don’t think this is right, as blood and sweat really shapes up a person, I think.

If you are an aspiring artist and you are just starting out you career, would you ever go and be an apprentice for someone you actually know?

Monkeys For Thesis Partners

Working 3 jobs and studying at 2 schools is definitely not for the faint hearted. Having idiots for thesis partners in my university course make everything worse.

I was about to sleep last night around 11:45pm, after working with website development jobs that pays for my Fashion Institute of the Philippines (FIP) classes and fashion materials, and doing house chores and studying my Basic Fashion notes, when the only other female member in our thesis group called me up just to tell me that the male members didn’t want to make resumes.

Nice.

Being 16 certainly doesn’t give them the right to be monkeys.

Oh well. If Mc Queen worked for two years, certainly I can make it as well. Loving something that’s worth it absolutely makes up for my being tired every single day from working and studying.

A Premier Fashion School: The Fashion Institute of the Philippines

The Fashion Institute of the Philippines (The Institute, F.I.P), an organization that hosts some of the hottest and most reputable talents in the country is drawing up attention that caters to both the young and the old who wants to get a better look on what the real deal fashion nitty-gritty is like.
Although it has a ridiculously low tuition fee (an estimated Php 24,000 per semester for the 3 basic courses such as basic pattern making, sewing and fashion design, or roughly $500++) that does not include materials (like fabric, pattern paper, etc) used per session, the fact that having a highly skilled and talented roster for a staff should not be taken lightly.

As compared to other schools, classes in F.I.P are very flexible, and tend to stick only to the essentials, instead of dilly-dallying around the not so important topics . Some might say it’s being blasphemous and disrespecting the “process” of learning fashion, but that is quite the opposite. For in fact, after learning the more rigorous and essential topics, which are in the Basic Pattern Making and Basic Fashion Design classes, one is given the opportunity to take up the more advance courses.
The harsh reality of the fashion industry is also firmly rooted in the teachings of The Institute. The instructors often give constructive criticisms to the students, and remind everyone the fact that it does not matter where you studied, and although coming from a fabulously enriching and updated school helps a big deal, the fact remains that not everyone could make it in fashion.

But the thing is the instructors never forget to shine light upon the other careers in the cutthroat industry, and it’s not like you need to be the head designer or whatever of a fashion house member of Fédération Française de la Couture in order to “follow your dream”. There are always the less glamorous, yet (almost) equally fulfilling jobs such as pattern making or design assistant, or even fashion marketers/moguls.