Book Reading Happened at Sala

We had our first official book reading at Sala today. Local author Ed Mercado came to read passages from his book titled : Balikbayan Boxes for Better or for Worse. Friends of Sala came to listen and took part in a little Q & A. Later, the reading gang mingled over skewered spam, cheeze its, cookies, pineapple juice and sips of red wine. Thanks to the red wine, everyone was warm and aglow at the end of the event. We sold a few books that the author happily signed for the customers. Everyone enjoyed the event and cannot wait for the next one.

grunt work

It has been back-breaking work - updating the store's website that is. No wonder, people who actually get paid for this kind of work charge a lot of money - it is tedious. But, slowly but surely (or sorely), progress is being made. If I didn't know html codes before - well, I do know. I officially spent the entire day working on the site and still, much work is left to be done. And worse, I keep discovering kinks that completely stump me! Nonetheless, I think that the website is slowly coming along and who knows, before long, I might actually finish it. Meanwhile, do check it out and see for yourself.

Tado T-shirts Now in Sala

I just came back from the Philippines and brought some new stuff with me. I could only bring one big luggage of things for the store because I was flying solo. Nonetheless, I found some stuff so noteworthy and shall I say, funny and green? I will try very hard to blog about the new things in the store.

One of my coolest discovery were these t-shirts made by an "act" that goes by the name of "TADO" in the Philippine television. His shirts were featured in a local newspaper and my friend clipped it for me to "discover."
Hours before my flight home, my friends and I trooped down to Marikina to check these shirts out. Luckily for us, Tado (his real name is Arvin) and his wife (who turned out to be a Bikolana also) were minding the store.

I was really attracted by the practical but kind of romantic messages on Tado's shirts. Sayings such as "mabuti pa ang tamad hindi pagod" charmed me immensely. Head-scratching are the messages mostly - so caustic, wry, dry and hard to resist.

Tado calls his business "limitado" as in he only makes the shirts in limited quantities - making them instant vintage once the supply runs out . I got a few shirts in mostly medium and large sizes. The fabric is really good and I like his unique identifying graphic on the back. The shirts come in various colors - including pink, green and blue - fearless.

Of course, mildly star-struck, we had our pictures taken with the artist himself. He was really laid-back and quite funny. We love his signature lime green VW pagong.

Where Our Name Came From

Two questions usually come up when we tell people about our store: namely, what is Sala? (this from the non-tagalog speakers or black and white thinkers) and, why Sala? (this from the more inquisitive and maybe romantic ones?). Sometimes, I wished that I have some fabulous story to tell about our naming process, or at least, something that shows how wit just comes second nature to us. But alas, no, the name came to us from the side of a truck. We have been brainstorming about a name for weeks, turning words over our heads - desperately searching for anything catchy, unique and very witty - when one day, stopped at a traffic light, a truck bearing this name crossed the intersection:

My Filipino-brain immediately read: Sala. And yes, I thought, that's it - SALA - living room - the place where we put our best and most prized stuff in the house, the cleaniest, prettiest, and most displayed spot in a Filipino house. Exactly the concept we were gunning for. Of course, the above logo actually says SAIA - but never mind, it made me think of SALA, and the rest, they say, is our short history.

Nowadays, people tease me about the ubiquitous trucks bearing our so-called name all over the place (SAIA is a trucking company) - are those yours, they sheepishly ask. Of course not, we barely own a jeep to put all our stuff in, we answer. But if they make you think of us, then I was not alone in my dyslexia.

Above are the pictures of the actual Bulol necklaces we have at Sala. These bulol necklaces are from Banaue, Philippines and carved from Ipil wood. The tie is made of nylon string and adjustable between 16 to 18 inches in length.

Bulol is the image of the Cordilleran rice god. Cordillera is a mountain range in the Philippines' Norther Luzon region. These mountains are home to six indigenous Filipino tribes namely theIbaloy, Kankanay, Kalinga, Apayao, Bontoc and Ifugao. Having created the breathtaking Rice Terraces - a UNESCO World Heritage Site - these highlanders' culture, traditions and everyday lives are very much linked with rice. The bulols usually stand guard at Cordilleran rice granaries to scare away rice thiefs and pestilence.

The Cordillerans of old probably never imagined that the bulols they painstakingly carved out of native wood such as narra and ipil would one day adorn the necks of lowlanders and highlanders alike. When you happen to wear one around your neck, please pay homage to the culture, tradition and peoples that inform the making of these bulol necklaces.

Here is a video of the actual rice terraces taken during Mel's trip to Banaue in April this year (2007). The ladies in the traditional clothing are in fact locals of Banaue who proudly share their culture with visitors. Shown in the video are Mel's brother Kuya Lito, his wife Ate Baby, and their daughter Joy. The boy is Carl, Kathy's (not in the video) nephew.

S A L A is taking its stuff to the road. Check us out at the 2007 Pistahan at Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco across from the Sony Metreon. We will be at B9. We are taking fashion accessories, basketware, wood carvings, children's books, textiles and many more. See you there.