Postura Project: Wear Something Filipino Everyday!

Have you heard of the Postura Project? If not, let me tell you about this great project of Arriane Serafico, David Guison, Sarah Meier-Albano and Knox Balbastro. These four geniuses have come together in support of the Filipino clothing and fashion industries by submitting to a creative 30-day challenge to WEAR something FILIPINO everyday!


Arriane Serafico's style is a "maximalist mix of color, sparkle, and fun." David Guison presents a "Grungified street style that's dark and edgy." Sarah Meier sports a "trend-free, ghetto fab, minimalist, bohemian." While Knox Balbastro likes "ethnic Pinoy inspired, creative work wear."

I really love this project that is why I would like to promote it to my friends and readers. It's high time that we go out of our way and appreciate our own. Filipinos and our crafts, after all, are starting to compete, "trend," and be known globally. Boo yeah!

And so, I was challenged by Sarah to try it out.

Unscripted Book Launch with Sarah and Vicky

Put really driven, intelligent and inspiring young people + a book launch = a recipe for GREATNESS. Sarah Meier and Vicky Herrera, launched their first ever book, UNSCRIPTED, at the Fullybooked Bonifacio High Street two days ago to the press, family and friends.

Unscripted is a book of their favorite interviews from The Dollhouse, their radio show before at U92. See my previous post for more information on Unscripted. Oh, and you can catch Sarah and Vicky today at 6pm as they launch their book at the Ayala Cebu Activity Center. :)



I was a little early, so I caught some behind the scenes as Sarah and Vicky prepare for the book launch. At the Fullybooked ground floor activity area, you can see a huge S&V made of thousands of leaves, which was painstakingly but really wonderfully pinned to the canvass. It worked really well. Kudos to Holland Blooms!



Vicky and Sarah in the "dressing room" cum "press room" before the press launch :)



Did you know that Imelda Marcos, who owns thousands of pairs of shoes, didn't own one pair of sneakers? TRUTH. Buy the book to read more! ;)



Sarah and Vicky at the press launch, explaining to the press the process of making the Unscripted book. Unscripted wouldn't be made possible without their publisher, Fullybooked's Jaime Daez, their layout artist Christian San Jose, and their producer, Louie Barretto (not in the picture).



With Co.Lab's Margaux Cortez, Arriane Serafico, Full Suite's Ariel Lim and myself.


Nix Pernia a.k.a. DJ NIXDAMNP provided for the awesome music that night, together with Eric Manuel on Sax. We also got a mixtape by Nixdamnp, who included some feel good music which The Dolls played before on air, and some snippets from their interviews. It's really a good treat!




Vicky Herrera and Sarah Meier. Vicky and Ruby Veridiano. :)



Future Supermodel Kaya Albano and Ford Supermodel Samantha Gomez.

The Dollhouse: Unscripted Book Launch

There is a new book everyone should be watching out for - UNSCRIPTED. See you at Fullybooked Bonifacio High Street this December 15 as Sarah Meier-Albano and Vicky Herrera launch their latest project, the Unscripted book! :) Watch out for the details, as The Philippines and Beyond will be raffling off a signed copy.



Unscripted is a book based on the conversations that transpired during the radio show “The Dollhouse.” It focuses on the lessons learned from interviewing individuals who were deemed influential and innovative in their respective field. These influential people were interviewed in the segment entitled, “The Real OG.”

Featuring a diverse roster that includes names such as Madame Imelda Marcos, rockstar Raimund Marasigan, educator Gang Badoy, iconic hip-hop group Mastaplann, and PBA legend Jeff Cariaso, the book highlights the lessons that each OG encountered in their rise to success.


Inspiring and thought-provoking, The Dollhouse conversations are truly memorable conversations that last; and truly unscripted ones from the heart.

"The Dollhouse started as a morning rush hour show on the now defunct U92 FM hosted by Sarah Meier and Vicky Herrera. The girls quickly made their mark in the radio world with show segments such as 'Dollhouse Word of the Day' (a tutorial on slang vocabulary), 'The Dopeness and The Wackness' (an entertaining stamp of approval or disapproval on current events, products, and daily experiences), and their lighthearted, but notedly positive and inspiring banter."


"Integrating a variety of topics into discussions, The Dolls (as they are affectionately called by their listeners) regularly share their insights on personal passions; fashion, arts, music, sports, and youth culture in general."

After their radio show, the Dollhouse was quickly adopted by the Philippine Daily Inquirer as an advice column for their 2BU section. The column comes out on Saturdays and touches on issues ranging from self-esteem and perception, media literacy, and positive thinking.


Sarah Meier (sarahmeieronline.com)

Starting as a model in her teens, booking campaigns in the Philippines and around Asia, Sarah shifted into the hosting world during her VJ stint on MTV Asia, becoming one of the most influential VJs on the network. She went on to start Steak Productions, an urban lifestyle group, where she held the positions of Head of Activation for the Events Division, as well as Creative Director for Steak’s Creative Agency. Sarah has since taken on television shows Philippine Fashion Week TV and Supermodel as both host and scriptwriter. She has also contributed as a writer to various publications, championed positivity on radio through her short-lived show The Dollhouse, and now adds newspaper columnist to her resume.

Vicky Herrera (victoriaherrera.com)

Victoria Herrera, also known as Vicky, is a model, television host, and journalist from the Philippines. She started contributing articles to magazines and newspapers while still in high school and joined the modeling industry while in college. After graduating from the Ateneo De Manila University in Communication, she shortly served as the features editor for Status Magazine, as well as the marketing and PR director for Trilogy Boutique. She eventually entered the broadcasting industry with her stint on The Dollhouse with Sarah Meier on radio station U92. They continue to spread positivity and advice through their newspaper column on the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Vicky later joined Sarah in co-hosting the television shows Philippine Fashion Week TV and Behind The Brand.

Book Website: http://unscriptedconversations.com/

The Dollhouse Sites:
Tumblr: playwiththedolls.tumblr.com
Twitter: twitter.com/playwthedolls
Facebook: facebook.com/playwiththedolls
Email: playwiththedolls@gmail.com

Dot Connecting at co[LAB]: Let's Change the Philippines!

"Imagine having 40 of Manila’s prime movers and shakers — all wanting to create change in the country — sitting in one room."

This was the scene at co[LAB] in Makati last Wednesday - 40 of Manila's influencers from different sectors of society (Arts and Media, Youth, Government, NGO, Business...) gathered to talk about what Change and Progress meant to them, what is it that they are doing, and why they do it. 

For me, this is one real PPP (Public Private Partnership), brought together by dot-connector, and fellow Philippine Tourism Ambassador, Sarah Meier-Albano, her husband, Banj of Project Heal Manila, and guest speaker, Filipino-American writer and advocate Miss Ruby Veridiano, who helped synthesize and put everything together. 

PHOTOS: TOP: Banj + Sarah Meier - Albano, and Miss Ruby Veridiano. BELOW: Joey and Mon of Team Manila.

"You turn to the left and you can talk to someone from media. To your right, you can exchange ideas with someone from the fashion industry. There were people from government, lovers of music, filmmakers, graphic designers, writers and bloggers. The energy was just bouncing off the walls, and the exchange was geared towards one common passion: harnessing our creativity and talents to bring change to the community we live in." - co[LAB]

PHOTOS: Bianca Gonzalez, Alex Lacson, Quark Henares, Pia Magalona, and Erica Paredes.

“Too many of us know how to hurt, without knowing how to heal right. And really, a lot of this is for me, who can’t seem to learn how to be happy, but be willing to offer my deficiency to build those who feel half-full. Because this is all that I’ve got. And my arms, it is all I’ve got to offer. And I know it is cliché as hell, but I can be here to catch you.  So if you are falling, don’t trip. Love. I swear. I’ve got you.” - Ruby Veridiano

Here's a short video by Sarah showing a glimpse of what transpired during the "Meeting of Minds":

"Connect with us by keeping #ManilaMinds as an active column/search on your favorite Twitter application, and we will be in touch soon for the next dot connecting session." - Sarah Meier-Albano.

Surely, our "meeting" did not stop there. It transcended that event, and it is still ongoing, everyday, as we continue to hope, inspire, and create. We cannot sit idly. No. We must act, influence, and change ourselves, and others around us (in our work, in our circle of friends, in our spheres), and continue to be dot connectors, as we strive to unite and be one in changing and improving our society, the Philippines. 

----- PILIPINAS, TARA NA! -----

FULL SUITE's co[LAB] serves as a hub to a collaborative community that shares the same values of entrepreneurship, creativity and integrity. This shared workspace is ideas for freelance professionals, home office workers, startup businesses, entrepreneurs, solopreneurs and graduate students.

"We like to work, and we like to be around people. So we decided to create a space that enables collaboration, encourages creativity and engages you, our community."

They have this monthly JELLY, open to everyone, to experience how co[LAB] works. What's good about this is it is actually free. You just need to bring yourself, and whatever it is you are working on so you can actually work on it there.

This April's JELLY will be on April 05, from 1:00-6:00pm at the FULL SUITE, Inc., 4th Floor Optima Building, 221 Salcedo Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City, 1229. For packages, plans and pricing on working in co[LAB], you may refer to their list on Facebook.
All photos courtesy of Arriane Serafico and her new Canon 600D, and co[LAB]. 
"We are all dot-connectors. We connect people, we are connected. We come together as one for a cause greater than us. It may be for good governance, for poverty, for tourism, for art, for media, for clean water, for a lot more problems and issues we have. We come together, and act. We share ourselves and become one. What's important is we act. We act as one." - Brian Ong