designing for the boardroom broad

There are two Kenny Wongs and they're both very talented designers.

Kenny Wong 'The Toy Designer' is the founder of Kennyswork and is one of the creators of Brothersfree. (I have two of his 12-inch Brothersworker figures which I really love.)

Kenny Wong 'The Industrial Designer', on the other hand, is an award-winning creative who just graduated from the Konstfack University College of Art, Crafts and Design in Stockholm, Sweden. His past works include designs for Bosch Surveillance Cams, Trefot Ceramics, Infrared Cams for the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjarvi. But for me, his most memorable designs are the shoes you see below which he created for the 2008 Shoe Design Competition in Hong Kong. As you can see, his inspiration is the classic business suit. Very clever!

Impeccable business style – from the necktie (above) down to the cuff link (below).

I'd say that to be well-heeled is to be well-suited for success. With heels like these, any corporate bitch can simply step on and kill whoever stands in her way. :-D

(Top) This Secret Horror Bearbrick from Series 11 is based on the 2005 film 'Executive Koala', Minoru Kawasaki's psychological tale of horror/murder that involves a Koala in a suit – an honest-to-goodness corporate animal! :-)

Meryl Streep pic from 'The Devil Wears Prada.' Digital imaging by yours truly. / Kenny Wong shoe pics from www.kennywong.se

on turning 1

A little more than a year ago, Socky, my friend and business partner, gave me the idea for this blog. A blogger herself, she told me, 'Why don't you blog about your Be@rbricks, Ariel?'

At first, I thought, 'Who has the time?' I was churning out advertising stuff at the speed of light. 'Three-deadlines-a-day' kind of work. For sure, it was not going to be a 'stream-of-consciousness' kind of blog. I would need to conceptualize, research, write, and post! To make matters worse, half the web info on Bearbricks are in Japanese!

Then I told myself, 'Well, a lot of people have done so much more in their lifetimes. Surely, you can do this.'

That was the beginning.

After a month and 28 posts (I wrote so much back then), Bearbrick Love was nominated in the 1st Philippines Blog Awards. What a really cool start it was! :-D

Lately, my 'three-deadlines-a-day' workload seems more like 'five-deadlines-a-day'. But I'm still here. Photographing Be@rbricks. Researching on Be@rbricks. And writing Be@rbrick stuff.

I figured, if readers like you find the time to come here to read about these lovable, little creatures, then – hell, yes – I'm going to find time to tell you about them :-)

It's been a great 1st year – thanks, everyone!

(Top) The Series 11 Artist Be@rbrick with the number '1' on its face was designed by Taroshooten of Japan. Taroshooten designs and sells hand painted robot figures, self destruct buttons, funky silver rings and toy explosive kits. You can check out the Japanese site here.

tattooed & troubled

Every summer, heavenly bodies sashay along the shoreline of Boracay, my country's most famous beach.

They wear very little textile... but a lot of ink. Yes, a washable henna tattoo is the most ubiquitous – and affordable – accessory around the island.

For as low as $5, you can have an bold tribal symbol emblazoned on your biceps or buns. It's quite effective if you want to emphasize your... uhm... assets.

Today, self-esteem or self-expression are the usual reasons for getting a tattoo (permanent or otherwise), but 2400 years ago, Pazyryk nomads wore them to show their status as individuals.

Early Polynesians who displayed bravery in battle were distinguished by tattoos.

Such body marks were part of religious rituals in ancient Egypt.

During the Roman empire, they were a means to identify slaves, criminals, and outcasts.

And in more recent times, a tattoo became a man's way to pledge his love for a woman.

A year ago, I photographed a male model (NOT the one in the pic above) who had three tribal tattoos on his body. One was on his right bicep, the other around his navel, and the third on his left wrist.

When I was finally 'photoshopping' his pics on my laptop, I noticed that the tattoo on his wrist appeared less sharp, muddier than the others. I zoomed in and saw why: it overlapped with two slash-like scars – thin jagged lines that ran parallel to each other, and cross the bluish and reddish veins of his wrist. The type that are usually self-inflicted. :-(

The telltale marks were out of character, I thought. Earlier during the shoot, he appeared lighthearted and outgoing. Who would have thought...?

Oh, well.

I guess that's what a tattoo is for sometimes: to hide an emotional scar or a painful past. In such a case, it's ink, not ointment, that helps the wound to heal.

(Top, left) Series 11's Pattern Bearbrick, released in December 2005. (Above, right) Pic of DJ John Joe Joseph by yours truly / Info from Wikipedia, tattoosymbol.com, designboom.com

(Above) Free tribal tattoo designs from tribalshapes.com

bondage made beautiful

This Christmas, I received a most beautiful and interesting gift from a dear friend – a metal handcuff (below, left) from Dolce & Gabbana's Fall 2007 Collection.

I love it tremendously – even if I am not into bondage or S&M. In the creative world of advertising where I exist, edgy accessories are perfectly acceptable, if not expected.

Bondage is a recurring theme in fashion. Remember when Elizabeth Hurley (Hugh Grant's ex) stole the show at the UK premiere of 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' in a Versace bondage dress? Way before that, British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood successfully incorporated the bondage concept into punk fashion.


Dolce & Gabbana's latest campaign (below) features sexy young dominatrixes (wearing metallic bondage belts) forcing their half-naked male subjects into submission.

How such a concept can successfully seduce people is a bit of a mystery to me. Maybe, we are all secret sadists, masochists – or both. Come to think of it, we all feel pleasure when our enemies endure pain. And each of us will sometimes choose to suffer through a challenge than to be bored by ease.

(Top, right) Bondage Bear: The metallic silver bear which I've tied to a metal post is Series 11's Artist Bearbrick based on Naoki Urasawa's 'Monster', a Japanese anime produced by Studio Nuts. The bloody message on its chest (in German) is a cry for freedom: 'Help! The monster in me will explode!