Popkin Garb

A Drawing A Day13

2012-05-04T13:26:00.001+08:00

a very fashionable eskimo

an eskimo huntress illustration by Bre

PopkinGarb Post Hiatus

2012-05-03T19:01:00.000+08:00

Finally, after a long break PopkinGarb is back. I have mad changes to my Etsy shop however, it's now entitled La Mer de Reve. there are also changes in the product line up, and I think it's best if you check it out yourselves. just a sneak peak...

Shishigami version2 by Bre

A Drawing A Day12

2012-02-09T19:06:00.000+08:00

here's to my Spring/Summer

SS illustration by Bre

La Vie En Rose: magnetic bookmarks

2012-02-06T11:11:00.002+08:00

and these are finally out, for Php150 ($3.50) for a set of 4. or you could also purchase individually at Php45 ($1) each. all hand-drawn and handmade by Bre. just email me for orders at ea.senga@gmail.com

more to come!

ERRATUM: This set has been sold already

A Drawing A Day11

2012-02-02T09:25:00.000+08:00

how i would want to commute in a slouchy coat

Commute illustration, by Bre

Tease Your Toes Giveaway!

2012-01-31T09:51:00.000+08:00

photo from Tease Your Toes

aren't those cat bookmarks adorable? i love cats, and i want these! Tease Your Toes will be having a giveaway, in which this set of lovely ruffle ring and two very cute cat bookmarks are part of. check out more of the giveaways, as well as the mechanics here.

A Drawing A Day10

2012-01-30T13:52:00.001+08:00

it was a busy week, the previous one. i wasn't able to draw daily, but here's one i was able to do last week.

and it's contagious

her smile, that is...

Contagious illustration, by Bre

Sneak a Peek: La Vie En Rose

2012-01-26T10:10:00.001+08:00

a glimpse of my work area

here's what's i've been up to lately. one of friends, Vins of Tawambuhay, piqued me to create stationery items. we were supposed to be a tandem, with her coming up with the words for cards/notebooks, but haven't yet brainstormed on our project. one thing stuck to my mind though, her mentioning of La Vie En Rose. the phrase i found out has many possibilities, and here are some.

i've yet to post the finished bookmarks here and on etsy, but i'd just like to share with you this WIP. thanks, Vins, for the inspiration!

A Drawing A Day9

2012-01-24T16:33:00.002+08:00

enter the water-dragoness

Happy Lunar New Year, everyone!

Water-Dragoness illustration by Bre

A Drawing A Day8

2012-01-20T11:48:00.000+08:00

it smells of love

Dorm Girl illustration by Bre

A Drawing A Day7

2012-01-19T11:36:00.000+08:00

stretching after a rehearsal

Prima illustration by Bre

A Drawing A Day6

2012-01-18T14:36:00.001+08:00

i usually don't draw males, but we can make Mr. Catkin an exception

Mr. Catkin, the Victorian gentle-tomcat illustration by Bre

A Drawing a Day5

2012-01-17T11:26:00.000+08:00

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." -- Albert Einstein

how very true.

and now for A Drawing a Day5.

there is no winter in the Philippines, but it doesn't mean i can't be cold

Cold illustration by bre

A Drawing a Day4

2012-01-16T13:26:00.001+08:00

inspired by Degas

illustration by bre

A Drawing A Day2 and 3

2012-01-13T15:29:00.003+08:00

Elven Lady; Day2

Grown Shishigami; Day3

due to technical difficulties i wasn't able to upload these last Wednesday, but here they are. with The Hobbit movie looming closer, i feel myself being drawn to draw elves once more. they are indeed a beautiful race. the bottom is an adolescent shishigami, you'll remember that i've painted a young shishigami before, and now he's grown.

all illustrations by Bre

i'm taking the Simple Living Pledge

2012-01-11T10:00:00.000+08:00

image from blog.kanelstrand.com

starting February 01, i will be embarking on a life-changing pledge, that is to live simply. to be honest, i'm getting tired of the fast-paced lifestyle most of us have, and i feel the need to make things in my life simple, to slow down gather my thoughts and re-think my current way of life.

if you're interested in living a simple life, head on over to Kanelstrand's blog post and take the pledge with us.

A Drawing A Day

2012-01-09T12:02:00.000+08:00

in order to keep my creative juices running, this year, i resolved to challenge myself to draw everyday. even small drawings (which i really like, especially at the office) will suffice. and here's the start:

illustration by bre

New Year Friend

2012-01-04T10:00:00.000+08:00

i made a new friend during the weekend, and i call him Hitler.

he has black markings (or dirt) underneath his nose, thus the name. he's been a mainstay at our backyard since we feed him tablescraps.

my eyes!

all photos by bre

i keep on stealing touches from him, but yesterday he let me scratch his back for a while! :) i wish this is going to be a long friendship.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T10:19:00.002+08:00

of course i am not the first to greet you a Happy New Year in the blogworld. seems like everyone's beat me to it. but i would like to share with you what i did during the New Year weekend.

the Domestic Goddess has called upon me and helped me whip up this Queso de Bola (Edam in Western countries ) Cheesecake.

i won't be posting the recipe because i got one online and tweaked it without taking into account the measurements of the ingredients i used. i just went according to my taste. good thing i also found this cream cheese which was so divine that i didn't need to strain my arms from all the mixing (sadly i do not have an electric mixer), yet it came out smoothly. i'm not a real fan of queso de bola but this has converted me to like it.

Ex Libris Collection: Isis

2011-12-29T22:12:00.000+08:00

i have kind of forgotten that i've made this shirt during the first half of the year. my closet's been a disaster lately and i didn't realize i had bought clothes which up to this date haven't been worn. anyway, i saw this last week while looking for something to wear for a lunch with my friends (a very sumptuous lunch!) and decided to wear it.

i take the lousiest photos... this is Isis, wife of Osiris, inspiration from The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel Series by Michael Scott. she is depicted in full warrior regalia, with ceramic armor to boot. i'm supposed to sell this, but somehow i can't let go of the women's shirts that i make...

an attempt at Street Photography

2011-12-28T11:00:00.000+08:00

i'm at home today, and frustrated with the dismal internet connection i have (and i thought the office has the worst connection). but my day's been made because Yanick posted my favorite street photo which i sent him on his blog. you can check it out here. i know it's not at par with the others' submissions, but to each his/her own.

a funny Christmas card

2011-12-26T11:04:00.000+08:00

my son made this card from school before the holiday break, and i just had to laugh out loud when i read the message inside! since when did we slay white horses on Christmas?

after that was a thorough lecturing on the lyrics of Jingle Bells (with proper spelling of course). i just don't get the angry bird that came with the message. when i asked him why there was an angry bird, he said it was his favorite (everything's his favorite lately).

Happy Holidays to all of you! hope you all had a grand time! :)

Craftpreneur Files: Noemi Manalang of Noomiedoodles

2011-12-23T10:00:00.000+08:00

before the year ends, it's time for yet another feature on Craftpreneur Files. let me introduce you to a very talented fashion illustrator, Noemi Manalang and her shop Noomiedoodles.

hullo, Noemi. it's a pleasure to have you here at Craftpreneur Files. do tell us a little about yourself and about your work.

My name is Noemi Manalang and I am an illustrator. I just graduated fashion design in ESMOD Jakarta a year ago and now continuing my passion in fashion illustration. I own an online shop in Etsy where I sell my original illustrations, prints, cards and I also do private freelance commisions.

how did you start going about your craft business?

It started on a long summer break during college. During that time my best friend introduced me to this site called Etsy. I was so fascinated by the creative and crafty things people were selling there that I wanted to start my own thing too. So I convinced my mom to help me out with etsy's credit card thing and just started the shop.

lucky you to have a very supporting mom not to mention being so successful at young age. but where do you draw inspiration from?

For years I enjoyed having painting lessons ever since I was small. Back then I painted more in oil landscapes and still life. Then I got pretty busy with fashion illustration in fashion school. I used to watch clips by this famous fashion designer named Isaac Mizrahi do live fashion sketches in his online site. He was my inspiration and still, to this day in making something out of fashion illustration.

well i can't blame you for loving Isaac Mizrahi, i'm also look up to him for his works and not to mention his humor! you mentioned that you have a shop on Etsy. how's it been doing so far?

It's been a very exciting experience selling my art. But what I love the most is having the opportunity to show my art to a wide audience and making friends in the Etsy community. I actually haven't experienced selling locally since I've spent most of my life in Indonesia. Now that I am currently in the Philippines, I get to see the art scene here and know what's around. I'd love to give it a try.

i could see that your shop's got quite a lot of admirers and sales on Etsy, kudos to that! but were there any drawbacks you encountered especially when you were just starting out?

At first I was pretty skeptical and had issues on shipping original art internationally because it is very far away. Well, it has been going good so far. So researching beforehand about shipping and customs would saved me a lot of time in online selling. There I made sure to let customers know in my policy that shipping would take some time and to plan for some worse case scenarios too. I'm also learning to balance my time in doing different things in my business.

from all the projects you have done, what's the most memorable so far?

Every art project has been memorable to me. One in particular was just recently when someone emailed me to request a custom illustration for her first book cover. The publishing is still ongoing so I may not provide some details here yet. It's new to us both and we're excited for the outcome!

all artwork by Noemi Manalang

we're excited to know more about it too! we hope you'll be able to share it with us through your blog once it's done. any last words for aspiring craftpreneurs?

Always be resourceful. Make the best of what you have and keep improving. I think it brings up the creativity in you.

thank you for the insights you shared with us, Noemi! i'm sure many will be looking up to you someday, as you looked up to Isaac Mizrahi.

for more of Noemi's works, you can visit her wonderful blog Noomiedoodles, and her etsy shop of the same name here.

thrifted: International Arts & Crafts book

2011-12-12T16:17:00.001+08:00

the lovely cover

as a predecessor of my favorite art movement, the short-lived yet flamboyant Art Nouveau, Arts & Crafts has been close to my heart as well. the femininity and stylized figures are what drew me to this movement, as well as the craftsmanship of each work.

all photos by Bre

what a wonderful treat for me! i bought this copy of International Arts & Crafts and would you believe that i got this for only Php100 ($2.30)? it's not very old either, with a 2005 publishing date. i just love scavenging around bargain carts of practically any store. you never know what you might come across hidden beneath those piles of what-have-yous.

Week old doodles

2011-12-12T10:05:00.001+08:00

can't focus... need to let out some ideas.

the holidays are almost upon me!

oops, spilled some tea on my unicorn horn