Banyan Tree by Inksurge

Four months to go before our wedding (yes, in between ramblings at work and managing apartment living, I am planning a wedding), I'm starting to see the things I envisioned in my head and from my mood board, come to life.
I'm most excited about the printed matters like the invitation and tote bags for the guests. I tapped Inksurge, a graphic design duo from the Philippines, to illustrate and design for me.
Jon and I are getting married in Bali. The ceremony will be in a local church but the reception is in Gaya Villas. I fell in love with this place when I visited Ubud last year and it seemed like the perfect setting. I  think the homemade gelato, handmade ceramics were the selling points, truthfully.
For the invitation and tote bag design, the brief was simple - I wanted an illustration of a Banyan tree similar to the one in Gaya. How I love a nice tree, with remarkable but imperfect grain and some occasional lovers' etchings.
And this is what Rex and Jois of Inksurge came up with:

Can't wait to pick these up when I come home to Manila next week!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

INKSURGE. Brewed in Manila, Philippines 2002.

A design studio concocted by digital baristas and authentic coffee junkies Jois Tai (she takes it w/ milk) and Rex Advincula (he takes it w/ sugar).

A visual stimulant. A creative brewery. An excuse for waking up late. An excuse for staying up later.

Steeped in a rich passion for visual arts both as a communication and a public contribution, the INKSURGE trademark extends from collective idea generation to project development to creative execution. An immersive design culture between their various clients and project collaborators -- 

-- a design culture that has gained recognition from the local and international web design, print, and interactive scene, making the INKSURGE blend rich in concoction.

Caffeine overdrive, a restless imagination, and a burn for creation make a genius brew, after all. 

INKSURGE has designed many things for Manila's movers and shakers from cd covers for Taken By Cars (Dualist) and Pupil (Limiters of the Infinity Pool, Wildlife) to creatives for Mich Dulce and Bea Valdes.

Subscribe to their blog and follow them on Twitter @inksurge.

via Behance.net

Found

It finally feels like spring and it's a perfect time to go out in the afternoon in a shirt and pair of easy pants. Curiously, Hong Kong hustle seemed to slow down and I suddenly missed Manila.

Sundays are the best in Manila. Open streets, everything in slo-mo. Trips to Salcedo Market with mom shopping for organic greens and preserved fish and quietly savouring a toasted sugar crepe. Thinking about getting another piece of recycled wooden frame and saying telling myself why not. I'd do it week after week.

Here in Hong Kong, I crave for this kind of market or collective. And thankfully there's one that happens every once in a while.

The JCCAC (Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre) is an architectural conversion from the former Shek Kip Mei Factory Estate know for making cotton materials. It houses an Artist Village that  perpetuate art in all forms, from painting, sculpture, ceramic, printmaking, photography, animation and even music. Each artist or creative group holds room in the building. Better seen that explained. What wonderful rooms!

Last Sunday, the JCCAC hosted a handmade fair with students and young designers showing off their creations. I met up with my friend Adaline, the Doufou Mafia (check out her veggie food blog here) and went around the make shift booths and went in some of the artist spaces.

The Space

Artists Village

Kai Tak Comma

Level 2-13

GOD (Goods of Desire)

HK Street Culture Gallery

Level 2-09

Lumenvisum

Level 2-10

Sugar Ink Studio + Lam Pei Studio

Level 5-22