Super Shocked

But really, I shouldn't be.

I've seen the National Bookstore Superbranch go from 5 floors, to 4, to 3, to 2, and now, to just 1 floor.

And soon, that 1 floor will be gone, too.

They're finally saying goodbye to the Superbranch and moving it to Gateway 2. But as the sign says, an art and community center will be rising in its stead, so that's something to look forward to. 

So, thank you, National Bookstore Superbranch! Thanks for the memories!

It's a pake!

Snopake was the correction fluid brand du jour back in my high school days.

Back then, correction fluid had to be part of your pencil case arsenal. Some kids had Liquid Paper, some had Magic Touch, but the fold standard was Snopake.

Nowardays, no one uses correction fluid anymore. So, it was a pleasant surprise to see this during my visit to National Bookstore.

Yes, Snopake is still very much around.

Didn't get to see what they were actually selling, though. Will save that for another visit.

Slim pickings

Oh, I miss the days when there were rows upon rows upon rows of beautiful gift wrappers at National Bookstore.

As the distributor of Hallmark products, they had the best and most varied selections of gift wrappers. They had a wrapper for every vibe, every occasion, every aesthetic. But now, they have this:

It's kinda sad to see how much they've downscaled their gift wrapping area. Even sadder is the fact that the designs are becoming bland and repetitive. Even their gift tags are blah.

Is it time to find another source of wrapping papers?

Missing magazines

Back in 2018, when you visit a bookstore, you'll se racks and racks of magazines. There were so many titles, so many options, so many subsets, and so many choices. 

Fast forward to today, you walk into Fully Booked, and their magazine rack is reduced to this.

They're actually in a better place because National Bookstore has ditched magazines completely. 

Call me old, but I'm definitely missing the good old days of magazines.

Gifted designer

When you mention Lucy Torres-Gomez's name as a designer, it's Kashieca that immediately comes to mind. She's had several collaborations with the brand, and you can see a lot of pieces from that collection in Ate's closet.

During a visit to National Bookstore, a discovery happened. It turns out that she also has a collaboration with NBS, and she designed a collection of gift wrappers.

Each wrapper has an interesting story rooted on her growing up years in the Visayas. And each design had a metallic detail that makes the wrappers feel very luxe and very designer.

This is going to make gift wrapping a lot more fun. And chic!

Do you CD what I CD?

Look what's on sale at National Book Store?

There was a time when CDs were so expensive and in demand. It was a must have for school and work, and we'd buy and collect these blank CDs, especially the ones with designs.

Now, technology has rendered it useless. Thus, it's now sold at P100 for this bundle.

Yup, that whole stack is just P100.

Amazing how technology can change just like that.

Rio Grand

What was the Christmas Gift Wrap theme for 2023?

Sometime in June, we went to National Book Store in Cubao to buy some supplies. Part of the 2nd floor was turned into an NBS outlet, so I decided to go up and check out what they had.

One corner of the area was set aside for gift wrappers. Rolls upon rolls upon rolls of different gift wrappers of varied designs where jammed into cardboard boxes. Of course, I had to check out the designs they had.

There was one design that jumped out of the plethora of rolls. The wrapper was covered in different tropical birds doing a celebratory dance. Immediately, this reminded me of the film "Rio," one of my favourite films. That sealed the deal.

Since the wrapper itself had a dark colour, the ribbon had to be light and bright to serve as a contrasting element. Looking at the many, many colours on the design, my eye singled out yellow as the main ribbon, while coral and baby blue served as the additional hue.

With the wrappers secured, it was time to look for the accent. I knew exactly what I wanted - clothespins with a bird design. But gosh! It was so difficult to find! Went to 168 - none. Checked out Shopee and Lazada - none. Just when I was about to give up, a random stroll at The Landmark proved to be the end of my search. 

They had clothespins with a flamingo design. Woot!

Aside from that, found 2 other worthy accents - a red robin clip-on, and a wooden keychain with a bird motif.

Then, the cards. Made the usual 4 designs, but was only to take a photo of 2 since the rest ran out already.

With all these elements together, here's the final theme.

Just like "Rio," it's frivolous, festive and fun! Which is what Christmas - and Christmas gifts - should be.

Closing a Chapter

It’smso sad to see this piece of news online,

National Bookstore in Greenbelt holds so many memories for me. And seeing the, close is like closing a chapter.

He’s coming to town

This year's Christmas wrapping theme was actually a case of reverse engineering.

It all started with these Santa Claus clips. 

These clips are almost 5 years old. Mark and I bought these in Tokyo, at one of our favourite black holes, Flying Tiger. It was near Christmas that time, that's why they had holiday stuff out. My purchase that day included 6 boxes of these clips.

After unearthing it in my closet, it was clear that this had to be part of 2022's Christmas wrapping theme.

Luckily, National Bookstore had Santa-themed wrappers out early. Believe it or not, these wrappers were on display as early as July this year. It was a sign!

The Santa Claus print in this wrapper had a bronze scarf against his classic red suit. It was natural that the ribbons for the year would echo these 2 colours.

Then, there were the tags. I designed these with different Santa Claus prints, from the classic to the whimsical.

With all these elements in place, this is how this year's Christmas wrapped gifts looked like. It's a mix of something very traditional with touches of colour and whimsy.

After many years, Santa Claus has finally come to town!

Book of Wrap

On today's edition of "Things you find when your'e not looking for them."

While looking for my one-hole puncher, there was a book that was discreetly stuck behind my side table. After pulling the book out, voila!

It's a book of wrapping paper!

The book was purchased during one of the cut-price book sales at National Book Store in 2017. Yup, I remember this book clearly because it was the only one left. I actually wanted to buy 2 or 3 more of these, but alas, they had no more stocks. 

Inside this book are 15 different gift wrappers with various designs. They range from flora and fauna, botanicals, watercolour prints, patterns, among others. Plus, it has 24 stickers that you can use with the gift.

It's providential that this book reappeared since I've been looking for wrappers for Mark's gifts. And this has everything I've wished for, and more!

Now, that's one for the books.

Paper trails

One thing I really miss is going to National Bookstore and SM Department Store to check out their latest designs of wrapping paper. 

I’d pore through the racks for almost an hour, and i’d But a few pieces of designs I like to try them out. Then, when I find the ones that really make me smile and thrilled, I buy them in bulk.

Now, the only way I check our wrapping paper is online, with my contacts in National Bookstore and SM sending me photos of their latest designs.

While it’s not exactly the same an]s the usual way I do it, this works for now.

Jouy-ful, Jouy-ful

Of course, the year 2020 can't wrap up without me showing my Christmas wrapping theme for the year. 

It was the first week of March - a week before ECQ was declared - when my eyes were drawn to this pair of wrappers at National Book Store superbranch.

What drew these to me is the "Toile du Juoy" feels that they give. Since my first encounter with this type of fabric in Paris when I was younger, I've been drawn to it. In fact, I paid good money to buy a few yards of Toile du Juoy fabric from a store near L' Tour Eiffel.

Luckily, they were well-stocked and this allowed me to get a lot of these wrappers. Enough to cover all my Christmas needs, and then some.

Aside from the pattern, the wrapper gained significance after the CQ period because it felt like life went back-to-basics. And it doesn't get more back-to-basics than black and white.

Once the wrapper was secured, it was time for the accoutrements. 

To add a hint of Christmas to the black and white wrapper, I chose the colour red for the ribbon. As an accent, both black and white ribbons were added, echoing the wrapper's hue. Of course, the personalized cards had to be there. Finally, since the wrapper had a pinecone print, it was an easy choice to make pinecones the accent to the whole thing.

Together, these elements created this Juoy-ful and timely Christmas gift-wrapping theme for 2020!

And as we wrap-up Christmas and get ready to welcome the New Year, let's all hope and pray for a Joyful 2021!

Under Wraps

Since last year, whenever I'd drop by National Bookstore, I'd browse through the racks for interesting gift wrappers and get a piece or two.

Or three, or a dozen, or 20.

The past few months, I've been browsing through my gift wrapper stash to look for possible Christmas themes. And in order to visualize whether it'll work or not, I'd often wrap up random gifts to see how the wrapper and theme will look like in its actuality.

Here are two of those wrappers, with coordinating ribbons to approximate the look. (Thanks to Michelle's online shop, of course!)

They're pretty interesting combinations. Although I don't think they'll be the wrapping theme for this year just yet.

Royal rumble, well, almost

So, I saw this Alexander McQueen book from afar. It was just one, last copy on the shelf.

From the corner of my eye, I saw a well-dressed lady also looking at the same book.

As I took a few steps forward towards the shelf, I noticed her doing the same thing, but faster. It was clear at that point, she was going for the book.

Thank goodness I have larger strides. Because I wanted that book, too.

In the end...

And guess what? The book was on sale! Less than P500!

A McQueen book for less than P500! That's a royal deal!

Booking Mrs. Herrera

One of the highlights of my 2016 was when I got to see the Carolina Herrera retrospective exhibit at SCAD in Atlanta.

During that exhibit, they were selling a book which chronicled her 35 years in fashion. It was a beautifully art directed and photographed coffee table book, and I wanted to get a copy.

Unfortunately, I started packing and immediately knew that I wouldn't have space for it in my luggage. Aside from the book being quite large, it was also heavy. So, there was a problem both in space and weight.

This weekend, I dropped by National Bookstore, and lo and behold!

It's the same book I wanted to buy!

Not only was it available at National Bookstore, it was at 90% off! Seriously, it was less than P500!

It might have come 2 years later, but it's worth it! (Literally and figuratively.)

King of Wrap

Ever since I can remember, National Bookstore was always THE source for gift wrappers and wrapping implements. Whenever we needed to have something snazzily wrapped, we went straight to National Bookstore in Quezon Avenue.

(Incidentally, they were the first to introduce the "gift inside a balloon" concept. I remember having that made for my friend's 18th birthday. But I digress.)

Until now, National is my go-to when it comes to buying gift wrappers. And I've noticed the past years that they're upping the ante in terms of designs. That's why I find myself buying more and more and more wrappers - even if I don't have any use for them yet.

When I dropped by the Galleria branch this lunchtime, I had to check out the wrapper section and was just astounded by the range of designs they have now

There were so, so, so many covetable birthday wrapper designs. But these are my favorites:

Well played, National. I'm super duper impressed by this selection.

And while I find myself buying other brands of gift wrappers through the years, (Prints in HKG, Papyrus in SG, Wrap Shop in PH), National Bookstore will always be king.