STARPRENEUR Bazaar at the Fifth at Rockwell

I saw a lot of smiles coming out of vendors from this event. I couldn't blame them because aside from the fact that this is a full bazaar, it's certainly a way to prove that there's a lot of potential for MSME's in the country. This is the STARPRENEUR Bazaar held at the FIFTH at Rockwell in Makati. This is organized by Bela Padilla and Filipino entrepreneurs Ms. Lanie Tañedo and Mr. Dennis Valbuena. If you are familiar with the brand Bela by Bela Padilla, they are the same folks who started her cosmetic, product and perfume line with her a couple months ago. This time, they're working with young Hollywood star and PH showbiz royalty Iñigo Pascual.

Iñigo says "It's something that I wanted to do for a long time. I've dreamt about it since college but I never got to finish my course in entrepreneurship. I've been involved in acting and music, and I wanted something different from that. Before I met them (Ms. Lanie Tañedo and Mr. Dennis Valbuena) I really wanted to start something but I didn't really know what to do and where to start. They showed me the ropes on how to start a business. They also showed me technology because it's different now. You really have to learn what's on trend, and for me, they really are the ones who guided me."

He adds "A lot of the products we have in herzy. is mentholated, and if you just got out of the shower, some complain from the heat, and they're already perspiring. I wanted folks to still feel fresh and clean after trying our products. The difference between men and women is, we want everything to be simple, less fuss, when you try it, it's really nice and smells good. It's easy to use and carry around. The ingredients are also natural, I even styled my own hair with it, and admit that sometimes men are even more vain about hair. We hope you love these products! I hope you love the Brow Serum which they initially designed to grow and nourish hair, last minute, we thought of using it for the brows because people often ask me about it. This was named after my Grandfather, we just turned the Herzig into Herzy to make it easy to pronounce."

Mr. Dennis Valbuena replied "We really appreciate that. Now that you've learned from us, it's your turn to guide others about the business. He was very hands on. We saw his potential right from the start."

At the event, they also took time to talk to entrepreneurs about their businesses and how they started. It was a very nice way for other entrepreneurs to learn from each other and perhaps network so they could also improve their businesses. The Runway Atelier also got their cute models on stage sing and walk for the event. Seeing kids there was super cute!

Here's a short chat we had with him at the venue:

 

 

Meanwhile, I have also managed to use the herzy. products this week and so far, I'm loving the herzy. Hairstyling Stick the most. Like him, I've got pretty wavy hair which gets uncontrollable after a few hours. It made my dilemma of looking well put together easy because you can get rid of those frizzy fly away hair in just a few seconds with it. The herzy. Body Wash not only smells good, but a bit minty. It feels fresh even in the hot afternoons in Manila. They've really made a very promising line of products designed for men (that can also be used by women). Best of all, men don't have to smell like flowers LOL.

 

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There was a bit when Inigo Pascual sat down and talked to other MSME's. The chat included Mr. Dennis Valbuena of DL Wear Private, Mr. Nio Siggaoat and Ms. Valerie Lim of beauty brand Ready.Set.Glow (RSG), Twin CEO's Mark and Spencer Elimanco of LINKIT (who introduced high tech calling cards), Ms. Audrey Ong of Sweet Kamote, Ms. Jana Berenguer of J&A The Label (of TikTok fame, you should check out their story), Ms. Rich Garceron and Mr. Jed Homar Sison of Anytime Fitness Hemady Branch (whom you might want to check out to have no excuse to go to the gym) and Ms. Elvira and Eleanor of Thermomix.

The event also featured Dani by Bela (fragrance of Dani Baretto under Bela Padilla's brand), Bela by Bela, The Runway Atelier, AY Clothing Shop, Get Spotted, Sweet Kamote, Kittly Manila, Show Idea Mayumico, iWhite Korea, Hiraya Pilipina, Pan de Carpio, Prints FX and Signs, Miruku, Duchess The Label, alas hot sauce, FizzStop, Nutral, Developers HideOut, Luka's meat products, and a lot more.

The STARPRENEUR BAZAAR was so much fun, and I hope folks not just the consumers learned a lot from the business owners who shared their stories on stage. Congratulations to Bela, Ms. Lanie Tañedo and Mr. Dennis Valbuena. Can't wait to see what you have up your sleeves this year and beyond!

Inigo Pascual Shares Experience in BOYETTE: Not A Girl, Yet

Zaijian Jaranilla is starring in a coming of age film produced by Star Cinema called BOYETTE: Not A Girl, Yet which will show on November 27 via KTX.PH and the iWant TFC app, CIGNAL and SkyCable Pay Per View channels on the same date.

Inigo Pascual plays Charles, a jock who will be Zaijian Jaranilla's love interest in the film. Zaijian will try to woo him by joining his dance crew and acting like a straight guy, will this become a love story or will it be utter disaster? That remains to be seen. 

Inigo got caught in traffic, but he obliged doing the blogcon while on the road

Inigo says "I am Charles, he's my best friend and we grew up together. I transferred when we were kids and just saw each other in college. I didn't know he was already Boyette, and initially I only knew him as Boyet, these are two different things. We then are going to discover how he was able to find out who he really is. I just enjoyed this really, it was not heavy, but there is a conflict because Charles is a homophobe. Direk Jumbo made it easy for me because he gave us freedom on what we could do as well. I enjoyed the locked in taping, it was safe for us. We did swab tests before, during and after. You kinda didn't go far with your character. We were able to immerse and become really close."

"Ever since the start, I didn't see anything bad being Piolo's son. It was a blessing for me, I can show who I am, my talent, to make my own name. I had my own thing that I want to do, I had the chance to explore and I didn't get to worry about that because he is really my Dad. I'm proud of him really."

He added "There were plans, a lot of them got cancelled because of the pandemic. I feel like things had to change because of it and for me, all I wanted to do is share what I have. I was able to release and share my music to everyone. I felt one day that I wanted to do a project, and the offer came a few days after. They assured us it was safe and protocols were observed. I just enjoyed acting, to explore it more, together with my music with Tarsier and of course local music. Before Boyette, we didn't have to talk about network wars, I'm personally against that. As long as we entertain people, I'm all for that. For me, I grew up not judging people, everyone has their own preference. They are human, and there is always a common ground. I've had friends who came out to me, they trust me that much, I comfort them and tell them there's nothing wrong with that."

"During work, we had two days off in a week and we used that to bond quite frequently. We had to do that too because we had to have that eagerness to hang out with him. I learned a lot from that kid even if he's younger than me. We didn't have air in between us, we just had a fun time doing it. I miss the classroom setting, I just don't miss the homework. For me, getting noticed by LGBT or anyone for that matter, I feel happy. If they look at me like I'm their crush, I'm quite okay with it, nothing really wrong about that. When I'm alone, I write songs and the pandemic time was pretty productive for me. I also did some projects and shows in between aside from Boyette. This is my reunion movie with Mariz. There was a moment where we were just talking to each other, and she shared her music with me, I cherished that moment. Whatever we talked about during that time, we understood each other, and I really miss that. This is the first time I saw her that she's not trying to impress people, she was so comfortable and confident and I was so happy to see that. This is the first time I've seen her like that while we were making a comedy film. We also roam around even if we had days off and we enjoyed that part. To clear things, we did go through things as a love team and as a pair. I can't say that much, it was 2 or 3 years working with each other and... (he stops)... (When he was asked if she is attracted to Mariz) When you see her, it's hard not to be at awe with what she is doing. I do think about having relationships but if in a lockdown, that is hard. I long for physical contact, I'm a hugger and it is a bit hard to do that in this time. Charles has so much experience, he had to hide things and not everyone sees his troubles. It was easy to do his character because in a way I can relate to him being happy, being a dancer, and how he doesn't choose his friends. I can't say we're like the same person, because I'm not a homophobe. If I were given the role of Boyette, it would be challenging to do that. It was such a beautiful thing to do a role that has been real for our Director, it is his life story."

It was nice to see Inigo a little uncomfortable answering stuff like that. It felt real and sincere. I hope fans get to see their film BOYETTE: Not A Girl, Yet because it is in some way, a good representation of who they are as artists now. We all have that friend, or people we know who are also like Boyette, Inigo also told us we should know their plight. To see their struggle, to show how they love, and make sure they know there is nothing wrong with that.

Bianca Umali, Inigo Pascual, and Enzo Pineda for World Vision’s “Hope Town”

World Vision has been helping kids, their homes and the community for years now. For non sponsors like me, you must be clueless about what they are doing especially if it comes to sponsoring a child through their organization. A few days ago, we got the chance to see it ourselves through a mock child house they call Hope Town wherein they replicated a real life house of beneficiary child called Nica. She lives in a shanty in the ourskirts, off the shores of Cebu.

Their house has a small kitchen, a place to sleep, and a little garden outside their sort of 2x3 meter house (merely a box). I felt claustrophobic and saw how they could have survived in a place that small without that much money to fend for food or schooling. I guess that’s exactly the type of kids that World Vision is helping, and this is nice to understand how it looks like in real life. If you sponsor a child, it would help them get access to education so they can help themselves, so they could work and go have better jobs and help their families. Celebrities like Bianca Umali, Inigo Pascual, and Enzo Pineda joined in and saw the launch of World Vision’s experiential booth. In “Hope Town”, they got to attract a lot of people to join in and understand a bit more about their advocacy, of course it got crowded so fast and people learned about the plight of Nica.

World Vision and their programs a very effective. It gives chance to kids like Nica to excel at school, to eventually have her own success story just like several people who lead the organization too. A lot of them have already graduated, feels like a family as they also get in touch with their donors to personally say thanks about helping them. That is so touching. The Hope Town display is just at the top floor of Trinoma in front of Krispy Kreme, go visit it and perhaps, make it your turn to help a person who would like to go to school like Nica.