For quite some time 98B Colloboratory has worked with the local community in a bid to revive the Escolta shopping district. Lately, they have been very successful with their weekend market at the First United Building, the unofficial home of the weekend market thanks to the efforts of those who want to bring back the glory days of this old street. After Carlos Celdran's walking tour had ended, we were dropped off a little bit away from the First United Building, nevertheless I still took the time to see what I could find in this market, maybe a little something for my shelf and an artwork to inspire me. True enough I did find those in the weekend market and so much more.
In the ground floor of the First United Building, a spare and very spartan once a month weekend market has slowly risen up to help promote the arts and everything in between. Very much like the weekend markets that have been popping up around the metro, there is something for everyone. The trick in finding this something is to look at everything being sold at the weekend market the first time, then circle back and go to the ones that interest you the most, it certainly helped me find some amazing stuff to bring home.
When I entered the building, the whole space was abuzz with activity, a musical show was going around the whole space and people were moving to and fro browsing through all of the stalls in the space. It was a sight to behold with local groups setting themselves up while they promote their products. On the left side were artists selling prints, paints, crafts, necklaces and all sorts of trinkets. On the other side were the vintage collectors and miscellany: books, coins, vintage magazines, vinyl records, and clothes. Of course I paid more attention to the artsy side since I wanted to add a little something to my shelf's growing collection of knickknacks.
Seeing the art works on the floor and those displayed on the shelf, it was like Art in the Park all over again. But this time, it wasn't really all about art but more of a celebration and support of local art and heritage initiatives around the metro. I was captivated by the prices, a lot of the artworks and trinkets were priced at an affordable Php 50 and the most expensive one that I saw (well asked) was at Php. 2,000 and thereabouts. The products were really varied and most of the items were handmade and upcycled materials, in the vintage corner I saw old magazines and posters and scattered among different electronics was an old gameboy color (for Php. 200), so you can just imagine what surprises are in store if given the chance to really rummage and browse through the items.
There was really a lot of variety to choose from but thankfully two stalls caught my attention: Craft Kitty and Hands love Papers. In Crafty Kitty I bought two handmade notepads and they threw in an interesting spork bookmark for me. For Hands Love Papers, I was excited by the intricate detail and mastery of creating paper cuts, I happily bought two of Ms. Ebony Paguia's work, one for Tricia and the other one for me. All in all I spent Php. 950 out of my Php. 1,000 budget and these were not bad finds.
At the end of it all, I was happy with the things I found at the weekend market. Though sweltering hot, it was interesting to see people converge in this one building to enjoy and support local art and heritage initiatives. With so many things found inside this weekend market, a lot of people would really find it hard not to go home empty handed.
The Escolta Weekend Market is a once-a-month market held in the ground floor of the First United Building in Escolta street, the next one will be on May 24, Saturday.
You may check out 98B's Facebook page for their schedule here
To check out Crafty Kitty's Facebook page for their products here or visit their instagram here
To check out Hands love Papers, visit their instagram here
You may check out 98B's Facebook page for their schedule here
To check out Crafty Kitty's Facebook page for their products here or visit their instagram here
To check out Hands love Papers, visit their instagram here