Pardon for this late post, but I’m sure you’ve all heard it by now: Brooklyn-born home brand West Elm is finally in the Philippines—and it’s their very first store in Asia!
Imagine that? I guess that says a lot about the market here…more and more people are getting into making their homes and personal spaces more beautiful and livable. We work hard to make something out of our lives, so we all deserve to live in a place that makes us feel good.
According to the press kit, West Elm is “known for helping people express their personal style at home with authentic, affordable, and approachable products.” It’s also an international brand that works with local craftsman-communities from various countries to create furnishings that are often on-trend and make a statement. The Philippines is one of the countries it collaborates with, specifically with communities of capiz artisans, basket weavers, and potters. West Elm is also one of the home retail brands that highlights consciousness and sustainability—and again, I quote from the press kit—”from handcrafted and local products to supply chain transparency and sustainability.” This means they promise to make known publicly how their materials and products are sourced, developed, manufactured, refined, and transported—from producer down to consumer. From my own research (I follow West Elm on Instagram and have read a lot of articles about them and what they do online), I’ve also found that it is a brand that supports the local arts and artisanal communities. “Artisanal” is pretty big here in Manila these days, and it’s nice to see more and more people get on the “create” bandwagon, even if it is a bandwagon. Let’s hope a big retail brand like West Elm brings more attention to Filipino artists, and in turn inspire more Filipinos to create, instead of copy.
On to the store tour! It’s a pretty small space compared to its sister-brand Pottery Barn’s big, two-storey home in BGC. But its packed with a lot of pretty stuff. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.
There you have it! The first West Elm store in the country is in Estancia Mall, Capitol Commons in Brgy. Kapitolyo, Pasig. Mall’s pretty new, so parking still ain’t a b*tch (although traffic can get pretty bad…but isn’t it the same for the rest of the metro? Le sigh.)
Spotted your favorites? Follow them on Instagram too /@westelmph.
Gal at Home® Design Studio
Interior Design and Decoration | Manila, Philippines
This is the reason why I don’t like going into stores like these. Wala akong ma-afford hahaha! Nasa wish list lahat kahit vase lang! Mag Dapitan Arcade ka nalang. =P
Well, it’s okay naman to have one or two investment pieces in the home that you can bring with you from house to house. I also don’t spend a lot on clothes, shoes, and bags, and tend to spend more for the home, so a few items from retail won’t hurt 🙂
Awesome stuff. Please keep writing more things like this. I really like the fact you went so in depth on this and really explored the topic about affordable online tutorial program philippines as much as you did. I read a lot of blogs but usually, it’s pretty shallow content. Thanks for upping the game here!