Arts & Culture

Design Delight: Furniture and Decor Special Settings and Innovative Maker’s Market

This mix of over-the-top ideas from homegrown innovators give Cebu’s creative community something to take pride in. When there’s the passion to create, the opportunity to connect and just the right luck to cultivate your idea, that’s when makers get the most out of their art and craft.

A feast of various creations from different artists and designers graced the halls of Waterfront Cebu Hotel and Casino from June 19-June 20 as one of the exhibits for Cebu Design Week 2018. Cebu’s creative scene has been flourishing with award-winning designers and creatives recognized not only in the Philippines, but also around the world.

Incorporating a number of different elements such as the use of rattan, shells and weaved cloth, designers surely made waves with their modernized nature-themed crafts. Playing with color and a number of different shapes and sizes for their chair, table and cabinet furniture designs, the Cebu Design Week’s Special Settings display was a testament of these visionaries all over Cebu.

A collaboration with different companies, the designers made the designs exude the aura and image of Cebu and its bountiful natural resources useful for sustainable design. A hub for the creation of cutting-edge ideas that echo a vision for inclusive progress, Cebu’s growth in the creative community is deemed to be rapid.

Apart from top-of-the-line furniture and home decor designs visible to a number of enthusiasts, a caucus of artists who took their creative eye and skills to greater heights by going in on a business venture filled the Maker’s Market. More than being awed by their designs and innovative creations, art bums and adventurous people alike had the chance to take one home with a fair price.

From temporary tattoos designed to match your everyday get-up to a concoction of ginger ale and lemon made into the perfect afternoon drink-outs, the bunch was a truly a hodgepodge of great money-making ideas that catch consumers’ attention.

Dawn Sy, a culinary graduate and owner of Mister Garfield’s Old Fashioned Ginger Ale, made up the business idea to pave way for other beverages in the food industry.

“‘Cause usually, you find alcohol, sodas, water and juices, yet no one is making hard sodas,” shares Dawn.

The idea was to come up with a product that is just in the middle of alcohol and sodas that would surely be a treat for drinkers anytime of the day. It’s designed to get the feel of soda, but a kick of alcohol that doesn’t mess up your busy day with the typical weekend mood, adds Dawn.

Only a year on its run, the beverage is available at Albur’s Restaurant, with its 2 flavors, original flavor and the Sagada orange.

Seed Studio PH’s wooden toys—made from natural, untreated wood—were a show stopper for those looking for exquisite gifts. Toys in different forms such as wooden cooking sets, cone ring stackers and balance blocks, to name a few, were some of the displays in the market.

In contrast with battery-operated, automatic, and plastic toys, wooden toys are simple, which is an advantage as they bring children closer to nature, having endless possibilities for their imagination to soar. Simple toys are often those that stay with the children through many years of play, and that is the idea that gave birth to the Seed Studio PH’s vision.

Wanting to get a tattoo so bad but not yet sure if you’d want it with you for the rest of your life? Inklie developed an innovative way to experience the feeling of having a tattoo and to able to express themselves in their own unique way—without getting the actual one!

“It started with the goal to get away from the stigma of having tattoos, which are literally everywhere,” says Katrina Codera, an Advertising Arts Intern, when talking about the craft’s humble beginnings.

This mix of over-the-top ideas from homegrown innovators give Cebu’s creative community something to take pride in. When there’s the passion to create, the opportunity to connect and just the right luck to cultivate your idea to a piece that your market has been looking for, that’s when makers get the most out of their art and craft.

Arts & Culture

Queer Coding in Cinema: The Best Shows to Binge for Pride Month 2025

compiled by Edge Javier

As Pride Month 2025 goes into full swing, the best way to celebrate LGBTQIA+ voices is with a binge-worthy lineup of shows that center queer stories, joy, love, resilience — and yes, of course, drama. From groundbreaking recent series to must-watch staples and fan favorites, here are the top shows to stream this June that reflect the vibrant spectrum of the queer-coded experience.

1. Heartstopper – Season 3 (Netflix)
Nick and Charlie are back, and the coming-of-age sweetness is stronger than ever. Season 3 explores deeper emotional territory while keeping the wholesome tone fans adore. Expect more queer joy, nuanced relationships, and tearjerker moments that feel like a warm hug.

2. Drag Me to Dinner (Hulu)
Hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, this chaotic culinary competition pairs drag duos in a battle to throw the most fabulous themed dinner party. With outrageous challenges, surprise twists, and plenty of camp, queens serve up equal parts food, flair, and fierce shade. It’s RuPaul meets Top Chef—served with a side of sequins.

3. Queer Planet (Apple TV+)
Hosted by Janelle Monáe, this visually stunning docuseries dives into queerness in the animal kingdom and parallels in human identities. It’s smart, groundbreaking, and perfect for those who want to feel seen—and informed.

4. Fellow Travelers (Paramount+)
This period romance-drama set during the Lavender Scare continues to grip audiences with its tragic beauty and sharp historical insight. If you missed Season 1, now is the perfect time to catch up before the highly anticipated Season 2 lands later this year.

5. The Buccaneers – Season 2 (Apple TV+)
The unapologetically queer period drama returns with more scandal, sapphic yearning, and feminist rebellion among American heiresses navigating high society in 1870s London. Think Bridgerton, but with more edge and better sapphic representation.

6. Our Flag Means Death – The Finale Special (Max)
This fan-favorite pirate rom-com wraps up with a one-hour finale special airing this June. Whether you’re rewatching from the start or jumping into the last hurrah, this show remains a shining example of queer love told with heart and humor.

7. This Is Me Now… The Series (Prime Video)
Following Jennifer Lopez’s genre-blurring film-musical hybrid, the series version delves into themes of love, identity, and self-acceptance, and features cameos by queer icons and allies. It’s campy, messy, and made for Pride Month mood-boosting.

8. Sort Of – Final Season (Max)
This critically acclaimed dramedy about a gender-fluid millennial navigating love, grief, and identity in Toronto comes to a close with an emotionally rich final season. A thoughtful and often hilarious story that never loses its beating heart.

9. Red, White & Royal Blue – Limited Series (Prime Video)
After the hit film adaptation, the beloved queer romance returns in a serialized format, expanding on Alex and Henry’s story with new twists and deeper character arcs. It’s romantic escapism, elevated.

10. POSE: The Legacy (FX/Hulu)
This documentary miniseries honors the cultural legacy of POSE and the real-life ballroom legends who inspired it. Featuring interviews with cast, creators, and icons from the scene, it’s a must-watch tribute to queer history and resilience.

Whether you’re looking for laughter, tears, romance, or revolution, these Pride Month picks for 2025 offer it all—while honoring the complexity and beauty of LGBTQIA+ lives. So press play, turn up the volume, and let queer stories shine this June and beyond. Happy Pride! 🏳️‍🌈

Arts & Culture

Chaos and Clarity: Zen Aesthetic in Oj Hofer’s Art

by Jing Ramos |

Oj Hofer, our fashion contributing editor, is a Fine Arts graduate from the University of the Philippines. Though he began painting at the age of eight, his artistic journey took a transformative turn in 2013. While volunteering as a costume designer for Siddhartha: The Musical, he encountered Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s One-Stroke Calligraphy, sparking a deep devotion to Japanese sumi-e painting and kanji calligraphy. Over the years, he refined his craft, using his art to share the Dharma through exhibitions while supporting the Hsing Yun Educational Foundation. In 2022, his spiritual path deepened at Nan Tien University, where he embraced Zen and Humanistic Buddhism, shaping his artistic philosophy.

“Plum Blossoms in Moonlight.” Serigraphy on abaca.

In his recent works, Hofer merges traditional calligraphy with serigraphy, drawing inspiration from his friend Charles Lahti—an internationally recognized New York-based painter and printmaker. Lahti, known for his collaborations with post-war American artists like Robert Rauschenberg, Donald Judd, Andy Warhol, and LeRoy Neiman, introduced Hofer to silkscreen techniques. Through a workshop Lahti conducted in Cebu—arranged by their mutual friend Greg Urra—Hofer integrated silkscreen into his Zen artworks, particularly those on abaca.

“The Circle of Harmony” Serigraphy and Calligraphy on abaca.

Hofer’s cross-disciplinary approach challenges conventional Zen aesthetics. His layered paintings on abaca may seem far from tranquil at first glance, but closer contemplation reveals a meditative core. His serigraph of an Enso circle, for example, initially appears chaotic, filled with Tang Dynasty poetry and overlapping, repetitive forms. Yet, by focusing on a single calligraphic element, the viewer experiences a moment of clarity—a glimpse of awakening within the visual complexity.

“Monkey Mind” Serigraphy and Calligraphy on abaca.

Even more engaging is his diptych Monkey Mind. At odds with the traditional Zen emphasis on negative space, this piece is deliberately busy, reflecting the restless nature of the mind. A distracted viewer may struggle to find a focal point, but one attuned to emptiness and presence will perceive clarity amidst the seeming disarray.

Ink and intention—creating calligraphy in support of one of my advocacies.

By fusing Zen philosophy with the discipline of serigraphy, Hofer invites his audience to look beyond surface impressions and discover stillness within movement, balance within complexity. His art does not merely depict Zen—it embodies the paradoxes at its core, offering a path to mindfulness through the act of seeing and the experience of doing.

Arts & Culture

What is Sappia? The Rice Myth Goddess of Bohol Who Helped Feed the People During a Great Famine

by Emma Gomez

The story began when the people of Bohol started to experience hunger and famine. All the livestocks were inedible and the fields were dried out leaving only weeds planted on the ground. The people prayed to the goddess of mercy, Sappia, to ask for food.

Sappia, the rice myth goddess of Bohol

Sappia, from the heavens, heard the cries of the people. She saw the dense population of weeds and offered to help them. Sappia thought of nourishing the weeds to be edible and healthy for the people of Bohol. Straightaway, she sprinkled the weed with milk from her bossom. She emptied each breast until blood came out. Before she left, she whispered to the weeds that they may be nourished and be able to feed the people.

When harvest season came, the people of Bohol quickly gathered the nourished weeds. They observed that the ones sprinkled with milk were white, while the other were red. They called the new plant rice and they replanted these in honor of Sappia, and for the people to devour.