L’Indochine loves Camille Cabral, the origami dreamer

MANILA, Philippines – As inspiration seekers, L’Indochine’s Char Carlos and Leona Panutat are always on the lookout for new talent.  Their adventures have taken them around Asia seeking artisan finds in cultural villages and craft markets.

And with that, L’Indochine has become a store known for its eclectic modern Asian finds and interiors. These include fashion items, furniture and home accents, which are handmade by skilled craftsmen and local artisans from Thailand, Indonesia, India and other Asian countries.

Right now, C&L, as they like to be called, are concentrating on discovering up and coming local artists, designers and artisans.  They work closely with them “to come up with concepts that showcase their skills in products that our customers love.”

#LindochineLovesOD is the store’s partnership with Camille Francisco-Cabral, the Origami Dreamer, for a collection of expertly and exquisitely illustrated totes and pouches that make great holiday presents.

Camille Francisco-Cabral is a designer and artist with a decade of experience in advertising, graphic design, and illustration. Apart from handling a myriad of clients in travel, web design, game development and corporate branding, she has participated in various group shows. These include Pablo Gallery’s “It’s Complicated” exhibit in 2010, Pablo-X Gallery’s recent 10th anniversary exhibit and the Bloom Arts Festival 2013, to name a few.

She’s currently a freelance art director and illustrator, while maintaining an artistic partnership with her husband and fellow designer Dark Gravity (Patrick Cabral), and is a creator of theInstagram mini-series Tiny Post It Stories.

C&L met her while she was shopping at L’Indochine at Mega Fashion Hall.  Camille says that ever since she saw the first L’Indochine store at SM Aura, “I thought that every item in there has a tinge of what I love — florals, patterns, and organic shapes.”

After their chat, the L’Indochine ladies checked her Instagram account and were impressed by what they saw. “Her illustrations were so unique, interesting and beautiful that we immediately know we wanted to work with her.

The partnership brings together three inspiration seekers who all share the love of seeking inspiration from around the world.  With these travels come exciting stories, and a culture of innovation, exploration and experimentation.

To create her collection, Camille “had to look back at the things that inspired me, especially in my travels.” She had lived in Indonesia for a year, and remembered how colors are very important in their architecture, their textiles and their lifestyle. It was a lesson in color theory all over again.

It was recalling the mixed moods of fascination and excitement, of being homesick and reflective in Indonesia that Pelangi and Lotus Sky were conceived. “They were derived from my emotional state and also as a tribute to a country I once considered my second (or third) home,” she says.

“Pelangi is the challenge of colors. The name pelangi means ‘rainbow’ in Bahasa Indonesia and there is a prominent fashion designer specializing in Muslimah fashion named Dian Pelangi,” says Camille. “Her designs are every bit as colorful as the way she leads her life: always, always in color.   Now that I think about it, this piece was actually inspired by her.” Quite a challenge for someone who usually works in black and white

Lotus Sky evokes a moment of stark contrast and calm solitude. Assigned in Indonesia for a year, Camille spent weekends at the malls, bookstores or museums to keep busy (or rather, to quell the loneliness), or in the silence by the pool of her temporary home near the Jakarta CBD. Right beside the pool were Kalachuchi trees whose “blooms would fall onto the water, dotting the serene blueness with their stark white and yellow color. Often, I would think of them as lotus flowers, instead of Kalachuchi, and I found comfort in those quiet moments by the pool when I felt unfamiliar or too aware that I was miles away from home,” she says.

For this collection, “I chose red and white for the illustration as a tribute to the flag colors of Indonesia, a place I called my home away from home for a year.”

The #LindochineLovesOD collection is available exclusively at L’Indochine SM Mega Fashion Hall at SM Aura Premier.

Join L’Indochine in its latest journey at stores located at the 4th level of SM Mega Fashion Hall and at the 3rd level of SM Aura Premier.