Ricky Toledo and Chito Vijandre, Firma and AC +632 proprietors
MANILA, Philippines - A store window should... captivate and enchant. Strong visuals help to catch attention but stories are important as well to engage viewers and hopefully seduce them to come in to discover other wonders that await.
Our windows are inspired by... experiences, dreams, desires.
The current window of AC+632 started with a puppet show we saw in Prague last summer. We were mesmerized and felt like children again. We wanted to share this experience back in Manila so we brought home some puppets. Serendipitously, Barbie Pardo-Tiangco was creating console mantles that looked like the perfect theater stages for the puppets. We also found a book of Jean-Ignace-Isidore Grandville’s illustrations of animals dressed in 19th-century costumes playing theater characters which completed the tableau.
For the Firma Christmas window, “My Cup Runneth Over,” we wanted to express feelings of gratitude for the blessings we received and at the same time wish everyone more blessings and happiness. We also wanted to convey a spirit of optimism for the coming year. The exhibit of Joan Miró at the Tate Modern was so inspiring — how he employed the economy of means for maximum impact, in the tradition of Zen Buddhism. Many find this window so uncharacteristic of us and, of all time, at Christmas but maybe it’s the time of year when less can really be more.
Our best window so far... has to be the latest, and the next one should be even better.
Our most unique or well-received window... was “Neptune’s Holiday Sleigh” window at AC+632 of Christmas 2009. The image of the sleigh must have brought images of Santa bringing lots of gifts for Christmas, although we opted to bring the scene from the sky down to the sea with classical references like dolphins, Botticelli angels and mythological characters. This window also took the longest to make because components like the dolphins and the sun had to be carved and our staff had to do a lot of beading and embellishments for the accessories.
The “Manhattan Africana” window of Firma was popular because amid a serene, sophisticated Art Deco setting of a Manhattan apartment there appears in the landscape the unexpected Hollywood figure of King Kong wreaking havoc in the city.