MANILA, Philippines - It’s not very likely of a birthday celebrant to be doing the surprising for its party, but what would Satchmi be if not a little bit rebellious? Last September 26, the Megamall store was overflowing with music lovers — vinyl records and players not even required. We expected the A+ musical lineup for the branch’s first anniversary — new artist Coeli, Reese and Vica, CRWN, and resident barista BP Valenzuela. And yes, we did see that BP and CRWN live collab coming, but what we didn’t really expect was CRWN dropping a draft of a track from his soon-to-be released EP with Jess Connelly. Comedian Chip Balbuena’s stint was also a pleasant surprise — from impersonating the classic Transformer’s trailer (the sounds when the robots transform included) to ending with a good old knock-knock joke. While Satchmi’s third wave coffee and Craftpoint’s Summer Sessions beer isn’t necessarily a good combination, they had free-flowing servings that let people stick to their preferred drink throughout the night. Mr. Graham gave gifts in the form of apple pie soda and Cebu lechon slices in between bread slices with pickled mangoes and a side of chips, while Mrs. Graham did so with macarons.
Satchmi didn’t go cheap with the giveaways. A lucky turn in the “Spin the Wheel” booth made some guests go home with prizes from lifestyle brands Sunday Paper Co., Happy Socks, The Lost Nomad, Gouache Bags, The Green House Project, and Leather Fellow. Then there was the Motorino Mk II that went to the most creative instagrammer of the night. But of course, the biggest gift came from Satchmi — announcing that they are (finally!) opening a second branch which will be in Quezon City. EDSA Beverage Design Studio also crafted an exclusive Satchmi Blend of beans which will hit the store real soon and the Motorino Mk II will now come in silver instead of ivory. Wrapping up the amazing year of vinyl that was, Satchmi is also producing and manufacturing a 12—track vinyl record entitled “General Assembly,” which of course features the local artists that the company has worked with since 2013 like Imago, She’s Only Sixteen, Autotelic, and Tandems ’91. If there’s anything more that we could take away from that night of celebration, it’s that Satchmi has its (birthday) cake and eats it too. Photos by Karen dela Fuente