A meaningful, whimsical Christmas

Christmas and New Year in the Philippines are the most anticipated festivals of the year. It is a season for spending time with loved ones, giving to all, especially the less fortunate, and reflecting on the last 12 months.

“It is a time rich in tradition and full of laughter and love,” said Richard Simmons, GM of the Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila. Richard charmed us recently at the ribbon-cutting ceremonies of “Tinsels and Pencils of Christmas,” an installation exhibit of Milo Naval, a prominent furniture designer and artist.

“Our hotel continues to celebrate its beautiful tradition of providing guests and the local community with a one-of-a-kind designer Christmas. This season, everyone is invited to enjoy the spirit of sharing and kindheartedness with the innovative work of Milo Naval,” Richard added.

Milo is not just an exceptionally talented gentleman, he’s also a kindhearted, deep, reflective person. Professionally he is an established furniture designer with over 15 years of experience in interior design. His use of indigenous materials transformed into modern pieces has managed to create a distinct furniture style. His works have been showcased in various international shows abroad including Paris, New York and Milan. His fabulous pieces are enjoyed by a distinguished clientele of Filipino and foreign families in their homes here and abroad.

Milo’s tie-up with the hotel is for a good cause. For this exhibition, Milo’s individual style and strong belief in the power of education are beautifully reflected in his chosen medium — the humble pencil. Hence the title of the exhibit: “Tinsels and Pencils of Christmas.”

Awake, a conscious pursuit of undisclosed dreams and imaginary fantasies.

Milo and wife Cathy, who hails from the province of Sorsogon, continue to dedicate their hard work to support a local charity in their hometown — the Divine Healer Academy, which is under the auspices of the Healing Servants Foundation.

Their chosen beneficiary was organized by well-loved healing priest Fr. Gerard Deveza. It was Fr. Gerard’s intention to give hope, strength and joy to children and families who suffer from poverty in Sorsogon. Because he wanted to uplift the human spirit of the underprivileged one step at a time through education, Fr. Gerard founded the Divine Healer Academy in 2003.

Today, the school continues to provide free schooling to 335 children from kindergarten to second year high school.

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On the day of the launch of “Tinsels and Pencils of Christmas,” Fr. Gerard was attending the foundation day of the Divine Healer Academy in Sorsogon. Thus, members of the Healing Servants Foundation represented him during this memorable event.  We were welcomed by Synthesis, Milo’s gigantic floor-to-ceiling art installation displayed in the middle of the hotel lobby. It was his unique and modern rendition of a Christmas tree that was unlike anything I have ever seen. From a distance, the artwork looked like gigantic leaves playfully dancing in mid-air, as if they had fallen down from the sky. Upon close inspection, they appeared to be the most gracefully designed sofas painstakingly formed by thousands of green pencils. You really must see them for yourself in order to believe the sheer ingenuity of Milo.

From there on our excitement hit fever pitch as we were enthusiastically whisked off by Richard and Milo. We went from floor to floor admiring the artworks, each one different but equally moving in form and message. Visually, my favorite was Awake, a deconstructed coffee table and sofa made of multicolored pencils cleverly mounted on a huge white frame.

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Affection depicts an unwavering relationship between siblings bonded by innocence and childhood memories.

And there were two whimsical high-backed chairs entitled Affection in bright happy neon colors that immediately put a smile on our faces. Milo’s descriptions were very deep and reflective, indicative of a strong spirituality and connection to God.

The tour ended at the Regency Club Lounge where we were warmly welcomed with cups of creamy eggnog that were absolutely divine. A sumptuous dinner reception was prepared especially for us by the personable chef de cuisine Kristine Oro. Pastry chef Johann from Austria gave us the best bread pudding with rum vanilla sauce. Amiable chef Francisco served us the best orzo pasta and cream of fresh mushroom soup with truffle oil. He didn’t complain but grinned from ear to ear as we kept returning to his station for more in between slices of succulent and tender grilled wagyu beef and posing for photos beside Milo’s artwork across the chocolate Santa station. We were the happiest people in the world that night.

It was definitely a memorable start for the Christmas season for us members of the Healing Servants Foundation.  We went home, our hearts filled with gratitude imagining the happy faces of the schoolchildren of the Divine healer Academy, the recipients of this wonderful gift from Milo and the Hyatt hotel.

The unique, ingenious and meaningful artworks of Milo will thrill and inspire you.

‘Tinsels and Pencils of Christmas’ runs until Jan. 6, 2012. Would love to hear from you at miladayjewels@yahoo.com.