Stuff at Rustan's

The kid in me is always on the lookout for the “the wasteland” — a term I use for stores that sell colorful stationery or “useless objects” as my husband calls them.

Wastelands are usually found in Japanese department stores such as Sogo and Seibu in Hong Kong, Takashimaya in Singapore and Zen in Bangkok. You can imagine how many wastelands there are in Japan alone.

I wish there were more of these wastelands in Manila.

Luckily Rustan’s is starting out with a space called STUFF — a haven for all things colorful and quirky.

We all have Band-Aids, pencils and lip gloss in our handbags or at home — but not like these.

STUFF offers not your usual stationery, gift items and accessories.

Right now STUFF occupies a small corner in the Young Adults section department store, but I’m hoping they will expand to a really big section.

I can spend hours just looking at these. And where there’s cute stuff involved, there’s no way I’m leaving without buying something. — Cecile van Straten