The lure of luxury

                                  "The lure of luxury”

Sun.Star Davao, Jan. 30, 2010

Fashion-forward young moms “Che” Chiong-Uy and Bai Zaphria “Pia” Panda-Lu were introduced to each other by a common friend a few years ago.

Soon after, Che and Pia became the best of friends. “Pia and I just clicked!”, discloses Che.

Che is the self-confessed style setter who loves to dress up, play with colors and pile up on accessories. “But I still stick to elegant and classic pieces that never run out of style. On the other hand, Pia is more of the conservative side. She’s a minimalist who is usually in her jeans and tops”, describes Che.

The BFFs may differ in their choice of fashion but when it comes to bags, they definitely have the same chic taste.

“Yearly, we travel out of the country by ourselves without our husbands. Through our trips, we’re exposed to what’s new in the market especially with leather goods because both of us love shoes and bags. Also, through the internet and fashion magazines, we get our individual fashion sense”, smiles Pia.

Because of their love for fashion, it was not hard for their businessmen-husbands Dennis Uy and Wilson Lu to convince their wives to take their passion a step further.

“We wanted to bring well-loved brands to the city and share it with our fellow Dabawenyos who are bagaholics but don’t have the time to travel. That’s why after 2 years of planning, we opened our luxury boutique”, explains Che.

Rue Chephri is a high end luxury boutique that caters to both the young and old. The name “rue” means “avenue” in French and “Chephri” comes from the names Cherylyn and Zaphria.

The boutique carries bags, wallets, belts, eyewear and shoes from posh brands such as Hermes, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, YSL, Balenciaga, Prada, Gucci, Chloe, Longchamp, among others. Rue Chephri also has a wide array of designer perfumes; Atelier Debbie Co dresses, tops and gowns; and Ralph Lauren apparel and shoes for kids.

“We guarantee that all our merchandises are authentic”, affirms Pia.

During Rue Chephri’s grand opening last month, Che and Pia invited Davao’s ‘power women’, namely Helen Lim, Rochelle del Rosario, Jean Gotianse and Dr. Amy Oropeza, to do the unveiling of the boutique.

Other guests who graced the event were Cathy Bangayan, Gatchi and Larcy Gatchalian, Raffy and Carmina del Rosario, Jehnnie Yeung, Jhoanna Alpapara, Michelle Chiong, Ruben and Carmelita Chiong, Bryann and Blessing Uy, Joji and Linda Chiong, Nikki Tan, Bianca Uy, Stephanie Ong, Vanessa Ong, Len Bosquit and Debbie Uy, among others.

Che announces that Rue Chephri will have more brands to carry, both international and local, pretty soon. Eventually, the boutique will likewise accept consignment, trade-in, and lay-away transactions.

Che and Pia confess that the secret to their long lasting friendship are honesty, trust and respect. “Every time we’re together, there’s never a dull moment. Ups and downs, we’ve been there. We treasure each other that’s why we fix things together the soonest”, reveals Che.

For the dynamic duo, the essential foundation for their friendship will also certainly be the secret to their business’ smashing success.

RUE CHEPHRI offers installment plan at 0% Interest. All major credit cards are accepted. It is located at Door 2, Delgar Commercial Complex, JP Laurel Avenue beside Phoenix Station, Bajada, Davao City. Tels. 227-4678 and (0939)3026111.

Open from Mondays to Saturdays from 10am-7pm. Log on to Rue Chephri’s Facebook account to view their latest collections.

Special thanks to Imagine Digital Fotofun for the photos.

E-mail mom.about.town.dvo@gmail.com. Visit www.momabouttowndavao.blogspot.com.

Parenting with Pangilinan

"Parenting with Pangilinan"

Sun.Star Davao, Jan. 23, 2010

Top motivational speaker, management trainer and celebrity ‘superdad’ Anthony Pangilinan proudly introduces himself as ‘Chief Disturber’ of Businessworks, Inc., a major player in the human resource development industry in the country.

During one of the numerous trainings he attended in the past, Anthony discovered that one cannot teach others to learn, he can only ‘disturb’.

Last January 15, 2010, Anthony remarkably ‘disturbed’ around a thousand parents during an inspiring seminar with the theme, “Parenting: A Challenge in the Rapid Change of Time”.

Held at the Davao Christian High School (DCHS) Auditorium, the free parenting seminar is a project of the DCHS Parents-Teachers Fellowship (PTF) exclusively for the school’s parents and teachers, in partnership with Abbott Philippines and through the generous sponsorship of Chickies and Patties, InterMed Marketing Phils. Inc., Marco Polo, Colourland, Imageworld, Imagine Fotofun Studio and Playa Azalea.

Being a parent is a role closest to Anthony’s heart, just like his mega-wife Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan, he is “passionate in advocating effective parenting and in bringing positive change in the home for our society’s progress.”

Blessed with four wonderful children, Ella, Donny, Hannah and Benj, the “Huwarang Ama” and “Huwarang Ina” awardees are behind The Parenting Company Inc. (TPC). TPC “offers parenting and family training programs and services. It aims to educate and equip parents and individuals with effective techniques and to build up essential skills in strengthening families today.”

In his talk, Anthony candidly shared his myriad of experiences as a father. He reminded fellow parents to “become great stewards of their children for them to develop their maximum potential”.

“As parents, we should know our gifts and that of our children’s. Traditional training is to focus on the weaknesses, not the strengths. But, for me, it is more important that we focus on the A’s and not the F’s. We must study our children’s environment to know the reason why they achieve and why they fail”, Anthony stressed.

The businessman/70.3 Iron Man finisher cautioned parents not to be too obsessed with winning. Instead, he advised that “parents should prepare and teach their children how to lose.” He explained that through losing and rising above obstacles, a child’s character is built and his/her eventual transformation will lead to success.

In this high tech world where parenting becomes extra challenging, Anthony encouraged parents not to forget to be “high touch”, too.

Among his helpful tips to ‘high tech and high touch parenting’ are to join Facebook for parents to keep abreast of their children’s interests and friends; making dinner time and the dining table sacred; and partnering with other parents, teachers and ‘yayas’ which he believes is an important key to parenting.

Concluding the seminar, Anthony answered several questions from the audience who eagerly asked for advice on a wide range of concerns from how to address ‘barkada’ issues, provide better quality time for the family and different discipline styles.

E-mail mom.about.town.dvo@gmail.com. Visit www.momabouttowndavao.blogspot.com.