The Travel+Fashion Takeover: Manila event started with a complete stranger going out on a limb and asking a girl for a date over the internet. Only, I was the stranger, Travel Fashion Girl was the girl and the date was a workshop.
The Backstory
Sometime in March, I was stalking Alexandra Jimenez’s Instagram feed. She is the editor and founder of Travel Fashion Girl. Her website gives great advice on how to pack light while staying fashionable during your travels. I had learned from her how to put together a carryon only-sized capsule wardrobe for a recent trip 18-day trip to Morocco.
Alex was in India at that time, and I read a comment she made that she was heading over to the Philippines in May to June. I took a chance and asked her if she would be interested and willing to do a talk on her niche topic for a small group of Filipina travelers while she was in Manila. I have learned a lot from her website and thought that this would be a wonderful opportunity for Manila-based travelers to hear her tips and tricks in person. I am personally inspired by her travel story and wanted others to be inspired as well. Being the great gal that she is, Alex graciously said YES.
From there, I got in touch with a couple of Filipino travel bloggers whom I felt this event would be a good fit for their readers and followers. Lois Yasay-Ribeiro of We Are Sole Sisters and Anton Diaz of Our Awesome Planet generously agreed to team up with a newbie blogger. They became co-presenters of the workshop. Aleah Taboclaon of Solitary Wanderer joined the gang when she accepted my invitation to be part of the Travel Q&A Panel.
Before I knew it, I was working with these amazing bloggers whose blogs I’ve been following for years. By allowing me access to their communities, we were able to put the word out there and let people know about our event.
The Sponsors
As a new blogger, I had little to no clout that would make sponsors particularly excited to work with me. I did, however, have an amazing speaker who was going to talk about an interesting topic. I also had friends who were business owners that were willing to work with me. And I had co-presenters who believed in the event and went to bat for it and helped me pitch to their network of contacts.
After a flurry of emails, I was so happy to have the following companies as our partners for the event:
Agoda: Charisse Vilchez, the Philippines’ PR Manager for Agoda was a dream to work with! She got us fantastic prizes at great properties in Boracay, Davao and Bangkok. I had thought about sneaking in a fake email address to try to win one of the prizes. J Ultimately, the opportunity to work with Char and Agoda was above and beyond what I had hoped for.
A_Space: I cannot thank Anton enough for connecting me with Micah, Matt and the team at A_Space. When I first envisioned the project, I was thinking of having it at a coffeeshop or even a café-bar on their off-peak hours to get it for free. I wanted a relaxed, casual environment where the attendees have this comfortable vibe to talk travel. The _Gallery of A_ Space gave this and so much more. The space was perfectly-sized for our group, with the walls adorned with great art. It was the kind of place I sometimes felt I wasn’t cool enough to be in, much less organize an event at. I am immensely thankful for their reliable tech setup that allowed me to join the event remotely via Skype.
Sewn Sandals: Owner Mariel Veluz is the sister of my good friend Aileen. I had been a long-time fan of Sewn Sandals and have always brought a pair or two when I traveled. She was one of the first people who agreed to partner with us and gave generous prizes. I’m glad that she also agreed to set up a pop up shop at the event, so our attendees can check out her line.
Regatta: Working with Regatta was another surreal experience for me. I remember going to their store in the old Quad mall in Makati back in my high school days. I was giddy about their preppy nautical-themed shirts which were quite popular with the in-crowd at school. That giddiness returned when Regatta’s Brand Director Ronnie Celestial and Marketing Specialist Dale Recina responded positively to our request for sponsorship. Their generous body spray giveaways were a hit and made our icebreaker games so much fun. They also provided clothes for the workshop demo.
Flight 001: Our connection with Flight 001 came through Lois and, interestingly enough, The Bull Runner Jaymie Pizarro (whom I met through a common friend). From there, the PR and Events Manager of Primer Group Macel Abejero linked me to the Flight 001 team . Cathy Que was instrumental in securing those great prizes for our icebreakers and some lovely prizes for our speakers.
Wanderskye: I am a huge fan of Wanderskye and I get a lot of compliments for my luggage cover in airports and hotels. It was a thrill when founder Bianca Sevilla agreed to partner with us. Worked with their Brand Executive Jea Argia Bantiad was smooth and easy.
Retablo Manila: I’ve been wearing Nikki Pascual’s creations as part of my travel ensemble from Croatia to Morocco. I knew I had to get her involved because I wanted other travelers to see her pieces and how they make the most basic outfits come alive with color and character.
Brown Belly Swimwear: Owner Noelle Hilario has been so wonderfully supportive of this event, even though she was going out of town herself right before the event. On top of providing prizes, she lent some items for the workshop demo, which was great for our attendees to know where to get items for their capsule wardrobe locally.
Anma Lifestyle: I’ve been seeing Anma’s travel products all over Instagram for a while now. It was a thrill when the chance to work with Annick Marasigan came up. I have my shopping list of the Anma products that I’m getting the next time I’m in Manila.
Tala Luna: When I saw Jen Horn’s shoes with the Filipino flair, I knew I wanted them on board. I’m thankful that she agreed to be a part of it, despite being sick and unable to make it to the event herself.
Cilla: By the time I realized that we needed to get extra chairs for people to sit on, I was so pumped up by all the sponsorship agreements that we secured that I thought I’d give an another shot. I wasn’t sure I’d get a positive response to this one, since it wasn’t a travel or fashion company. But when it came to renting chairs, I only had one company in mind: Cilla. They had nice folding chairs that were perfect for the venue and vibe. After not hearing from them after my first email, I decided to give them a call. It was a thrill to hear Jackie Bailon give the go-signal to provide the chairs and Sarah Balagat made the arrangements seamlessly.
The Workshop and Panel
The main event of the evening was the talk that Alex gave on packing light while staying stylish during your travel. She gave great advice including how to choose lightweight fabrics and versatile pieces to build a capsule wardrobe for travel. She talked about selecting only the essential items to pack and bring on a trip. I detected a sense of awe and slight trepidation among the attendees when Alex preached about sticking to just ten basic pieces for the capsule wardrobe.
Photo by Abigail Javellana for OurAwesomePlanet.com
After the workshop demonstration, Alex was joined by Aleah in a travel Q & A panel where they answered questions about packing, solo female travel, travel safety and their experiences as seasoned travelers.
Photo by Abigail Javellana for OurAwesomePlanet.com
Thanks to Skype and the internet connection at A_Space, I was able to join in the workshop through video conference. 
The Attendees
From the original handful of attendees that I projected when I first approached Alex, we had a head count of over 60 participants and 10 more guests from our sponsors. I could not ask for a better group of attendees! The predominantly female crowd had such great energy and eagerness to learn and interact. From their enthusiastic participation in the icebreaker games to the engagement during the Q&A panel, their passion for travel was evident. Everyone had a wonderful time that they’ve continued on their travel talk on a Facebook group.
Photo by Abigail Javellana for OurAwesomePlanet.com
The Lessons
Some of the lessons I’ve learned in organizing this workshop:
- Start from a place of wanting to serve and be committed to providing exceptional value. When you do, you’ll have to confidence to approach people with your ideas.
- Always be on the lookout for opportunities. And yes, that could be your excuse to be spending too much time on Facebook and Instagram.
- Tap into your network. If your idea and intentions are good, the right people will see it and will be happy to help you.
- Take risks. If you score a win, it’s a great boost to your confidence and credibility. If you get turned out, you have the opportunity to refine your strategy for the next time
- Pursue your passion. In time, you’ll find the people who share that same passion. They will be your partners in moving forward to make things happen.
Photo by Abigail Javellana for OurAwesomePlanet.com
I’m a fellow Filipina and avid traveller (although I live in the UK and travel long haul for work and vacation now about 7 times a year). I love Alex’s blog and travel packing lists. Your story of how you organised this great event remotely was wonderful to hear. Well done.
Thanks Sandy! It was definitely a team effort! I’ve learned so much from the experience and look forward to doing more projects that serve the VF community 🙂