Victorinox and Alamid Café Xpress combine coffee, art and travel gear!
by Aileen Santos and JC Ansis
When In Manila, Aileen Santos and I had the chance to attend the launching of the Victorinox Seefeld Collection and a Coffee Art Exhibit at R.O.X., Bonifacio High Street last June 2. The Seefeld Collection is the latest line of convertible travel bags from Victorinox that are lightweight and versatile for traveling adventures, much like the famous Swiss Army Knife they’re well-known for.
Victorinox, in partnership with Alamid Café Xpress, promoted their latest travel gear through a Coffee Art Exhibit that featured artists like Lito Ballaran, Ella Hipolito, Jerel Limayo, Kathleen Lei Limayo, Mike Melchor, Dante Palmes and Jennifer Romullo. Each artist came up with their own inspired creations in portraying Seefeld, an actual place in Switzerland, where the new Victorinox collection was named after.
Here’s what Aileen and I thought of the whole event.
JC: There you are!
Aileen: Yes, here I am! So what did you think about “coffee art“, JC?
JC: I was actually curious how the whole coffee art thing would look like when I received the invite. And when I got there, it was surprisingly cool to see all these paintings made from coffee, all having different shades of brown. Remember that Beatles painting? Oh man, that was awesome! I was actually thinking of stealing it, I just didn’t tell you at the time. Hahaha! What’d you think?
Aileen: Hahaha! Oh, you SHOULD HAVE! Maybe you could’ve even used one of those newly launched Victorinox bags, after all they said they were incredibly “versatile.”
JC: Hahaha! Oh yeah, that travel bag could’ve come in handy!
Aileen: Plus, you could’ve complained about their “claims” if they couldn’t hold the painting, hahaha! Personally, I’ve seen coffee art before, in paintings displayed in a cafe-whose-name-I’m-not-sure-we-can-mention-in-this-article. But yes, the ones at the event had greater range, both in contrast and gradation.
JC: How about those artworks that looked like school projects? Where artists ‘glue gun’-ed coffee beans on boards. Being a fan of music, I personally liked the Bob Marley piece.
Aileen: Oh! The ones that reminded me of monggo-beans-and-glue (or uncooked-macaroni-and-glue). Wasn’t too impressed with those, although I know they were probably painstakingly put together.
Aileen: I was really impressed with Ella Hipolito’s work, though. Great contrast!
JC: Yeah, gotta give her credit.
Aileen: And Kathleen Lei P. Limayo – another featured artist at the event – mentioned it was Ella who started the coffee art experiment with their group.
JC: It was kind of cool they tried using coffee as a new medium in creating art. No one, especially me, would’ve expected you could come up with anything artistic made from coffee.
Aileen: Maybe it was Ella we should’ve posed our question to: “Have you ever painted coffee art while drinking coffee? And have you ever experienced drinking from the wrong cup?”
JC: Hahaha! Yeah, that would’ve been funny. And she’d be like, “Yes I’ve made that mistake lots of times. It doesn’t bother me anymore.”
Aileen: Hahaha! That kind of answer would’ve been awesome! Especially since we also found out what Alamid coffee is REALLY made of…
JC: HAHAHAHA! No wonder the coffee tasted different. In a good way.
Aileen: Okay, now that I’m thinking back to the event, I’m realizing I sort of blocked off that memory about where the coffee comes from…! I know it was good, and I know the source was, uhm, interesting, but I can’t seem to remember the details… Hmmm…
For some reason, I don’t want you to remind me either, hehehehe
JC: HAHAHA. That part I remember vividly. When Rachelle was explaining it to us, I was smirking the whole time.
Aileen: Hahaha! Okay, maybe we should leave it to WhenInManila readers to “discover” this for themselves…? Give them Rachelle’s number, too, haha!
JC: Yes yes! I’m sure they’ll be intrigued about what we’re actually talking about. I guess they’ll have to visit Alamid Cafe Xpress to find out.
Aileen: Speaking of vivid memories… what do you remember about the bags, on the other hand?
JC: I was bummed out about the whole launching of the bag. They just showed it and described how it works like a Swiss Knife. But they never really demonstrated how much stuff we could put inside. I was kinda expecting a video, like ‘the bag in action’ sort of thing.
Aileen: I’d have to agree with you there. They could’ve demonstrated by showing how many of the coffee art paintings could fit, right? And showed us what all those pockets & panels were for?
JC: Exactly. And I was confused what the connection between the bag and the coffee art was.
Aileen: Hmm… can’t remember that connection now either.
JC: Unless there was a pocket inside the bag that could hold a coffee tumbler somewhere and they just forgot to tell us.
Aileen: Yeah. Those bags had a name, too, right? Seefeld? Do you remember what that was about?
JC: Yeah, the Seefeld Collection. Just that Seefeld is a place in Switzerland known for its artistic atmosphere.
Aileen: Well, the event/launch did have an artistic atmosphere, I’ll give them that.
JC: If by artistic you mean a lot of “old” people then yeah. Hahaha! I remember Victorinox emphasizing how the bags are lightweight and convertible. Why it was called Seefeld Collection, I have no idea.
Aileen: Hahaha! Makes me realize though that you were paying more attention to the speakers than I was. On my part… well, the coffee really captivated me, hahaha!
JC: Yeah, the event was actually nice and classy. Despite the fact the whole art exhibit took place in a sports shop. Hahaha! Which was weird.
Aileen: I know! So we have a sports gear place, with a cafe in it, and an exhibit of coffee art paintings, and flexible travel bags. What do we make of all this, then?
JC: Well, I guess it was a unique experience for me cause 1. I don’t drink coffee, 2. The coffee that we drank was literally made from (insert profane word that rhymes with ‘hit’), 3. I learned that you can make art paintings from coffee beans, and 4. Coffee can be served inside sports shops. Hahaha!
Aileen: Hahaha! So in conclusion, it was a very interesting event. Which, after all, is exactly what we were looking for anyway, right?
JC: Yup! Mos def!
Adding glamor and humor to the event was host and Mellow 94.7 DJ, Tracy Abad. It was certainly a fun night of coffee, art and travel bags. So When In Manila, drop by R.O.X. to check out the latest travel gear from the Victorinox Seefeld Collection and find out why the coffee at Alamid Café Xpress is interestingly unique!
Victorinox and Alamid Café Xpress combine coffee, art and travel gear!
