Sunday, June 29, 2008

BIG GRASSROOTS FASHION EVENT IN ORMOC

Ormoc’s fashion-conscious middle class will have an opportunity of a lifetime in fashion design as well as modeling. Internationally-acclaimed designers of gowns and accessories and professional models trainer are coming over to see for themselves the local creations of village-level clothes makers.

Australian fashion designers Carol Hanlon and Mel Rom and handsome, young Australian professional models trainer Adam Barralet will be arriving on July 1. Malaysian fashion designer Hideaki will follow on July 3.


On July 5, a fashion show will be held at the Western Leyte College Gym, showcasing the products of women dressmakers being assisted by Textile, Clothing and Footwear Western Australia. Their products will be paraded on the stage by the modeling trainees of Barralet after a four-day training-workshop at the city’s superdome.

Carol Hanlon is Founding Manager and Facilitator at the Belmont Business Enterprise Centre Inc. (BEC) - Small Business Centre Belmont (SBC), Textile Clothing Footwear Resource Centre of Western Australia Inc. (TCFWA) and the design edge fashion incubator.

Belmont Enterprise Center was established in 1994 and more recently also included the title of Small Business Centre Belmont, which is part of a network of 26 Small Business Centre’s located throughout Western Australia which offer free guidance and support to new and existing businesses. In 2004, Carol was declared the Best National BEC Manager in Australia, a prestigious award, and selected from over the 110 BEC’s operating across Australia.

She is largely responsible for bringing the other designers to Ormoc and the solicitation of several sewing and knitting machines for several women groups here.

Mel is Australian by birth but Filipina by heart. She married Rhay Rom of Merida, Leyte. Mel and Rhay are professional entertainers who use their love for music as their inspiration in creating fashion jewellery using swarovsky crystals, pearls and gemstones sourced from all over the world.

The couple also has a jeans collection to their name. Their being entertainers inspired them to create their own jeans designs that they could wear onstage when performing.

Mel is responsible for bringing Carol Hanlon to Ormoc in April, last year that resulted in the shipment of a 40-foot container van full of 165 sewing machines and more than 300 boxes of off-cut fabric and other sewing materials in November of the same year.

Barralet’s expertise, on the other hand, is on conducting trainings on modeling and confidence workshops. He has conducted classes and workshops with students in Perth, Melbourne and Canberra as well as rural Western Australia and Indigenous Australian training programmes.

Adam started out as a performing artist but his interests are wide such as psychology, personality development, human biology, massage, health sciences, communication skills, drama, ballroom, jazz, metaphysics as well as quantum physics.

In Ormoc, he will train aspiring models and parade the creations of local dress makers at the end of the five-day workshops. The trainings will be held at the city’s Superdome which the city government has agreed to be used for free.

Malaysian fashion designer and fashion parade choreographer Hideaki specializes in futuristic clothes designs. He is donating 10 gowns to the Textile, Clothing, Footwear Ormoc City, the local organizer of the event. These gowns that he will personally bring to Ormoc will also be showcased as the main event in the fashion parade of locally-made dresses by the TCFOC Community Livelihood Centers.

He will help Adam in the choreography of this clothes parade.

This fashion event is organized by the TCFOC project of the Coalition of Ormoc Women, and will be presented by Active, Genuine Youth Leaders (AGYLA).

Thursday, June 12, 2008



Michael Francis "Dodong" Alvarado took the Acceleration and Equivalency Test given by the Department of Education yesterday.

For 1 whole day Dodong hurdled the test answering 300 questions within 3 hours.

Let's all pray Dodong will pass because passing the test will enable him to jump from 2nd year High School to College. And when he does, prepare your gifts to him. It's gonna be a biiiig celebration for Ormoc Samoka Oy! Clan (OSOC), Active, Genuine, Youth Leaders Association (AGYLA) and TCFOC, bah!

We should all be ready to wish him good luck. He is one of our youth volunteer CLC monitors. He is assigned to only 2 CLCs within the city because he is only 17 years old. Not to worry, he has a parent's permit to do volunteer work submitted by his mother to TCFOC.

Friday, June 6, 2008

Adam Barralet comes to Ormoc

Adam Barralet

Adam is coming to Ormoc City, Philippines to volunteer his services in training would-be fashion models. He will be accompanied by Carol Hanlon, the woman behind Textile, Clothing, Footwear Ormoc City.

Below is brief intro about Adam:

Adam Barralet's background is in the performing arts, psychology and personal development. He has performed in countless musicals and plays, starred in internet adverts and for Burswood International Resort's television commercial, been a member of pop group Kharma, danced in shows by STEPS Youth Dance Company and worked as a club dancer and back up dancer, and co-hosted Late Night Liaisons on Perth's local radio station Groove 101.7FM. He can now be heard as part of the duo Raz & Adz on Melbourne's Joy 94.9 (www.joy.org.au).

Adam Barralet has also studied psychology, human biology, massage, health sciences, communication skills and drama at a tertiary level as well as ballroom & jazz, personal development, quantum physics and metaphysics.

Adam Barralet has been involved with Metro since the beginning of 1998. He started as a student at one of our studios for two years participating in many fashion parades around Western Australia. During this time he received the coveted Academy Award. Adam then joined the Metro teaching staff at Malaga to further his skills under the trainer of former director Melanie Lumley. Adam then left Metro to work in management for McDonald's family restaurants and the National Australia Bank. In August 2003 he re-joined the Metro team as a Principal of Midland studio, adding Malaga Principal to his accomplishments in 2004.


In his role with Metro, Adam Barralet works closely with our students, teachers and franchisees to ensure our courses remain innovative, up-to-date, relevant and enjoyable. He is responsible for training our male models and ensuring they are not forgotten amongst our many female students. He also co-ordinate our major fashion shows each year including the EveryWoman Expo at the Perth Convention Centre and the Royal Canberra Show.

He has conducted classes and workshops with students in Perth, Melbourne and Canberra as well as rural Western Australia and Indigenous Australian training programmes.

In conjunction with TCF Global Community Sewing Projects, Adam Barralet will be travelling to Ormoc in the Philippines to run modelling, and confidence workshops with local youth. The trip is made possible due to the generous donation of NorAsian Energy Limited, a subsidiary of Otto Energy Limited, a Perth based Oil & Gas Company.