Part of the “HALO-HALO (Hardin, Aklat, Lunan, Obra)” event at Istorya Studios last April 12, 2025, was the soft opening of Kape Lunan – sa lugar na alam natin. We’re so grateful to have been trusted with creating the branding for this coffee space. Noticed how we incorporated ]{ characters to form K on the typewriter? 🙂
The studio was transformed into a warm, relaxing nook and what’s even more amazing is that most of the interiors were done by Ms. Marina and Sir Rodel themselves. They serve great coffee, matcha, cookies, cakes, and Edilberta’s leche flan (my personal favorite!).
Imagine spending an afternoon in a cafe surrounded by works from some of the Philippines’ leading contemporary artists.
There’s even a desk where you can freely use a typewriter. I mean, when was the last time you’ve used one??
With Istorya Studios’ Pao Hernandez. Super reliable and hard working, the best!
There was also an exhibition by BulSU Fine Arts students in the adjacent gallery entitled, “Existence“. Here are some of my favorites
It’s always exciting to see fresh perspectives from young artists in Bulacan. Ang gagaling!
From “lugar na alam natin” to “lugar na hindi na namin alam.”
So before we went home, we took a group photo with Teri, Kabu, Ms. Marina, Lirip, and Sir Rodel. Happy happy pa dyan eh. HAHA!
On the way home, things took an unexpected turn.
Kabu considered staying the night and just catch the bus in the morning, but we decided to head back to Manila instead. Medyo nahiya na rin kami to stay over. We were with Lirip, a UP student who also needed to get home for an event the next day. So we braved the quiet, dark night and waited by the roadside for a bus.
After more than an hour – still nothing. There were also a few people who were waiting for the bus to Manila. Then a jeepney appeared and the driver said there were no more buses that night, but he could take us to the next terminal. It sounded like a kind offer so we hopped in.
But as we went farther, something felt off. The jeep was almost empty. Kami lang pala yung sumakay. The driver kept messaging someone in Messenger while driving. There was a girl in front, cap pulled low over her face. Very sus. Then a man suddenly got in. At that moment, we knew something wasn’t right. We had camera equipment with us, and Lirip was carrying a Power Mac paperbag. Easy targets. Without context, we quietly told Lirip we needed to get off immediately. Paranoid? haha but good thing we did!
We found the nearest open restaurant and decided to stay there while we regroup. We’re all almost empty batt. We even messaged Ms. Marina, hoping we could go back but it was already late (2am?) and they must be resting already.
Then, unexpectedly, Teri messaged us to say thank you for coming and goodnight. OMG Teri! Timing couldn’t have been more perfect. We told her our sitch and she helped us check terminal hours and even looked for a TNVS available in Bulacan. I downloaded the app right away, and in less than five minutes, we had a driver. Grabe, life saver!
When we got back to Manila, we made sure Lirip got home safely too. We later on learned that the Power Mac paperbag was just reused to hold his maong pants. HAHA! Safe to say, our first meeting was unforgettable.
The next morning, Ms. Marina saw our messages. She was so worried at first, but eventually laughed and said, “Gawan niyo ng zine ’yan, haha.”
Last Updated on 3 hours by Carizza
Leave a Reply