Bags made by international Filipino designer Cora Jacob were an instant hit at the exhibition at the Museum of Bags and Purses, reported ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau. During the opening of the exhibition on March 5, VIPs and guests immediately grabbed the bags and with gusto. In fact, 50 bags with prices ranging from 100 euros (P6,200 ) to 250 euros (P15,500) were sold that night. The world's largest museum of bags is now almost running out of bags for the special exhibition that will close on May 3. Half of the 300 bags that Jacob flew in from the Philippines were already sold after only one week. The first Jacobs to be plucked from the display were the white shell bags with crystals and the black bags made from buntal fiber. The bags didn't fail the impeccable and elegant tastes of two socialites who bought five bags each. The wife of the owner of high-end clothing store Mexx, a popular world-wide brand, was so impressed with the bags. “You just recognize good quality, value for money and most of all you know that you are helping the people back in the Philippines because you are complimenting their work and they can carry on with their craftsmanship,” Surekha Arora told ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau. Her socialite friend, who's also from Mexx, could not resist checking out all the bags on display which she said can be in the running with haute couture. “They are very special, very elegant a lot of them and the casual one can be used in a lot of places. Casual but still elegantly useful,” Christina Shar said. Filipinas were also caught in the mad frenzy, leaving some problematic because they just could not decide which bag to choose from. Pinay businesswoman Mia Van Eendenburg first grabbed a beige buntal clutch bag but found it very difficult to restrain herself from the glass cabinet where a red bag was seemingly pulling her. “Paano ko mabibili lahat kasi they're all nice nga. Kasi, tignan mo ‘yong kulay red. Ang ganda ng kulay red. Isa pa. Sasabihin ko sa asawa ko. Ito kasi pera ko ‘to ngayon eh,” Van Eendenburg said. (How can you buy all, they are all nice. Look at the red one, it's beautiful. I will tell my husband, I am using my money now.) The most popular of the bags were the ones made from buntal because aside from their very high quality, they are also very light. “Pinupukpok ‘yan, kinukuha isa-isa ang fiber at wini-weave. Inaabot ng isang linggo bago makatapos ng isang weave ng buntal na ginagawa nating isang bag. Kaya pag tinignan natin ang produkto natin makikita nyo ‘yong mga yaring kamay, weaving,” she explained. (It takes us one week to make one bag. That's why when you look at it, it's hand-made, woven manually.) Jacob said that one only needs to look and hold her bags to immediately know that the designs have been crafted by and for women. Jacob believes that women should not sacrifice ease and comfort just for fashion that's why her bags, even the large-sized ones, are always light to carry. Jacob is happy at the warm reception received by her buntal bags. She said that through her craft, she aims to help revive the dying buntal industry in the Philippines. - ABS
