A woman’s face, a veil covering her hair and part of her face, began to emerge from the black pad of Dr. Nanette N. Catigbe, as she put chalk to paper stroke by stroke at the ongoing National Bookstore Color and Calligraphy Fair Cebu in SM City Cebu.

It was ordinary chalk, she told her amazed audience, similar to the cylindrical short stubs teachers used in school but turned into a drawing tool.

Catigbe said she loves Stabilo’s CarbOthello chalk-pastel colored pencils because they’re so easy to use and blend.

Stabilo Color and Calligraphy Fair Cebu
STABILO. Dr. Nanette Catigbe (right) draws a portrait using Stabilo’s CarbOthello chalk-pastel colored pencils, saying it is so easy to use and blend.

The Stabilo brand is just one of the many exhibitors at the NBS Color and Calligraphy Fair Cebu, which is ongoing today and tomorrow at the Northwing Atrium of SM City Cebu.

Coloring and drawing pens, colored and mechanical pencils, water colors, a range of markers, and paper products for drawing, coloring, and calligraphy from such brands as Caran D’ Ache, Sennelier, Chameleon, Stabilo, Pilot, Sakura, Marvy, Uni, Titus, Faber-Castell, Dong-A, Fabriano and Acquarello are on display and being sold at the fair. Some of these products are only available at National Bookstore. They can be bought at NBS even after the fair.

Uni Color and Calligraphy Fair Cebu
UNI. Joseph Aquino, national sales manager of Lopell Marketing, demonstrates the many innovations of Uni, including liquid chalk markers and white colored gel pens, a power tank pen that can write underwater, smoothest pen called the Jetstream, and an anti-check washing pen.

Calligraphy, coloring activities

The activities today, October 22, focus on calligraphy while Sunday ‘s events will revolve around coloring, said National Bookstore public relations and social media officer JB Roperos.

On Saturday, events included a live mural event, calligraphy demos by Limelight, Marvy Uchida, Uni Ball Air, Zig Kuretake, Fabriano, and Faber-Castell, creative lettering by Stabilo, blackletter demo by Pilot, emboss flourishing by Zig Kuretake and Tsukineko, and brush marker demo by Sakura.

Marvy Uchida Color and Calligraphy Fair Cebu
MARVY UCHIDA. May Janine Ferrano, brand manager of Marvy Uchida, demonstrates the use of their products on fabric by designing on a tote bag.

Sunday’s activities will include Sakura Koi watercolor set demo, Uni Ball Signo Broad and Angelic Colors demo, Marvy Uchida tote bag demo, Stabilo chalk pastel portrait rendering, Zig Kuretake watercolor botanicals, Caran D’ Ache Museum Aquarelle and Chameleon demo, Limelight Noteworthy journaling demo, Sharpie-dyed tote bag demo, and Titus pens doodling.

Admission is free, and guests get a chance to win special prizes by completing a nine-stamp coupon simply by visiting the booths.

Sennelier Color and Calligraphy Fair Cebu
SENNELIER. Pher Mendoza, brand manager of National Bookstore, shows bloggers and lifestyle writers Sennelier products, which they exclusively distribute in the Philippines.

Art materials, brands

Pher Mendoza, brand manager of National Bookstore, said they are the official seller of the Sennelier products in the Philippines. They also carry the Swiss brand Caran D’ Ache, which carries felt-tip and water-soluble pens, permanent markers, and an artist line of materials called Pablo because these products were used by that great master Picasso.

At the Pilot booth, brand staff showed off new products and bestsellers like the parallel pens for Gothic calligraphy and G-Tec-C4 pens, which are now produced in several colors.

May Janine Ferrano, brand manager of Marvy Uchida, said they have materials for drawing, calligraphy, and fabric marking. Their acrylic pen markers can be used on fabric, wood, glass, and ceramics.

Color and Calligraphy Fair Cebu
SHARPIE. You save if you buy it as a set.

Writing, paper products

Uni innovations, meanwhile, now span a wide range of products. Joseph Aquino, national sales manager of Lopell Marketing, said they’re the only brand with liquid chalk markers and white colored gel pens, which come in extra or standard white, a power tank pen that can write underwater, smoothest pen called the Jetstream, and an anti-check washing pen. The ink won’t disappear even when it is soaked in a chemical mixture.

Among the paper products are brands carried by Prestige Paper Products and Limelight. Lovely Yap said they distribute the Fabriano and Acquarello brands in the Philippines. Their specialty is paper for different art mediums and they both have white and black sketch pads. Limelight sells sketchbooks of acid-free cream paper and polyurethane cover.

More photos

 

Dong-A Color and Calligraphy Fair Cebu
DONG-A. The writing brand now offers more choices of colors.

 

Caran D’ Ache Pablo Color and Calligraphy Fair Cebu
Caran D’ Ache Pablo for the artists. The line is named after Pablo Picasso.

 

Acquarello Color and Calligraphy Fair Cebu
Acquarello. Their specialty is paper for different art mediums and they both have white and black sketch pads.

 

Faber-Castell Color and Calligraphy Fair Cebu
Faber-Castell. This set contains 120 color pencils.

Marlen is the editor of MyCebu.ph and co-founder of Cebu-based journalism startup InnoPub Media.

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