Home of finest gifts and décors

By Jaimes R. C. Sumbilon

With just a few days left before Christmas, everybody seems ready to celebrate this much-awaited celebration of the year. Christmas indeed is the perfect time for bonding with the family, as well as for reunions with long-lost relatives or friends, or just a simple gathering with officemates.
Since this is the time to be jolly, Filipinos celebrate Christmas like no other. They celebrate a Christmas full of meaning and color — replete with singing, dancing, eating, games and parties all night long. No other festivity can beat the Filipino spirit in terms of fun and joy than this holiday tradition.
Christmas is also the “season of giving and sharing,” as we exchange presents with our respective monito or monita, receive gifts from our ninong (godfather) and ninang (godmother), or share these with friends and loved ones.
Gift-giving or gift-sharing is the extension of our expression and kindness. We give or offer valuable presents on holidays, especially Christmas, and also on important occasions such as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, or sometimes, even in asking favor or forgiveness.
When it comes to choosing the right gifts, Filipinos are meticulous. We make sure that the gifts we give will make others happy and delighted. Sometimes, we are not concerned about the price and quantity of our gifts, but we focus more on quality to make sure the one who will receive these presents would feel extra special.
Included in Filipinos’ Christmas list is a home makeover. As the Christmas draws near, we put a lot of decorations and other home furniture that make our home look new, lively and presentable to our visitors.
This is why a lot of stores or kiosks open during this season to help us decide what decorations can add spice to our homes. Among these is Shelter, which recently unveiled its vintage-themed Christmas collection at its Makati outlet.

Since it opened last year, Shelter has claimed to become among Manila’s premiere sources of the latest elegant and distinctive furniture, décors, accessories, home ware, books and giveaways that are produced locally and around the world.
Shelter, which was first seen in 2011 in San Juan, is a partnership between United States-based furniture retailers Joey Luna and Lee Imperial (owners of the well-known Furniture Direct store in Las Vegas, Nevada, where most of Shelter’s products come from), local businessman-restaurateur Yong Nieva and interior designers Ivy and Cynthia Almario. Furniture Direct is said to be the largest online retailer of middle to high-end furniture in Western US.
“This year, we are celebrating the elegance of Christmas in the ’50s with unique furniture and furnishings that you won’t find anywhere else in the Philippines. These are perfect for those who want something different and classy in their homes to enhance the usual Christmas decorations that they put up,” enthused Luna, who attended the University of Southern California and has been a US resident for more than 20 years now.
Among the items included in Shelter’s Christmas collection are the ’50s-inspired TV sets showing different Christmas villages, miniature snowmen and cars, Christmas trees, miniature Santa Clauses, singing stuffed toys, candies and other holiday ornaments.
Besides Christmas-themed furniture and decorations, Shelter also offers a wide array of unique holiday gifts such as jewelry boxes, figurines, vases, paintings, coffee table books, trinkets and accessories, among others.

Shelter owners Joey Luna and Lee Imperial

“Clearly, there is a demand for these kinds of furniture in the Philippines. My partner, Lee, and I take time to carefully select which items from the United States would work in the Philippines, taking into consideration various factors such as culture, design trends, even the climate in this country,” Luna said. “We also allow our customers to customize the items they want. Some of them have very specific requirements in terms of material and we do our best to meet these. They can even look for items they want from abroad and we can source it and deliver it to them here.”
Imperial, a violinist and a Hollywood producer of the feature film Frozen Assets, cited the Philippines as a sophisticated market.
“Filipinos are adventurous. In color, in style, they’re so much more artsy. Oftentimes in the States, people don’t know how to put together color, so they usually buy beige. Beige is such a popular color that one of our showrooms is just filled with beige furniture,” he said.
Luna and Imperial, along with their local business partners, travel between the US and the Philippines to provide up-to-date, hand-picked home ware and furniture brands from the US, Canada and Italy that, according to them, are “at the best and lowest possible price for the Asian market.”
Looking for gifts for the health-conscious? A selection of soaps and personal care products such as All Over Wash, Dragon Ice Balm, Dry Down Powder, Hair Gel and Post Shaving Cooling Gel are perfect for them.
Stylish incense candles are good for intimate or romantic dinners and can be used as air-fresheners for a sweet smelling ambiance. Shelter banners its varieties of candles, which include Elysian Garden, Pink Citron, Suede Blanc, Eden and Pear, Goji and Frenc Cade Lavender. Light up these candles with Shelter’s amusing matches such as Coral Embossed, Dragonfly Periwinkle, Fleurdel is Black, Greek Key Black, King of Spade and Lattice Silver on Green.

Shelter's wide arrays of would-be gifts and decors

Even our pets, such as cats and dogs, can have the chance to receive gifts and get their very own (well, a parody of well-known brands) Chewy Vuitton or Pawda bag, which they can perfectly match with their Jimmy Chews or Manolo Barkniks. “Man’s best friends” can also have either a bottle of Grrona or Arfsolut Vodka while relaxing on their Furcedez Benz bed.
These and a lot more interesting stuff await anyone who would like to experience Shelter’s retail theater that “engages the senses and tickles the imagination.”
“At Shelter, our goal is to inspire and engage the senses. We aim to offer a wide range of quality home products and furniture customization that fit the customers’ particular tastes and lifestyle at different price points,” expressed Luna, owner of Joey Luna Fitness Studio in Los Angeles (1987) and Luna Home Collections (1997).

Shelter outlet in Bel-Air Village, Makati City

Visit the Shelter Showrooms at No. 3 General de Jesus, Little Baguio, San Juan, and at No. 148 Jupiter St., Bel-Air Village, Makati City. For more information and inquires about Shelter and its products, e-mail sheltermanila@gmail.com. --Jaimes R. C. Sumbilon