If you’ve been to Hong Kong or Singapore, you would have definitely heard of the Japanese lifestyle store Muji. MUJI is short for Mujirushi Ryohin—which translates to “no brand, quality products” and that’s exactly what their merchandise is all about! As a brand born at the height of Japan’s consumerist phase in the 1980’s, Muji was a breath fresh of air with their revolutionary idea of eliminating logos and focusing instead on functionality and product design. In addition to their penchant for simplicity and the zen aesthetic, Muji also expresses their concern for the environment through minimizing packaging and encouraging customers to stick to the essentials.

On October 16, Muji finally opens its Philippine flagship store at Bonifacio High Street. Here is a sneak preview of what you can expect from this amazing store, which were taken during the Mujia Manila media launch.

At Muji, you can find a wide variety of practical, useful, and well-designed every day items, from clothes to kitchenware to furniture.

The first thing you’ll see is the women’s apparel section. Most of the clothes are made from cotton (some 100% organic), and come in plain colors and basic designs. Prices for a shirt starts at P995, while a dress costs P1,950. There are also sneakers and ballet flats for over P2,000.

Muji is the place to go if you need bookshelves or a storage solution of sorts.

They’ve got organizers for everything – shoes, clothes, documents, and accessories.

Muji also carries cotton linens in basic, solid colors. Don’t you just love the clean lines of this display? Pillowcases are sold in singles so that customers can avoid waste by sticking only to what they need.

There’s also a small section for beauty and skin care.

Come check out Muji for yourself when it opens tomorrow! Muji can be found at Bonifacio High Street, above The Gap.

Click on the thumbnails below on some of the items they are selling at Muji Manila :

Known for its minimalist design aesthetic, MUJI products can seamlessly fit into any home or office. While seemingly simple, the design is well thought out to accommodate modern needs. Its products undergo a rigorous design process where the functionality of the items is studied and then improved. The melding of functionality and intelligent design results in products that everyone loves.

MUJI products are known for inciting fascination from customers because they incorporate small details that change how one views a certain product. For example, they put a window on the highlighter pens so we may precisely see where the sentence ends. Another example is the free cut sponge, which we can cut to certain shapes and sizes to suit our needs at a certain time.

Apart from improving product design, MUJI also gives importance to the raw materials used. They incessantly search for high-quality, sustainable and innovative sources of raw materials and turn them into unique products. An example is the pulp board shelf—a lightweight shelf made out of the cardboard found in the middle of tissue rolls. Through this product, they are able to reduce waste as well as create a practical and useful shelf that maximizes space.

MUJI’s distinct design direction is rooted in their creative team. It is composed of design legends such as Kenya Hara and Naoto Fukusawa whose commitment to product innovation and minimalism continue to drive the brand direction. The two other members are Kazuko Kokie and Takashi Sugimoto, who help customers understand each MUJI product and the brand essence through interior design and advertisements. These four individuals helped MUJI transition from a supermarket line of unlabeled products to a lifestyle and design giant it is considered today.

In the Philippines, Muji is exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists, Inc. (SSI) and is located at Bonifacio High Street, Taguig City.

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Have you visited my personal blog, Touched by an Angel, my husband’s blog at The Warrior Lawyer and my other blogs like

Pinoy Food Photo Blog for Restaurants & Food Events
Your Pinoy Real Estate Broker for Real Estate Needs
Techie Gadgets for Cellphones, Laptops & Gadgets. Please pray for us that justice will soon be served with regards to my son’s death at the Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort.

You might also want to visit my daughter’s ukay-ukay blog at ukaymanila.com.

Thanks for visiting….Noemi Lardizabal-Dado

Muji Manila Opens on October 16 is a post from: Shopping Finds

My workstation
When my entry-level macbook Hard Drive crashed a few weeks ago, I felt like a squatter hopping from my 2 daughter’s desktop or my husband’s laptop. I felt it was time to revive my desktop. The last desktop (Pentium 3) I owned crashed around September last year. It had been with me for 6 years. Not bad right? Besides I needed to retrieve valuable files from my own desktop and that of my husband’s old computer. I considered the IMac since it blends so beautifully with my white-themed workstation but the price ranged from 68,988 (iMac 17 inch) to that of 184,988 pesos (iMac 24-inch). So poof.

I got my first quotation at PC Express Katipunan branch (http://pcx.com.ph/) which came out quite affordable. Lauren and Marielle’s desktop was purchased from them so I told them “give me the lowest price possible” as I am a frequent shopper. I also asked Abe’s advice on the specifications of my new desktop rig. Armed with new specifications, I asked for a new computation which came out even more expensive. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was that the Asus P5B-MX Motherboard that I wanted wasn’t available. The motherboard came with a built in Wi-fi which I needed since I have multiple Internet connections in my Small Office Home Office (SOHO) setup and I just absolutely hate many wires running through the walls or floors. I want them hidden.

I was toying with a two 19-inch monitors but I felt I didn’t really need it. I wanted a wide screen resolution. Anyway, since PC Express couldn’t commit on a date of the motherboard availability, I trooped to Villman Computer System (villman.com) at their Katipunan branch. Villman isn’t highly recommended though. Jayvee recommended RSun Computers for their low low prices but I decided to get a nearby computer shop for support reasons. Villman’s initial quote was really high but in the end when they knew I was a serious buyer, they matched the PC express’ prices. I chose the Win XP pro over the Vista as I didn’t want to be bothered with incompatibility issues.

The final decision on my purchase was that I wanted the latest computer specifications for home business and medium multi-media usage. No games for me. I was also partial on the Asus brand because of the durability of my last desktop.

So here is my new toy so my husband says:

My ViewSonic’s 22″ VX2235wm LCD monitor and white Macbook

The CPU in an Asus Tower with the wifi antenna on the top
Having the tower on the floor hides the electrical connections which can really be untidy to look at.

My HP Office Jet Printer with Fax, Copier, Scanner
Abe advised me to get stand-alone versions of a fax, printer or scanner but I like my workstation as clutter-free as possible. I took a chance on this all-in-one office Printer. I felt so stupid when I kept calling the shop about a defective printer. I said “The printer keeps saying no paper”. All the while, I placed the paper in the wrong feed. Duh.

My blog as seen in a 1680 x 1050 screen resolution

Here are the complete specifications and their prices in PESOS as of June 28, 2007:

• Intel Pentium D925 3GHZ- LGA 775 L2 Cache 2 x 2 Processor @4,250
• Asus P5B-MX/WiFI-AP LHA 775 IG946GZ- with Audio, Video, GB Lan Motherboard @4650
• Kingston 1GB KVR533D2N4 DDR2 PC533/4300 Memory @ 1800
• Asus TA-551 Black Silver ATX Meidum- tower w/4-Bay True 350W PS @2,700
• Asus EN73300GS/HTD GF FX7300GS 256 MB- 64BIT PCI-E 16X DRR2 Video Card @3,388.00
• Viewsonic VX2235WM 22″Silver Black0 wide 5MS 1680 x 1050 LCD Monitor @ 18,996 with free 2 GB flash disk
• Seagate 320 GB SATA 16MB 7200 RPM- Barracuda Hard Disk Drive @ 4,520
• Samsung SH-S182 Unternal- Lightscribe DL DVD+ 8x /DVD-RSX DVD- RAM Drive @ 2,188
• HP OJ- 4355 Officejet Printer @ 6,800.00
• Microsoft Windows XP-Pro Edition OEM @ 7,300
• Creative SBS350 Black 2.1CH with SUB-speakers @ 999.00
• Giant PS/2 Scroll Black Mouse @ 180.00
• Giant G-500LC Black (3-220v) AVR @ 345

Total Cost of the desktop: 58,391.00 pesos or $1,280.00

I love the clean look of my workstation. Clutter is minimal as most of the papers are tucked discreetly in drawers beside me. I work better when I don’t see clutter around my workspace. Now I can translate this investment by increasing my work productivity.

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Have you visited my personal blog, Touched by an Angel, my husband’s blog at The Warrior Lawyer and my other blogs like

Pinoy Food Photo Blog for Restaurants & Food Events
Your Pinoy Real Estate Broker for Real Estate Needs
Techie Gadgets for Cellphones, Laptops & Gadgets. Please pray for us that justice will soon be served with regards to my son’s death at the Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort.

You might also want to visit my daughter’s ukay-ukay blog at ukaymanila.com.

Thanks for visiting….Noemi Lardizabal-Dado

My Home Office Small Office Desktop Rig is a post from: Shopping Finds