355. Advertique: MISS THAILAND TIN PLATE CALENDAR

Now here's an interesting tin calendar I got in Bangkok, while I was working there. It is actually a relatively recent calendar from the 1995, but with a vintage feel--courtesy of the period picture of the lady who, I believe was Miss Thailand of 1954--Khun Sucheela Sinsomboon, (thanks, my dear Thai friend, K. Oraya Imchuen for the ID!). 

A quick online search yielded an actual photo of the beautifu; Sucheela. Does she know she is being used to endorse a modern shop? Or maybe she is the shopowner's relative. We will never know.

Likewise, the shop from where this calendar came from has been also identified--Seng Sieang Li--a gold jewellery store. Twenty one years after I got this, I wonder if the shop is still around. Or if MissSucheela is still around after all these years. That's for another friend in Bangkok to find outfor me!

267. A Grate Collectible: ANTIQUE KUDKURAN

Now here's a fanciful kitchen collectible that I chanced upon at the famed Chatuchak Market in Bangkok. It's an old coconut grater carved in the shape of a man on all fours. The metal grater itself protrudes from the man's mouth. Coconut graters are found all over Asia, as the coconut was a staple food in this region. To remove the flesh off the shells, a half-coconut was scraped against a sharp-edged metal spur, while seated on the kudkuran's body.

Most Philippine kudkurans had a basic shape--just a paddle shaped seat to sit on with a metal grater screwed or nailed in the narrow portion of the seat. Others took on more figurative shapes--graters fashioned from tree stumps often took the form of 4-legged animals, like a horse. This example. made of heavy wood, is a more creative example--the crouching man even grasps a ball on one hand--playing while he works!

With the advent of motorized graters, the folksy kudkuran had all but disappeared in Philippine kitchens. I know a friend who collects them and displays them as sculptural pieces--and that s exactly how I will display my antique kudkuran.

212. FROM A THAI STORE MANNEQUIN TO A DALAGANG FILIPINA

One of my most fascinating finds during my Bangkok years was this plaster cast mannikin figure of a Thai woman for some defunct department store in Thailand. This must have stood on a countertop, perhaps promoting the fashions of the day. I have seen similar countertop mannequin displays of U.S. make, but this one definitely is a local creation, with distinct Malay features that could very well pass for a Filipina beauty.

The figure stands 24 inches tall and stands on a base with a Thai script that I can't decipher. A Thai friend said it reads "THAI PHAIRAT", but is not sure if that's the name of a shop. There are holes on her heels that you can slip through metal pegs attached firmly to the base. The only individual parts are the arms, which were connected by inserting the metal strips at the shoulder of the figure. One metal strip has been lost, so when I got this, the lady figure was armless. Some fingers have also been chipped off her hands and there were broken or cracked parts of her arms and body that have been glued back securely.

Despite these imperfections, I found the Thai "puying" (lady) really pretty--her hair was styled in a neat bun, and her morena complexion only gave her lots of Pinay appeal. For years, I kept her, as is, with a wrap-around skirt and draped in lace on one shoulder, simulating a Thai costume. She used to wear a strand of pearls, which I have since misplaced.

One day, an idea just occurred to me to dress her up--not in chic clothes that she probably once wore--but in a Filipiniana costume. I visualized her in a checkered patadyong, with a kimona top, with a wrap-around tapiz and a panuelo.

I took my Thai mannikin to a restorer of religious figures who willingly took on my unusual project. He fashioned the kimona top using a scrap of embroidered fabric from an old Filipiniana dress. A suitable checkered cloth became her skirt and the panyo. A few weeks after, my Thai miss mutated into a Pinay dalagang bukid! Here are the amazing results of that transformation.

From Khun Porntip to Bb. Perla--what a refreshingly, beautiful change!

69. A Little Dab'll Do Ya: BRYLCREEM THERMOMETER

What did James Dean, Tab Hunter, Elvis and Frankie Avalon used in common to keep their hair shiny, gleaming and in place? Brylcreem, of course. Created in 1928 by County Chemicals, Brylcreem was responsible for giving generations of young men the "wet look" hairdo, the rage of the times. Brylcreem was marketed internationally, available even in Thailand, where it was sold in jars (in America, Brylcreem was sold in tubes).

This rare Brylcreem thermometer with a wooden backboard and painted features was just one of the thousands of merchandising materials produced to support the brand in stores. Even in conservative Siam, men were entitled to some form of vanity, and just a dab of Brylcreem provided just that.Bryl-creem, you'll look so debonair. As the product jingle goes: "Bryl-creem, the gals will all pursue ya, they'll love to run their fingers through your hair".