Monday, March 05, 2012

The Human Nature Flagship Store in Q.C.


A few weeks ago, my best friend Nina asked me to come with her to the opening of the Human Nature flagship store on Commonwealth Avenue, in Quezon City. She said her friend Anna Meloto-Wilks started the company which makes really great natural products. She actually did a special interest report on Human Nature for TV sometime ago, and had the products tested by chemists. And true to Human Nature's claims, the products Nina swears, are safe and truly natural. Now, I have actually heard of Human Nature prior to Nina's raves, so it did not take me a lot of convincing to drop by with her.

When we finally arrived at this really pretty and well-lit store, Nina introduced me to Anna, who like us, is pregnant and expecting a Dragon Baby! And, as Manila is truly small, it turns out, my sister Trina is friends with Anna too - they used to surf together a few years back, when they were all still young and carefree! And now, Anna has this amazing and truly world-class store to speak for!


Here's Anna & Nina against a wall of social enterprise products. Anna shares that apart from Human Nature products, they also carry items championed by social entrepreneurs who have endeavored to provide livelihood to impoverished communities and at the same time create value out of random raw materials while celebrating Filipino creativity.  Will tell you more about these soon, but first let me talk about Human Nature, hehe.


Anna gave us a tour of their store, which she shares was designed by two very young Filipina architects, Mau Adraneda and Joyce Angara. She says everything in the store is sourced in the Philippines, and all are made from sustainable materials. See those chairs above? Those are actually made from corrugated boxes! Clever no? They wanted a store that was truly Filipino, without falling into that ethnic, rustic cliche. And I think they really did an amazing job!


Anna says that they really want the place to be more than just a store, but also a destination. Where the whole family can hang out. There's shopping for the ladies, a reading nook for the kids, and unlimited (yes bottomless barako, mountain blends and Sulu) coffee (and free wifi too I think!) for the dads or those who just want an alternative to hanging out in overpriced coffee shops (although mahiya naman kayo and buy something from Human Nature as well hehehe).


And now, a quick run through of some of the products that caught my eye:






Apparently, the sunflower oil is a great makeup remover, and can be used for belly rubs to prevent stretch marks as well!


Love the packaging of these kids natural shampoos! Makes bath time so much fun! Human Nature also has a natural makeup line composed of powders, blushes, glosses and lipsticks. Camille, Anna's younger sister who is into cosmetics, took the lead in developing the line, experimenting with colors. What a fun (and meaningful!) job right?

Like I said earlier, apart from Human Nature personal care products and makeup, there are great finds in store like food, drinks, household and fashion items, which also make great gifts, giveaways and pasalubong for visiting relatives or friends from abroad:

Enchantea: healthy iced tea from GK Enchanted Farm

Golden Eggs: salted eggs, a Filipino favorite, without the toxic food color

CafĂ© de Sug: Gawad Kalinga’s famous coffee from Sulu - only for the brave!

- FilBambu: all food containing bamboo, winners in the Shanghai Expo
- Theo & Philo Chocolates: the only 100% bean to bar Filipino artisan chocolate
- Jacinto & Lirio: luxury bags made from leather and water Hyacinth
- Red Carpet, Blue Bamboo, Salabatea and more!

What made the launch of Human Nature's flagship store extra fun was the yummy, healthy food! Tito Tony told us with beaming pride that all the food served came from the GK Enchanted Farm and/or developed by young social entrepreneurs. 


A volunteer from France, serving organic lettuce from the Enchanted Farm stuffed with Golden Eggs & tomatoes

We had the yummiest fromage de chevre/ goat cheese with nuts spread over crackers aka as Gourmet Keso from GK Enchanted Farm. This was developed by Xilca Alvarez, who I remember was Trina's classmate during their grade school days. Nina and I ate a lot, never mind if it's pasteurized or not. These were just too good! Hahaha!

So, if you are ever in the Quezon City area, or even if you are way on the other side of town, I really think it is worth your time to schedule a visit to Human Nature's concept store. Not only do you get to stock up on various natural products, you also get to do your share in supporting the livelihood of the GK communities where all these products come from.

Human Nature is the Philippines’ largest brand of genuinely natural personal care and cosmetics products. As a social enterprise, it lives by being PRO-PHILIPPINES, PRO-POOR and PRO-ENVIRONMENT. Founded by Anna Meloto-Wilk and Camille Meloto, daughters of GK founder Tony Meloto, Human Nature’s products are 100% made in the Philippines and 100% free from harmful chemicals.

The Human Nature flagship store is located at 460 Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City (past the Caltex station and across Puregold).

To learn more about Human Nature products and advocacy or to learn how to be a dealer, visit www.humanheartnature.com or your nearest Human Nature Branch, or call (02) 931-5787. You may also visit Rustans, Shopwise and Beauty Bar for a select line of Human Nature products.

5 comments:

Tracy said...

The storefront looks nice. Is area a nice fun walk-able neighborhood?

Conchita said...

finally a store. i actually order a lot of human nature products from friends who do direct selling. sort of my way of helping them too.

trina said...

great job anna and cammille! very inspiring! :-)
and so cool, xilca!

will definitely have to try human nature goodies! :-)

richelle said...

I really like their Balancing Facial Wash. (I'm so glad Rustans Supermarket stocks Human Nature products now). Were you able to get some Theo & Philo chocolate?

Kat said...

I love Human Nature! Must visit soon. Sana they open in the south too

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