Celebrating the power of imagination

Montblanc recently released a special edition Meisterstück inspired by the much-loved literary character of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince), one of my favorite childhood books.

The story of The Little Prince, one of the world’s most translated books, is about the chance encounter between a pilot and a little prince from a distant planet. The design elements of the collection are based on Saint-Exupéry’s own drawings.

At its Philippine launch, held at the Green Sun in Makati City, dancers from the Steps Dance Studio performed a piece that told the tale of how friendship was built between the Little Prince (as played by Ghian Renzon Arboleda) and the fox (Anna Isabelle Huang).

Montblanc resin has always been black but in a first for the brand, the cap and barrel of the Meisterstück Le Petit Prince Special Edition are made of night-blue resin evoking the deep blue sky of the universe of the Little Prince. The cap has the fox face pattern with platinum-coated fittings. A golden star also adorns the clip of this edition.

(From left) Montblanc Southeast Asia president Matthieu Dupont, sales director Kenneth Shek, senior sales manager Nathanael Tan and marketing manager Ben Goh.

The Little Prince and the fox are engraved on the 14K rhodium-plated nib of the fountain pen. A sentence from the original novel “Créer des liens? ... Tu seras pour moi unique au monde” (To establish ties? ... To me, you will be unique in all the world) is laser engraved into the crown of the writing instrument available as a fountain pen, roller ball and ballpoint pen.

The Meisterstück Le Petit Prince Doué Classique Edition pairs the deep blue lacquer barrel with a platinum-coated cap decorated with engravings of the fox and the clip of the pen is adorned with the yellow star as well. This is also available as a ballpoint pen, a roller ball and a fountain pen with an 18K bi-color nib engraved with an outline of the Little Prince and the fox.

Montblanc also created special ink and refills inspired by the fox character in a dark orange color reminiscent of the fox’s orange fur. Also available is a leather notebook bound in Saffiano leather featuring a fox scenery print on its cover.

The Meisterstück Le Petit Prince men’s accessories also offer stainless steel cufflinks with a deep blue lacquer and with a fox design, a stainless steel and blue lacquer money clip (also with a fox design), and a men’s woven leather bracelet with a stainless steel clasp decorated with a yellow star.

(Check out this special collection at Rustan’s Department Stores.)

Raising the bar in digital banking

Citi Philippines CEO Aftab Ahmed.

Digital banking has grown significantly in the country with more Filipinos now preferring to conduct online transactions through their smartphones. Citi, a pioneer in digital banking, has launched the next generation Citi Mobile App that allows customers the freedom to do more with its innovative and new functionalities.

Citi Philippines CEO Aftab Ahmed said, “We at Citi are excited to deliver yet another innovative digital capability for our credit card customers. The Citi Mobile App was designed with our customers in mind so that they can manage their financial needs in an efficient manner.”

Present at the launch of the app were Citi Philippines consumer business head Manoj Varma, consumer customer franchise head Roy Villareal and head of public affairs Lisa Coory.

Consumer business head Manoj Varma.

Citi continues to innovate and remains focused on delivering the best digital solutions for its customers. With the launch of this next generation mobile app, it raises the bar in digital banking with the app’s groundbreaking features such as credit card locking and unlocking, a personalized dashboard, easy conversion of retail transactions to installments, viewing and downloading of statements and utility bills payment.

(For more information, visit www.citibank.com.ph.)

Mamma Mia! returns to Manila

The cast of Mamma Mia!

Making a return to Manila is the smash hit musical Mamma Mia!

The musical’s last run in Manila was in 2012 to an audience of over 45,000. Following its huge success, Mamma Mia! returns to Manila for a strictly limited season beginning Sept. 29 at The Theatre at Solaire as part of the show’s international tour. 

Mamma Mia!, seen by more than 60 million people in 50 productions in 16 different languages, is Judy Craymer’s vision of staging the storytelling magic of ABBA’s songs (including greatest hits Dancing Queen, Take A Chance On Me, The Winner Takes It All and Does Your Mother Know) with an enchanting tale of family and friendship unfolding on a Greek island paradise. With music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, the musical was written by Catherine Johnson, directed by Phyllida Lloyd and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast.

Lunchbox Theatrical Productions CEO and producer James Cundall said, “Mamma Mia! remains the ultimate feel-good musical. It blends a humorous and heart-warming story with some of the best-known songs ever written, from the world’s No. 1 pop group of all time.”

The musical’s principal cast includes Shona White (Donna Sheridan), Nicky Swift (Rosie), Helen Anker (Tanya), Tamlyn Henderson (Sam Carmichael), Daniel Crowder (Harry Bright) and Matthew Rutherford (Bill Austin). At certain performances, the role of Donna Sheridan will be played by Natalie Langston. *

(The Mamma Mia! international tour is presented in Manila by Lunchbox Theatrical Productions, Ticketworld and Concertus Manila. For more information and tickets, visit www.mamma-mia.com and ticketworld.com.ph or call 891-9999.)

(Follow me on Instagram @pepperteehankee.)