House of U

House of U is a small business based in Cebu, Philippines that my sister and I started just a few months ago. We sell brand new and pre-loved clothing at an affordable price, giving styling service for free. It’s like having your own personal shopper and stylist all together in one package neatly wrapped in a satin bow, thank you very much.

I’m the personal shopper, that’s my main role in the biz, while my sister is the stylist. But for some reason, be it for the lack of budget to hire a model or for personal touch, my sister thinks I should lengthen my job description to modelling as well. Pretty awkward but well, back home we are raised to listen and not argue with the elders, hehe.

So if I were to model, husband dearest would have to be the photographer because who else would hold my Nikon dslr when we don’t have a tripod? And the husband’s idea of a perfect photo was zooming in to the pretty view, giving any human subject as an afterthought.

Picture this: I would be in my most awkward pose and constipated smile when I would see the lens I set at low aperture move away from me as the focus. By the time I hear the “click” my smile had already turned into a silent scream of annoyance. Those photos of me in this state would encourage some producers to film another Scream sequel so it’s best that I keep them hidden in my files for ever.

To be fair to my husband, he’s a quick learner. Now I barely tell him what to do. He changes the lens himself, plays with the aperture as he likes and snaps away. The photos he takes are better and nicer I mostly don’t edit them anymore. He’s becoming a much better photographer while me is another story. I’ll never be less awkward in the photos but for the love of U, I’ll suck it up as long as I have to.