A three-hour flight and two hours ahead of Philippine time, i had arrived once more in my birthplace. Guam is a US territory, alot of Filipinos and Chomorros (native to Guam) as well as other Asians like Japanese, Koreans and Chinese abound in this little paradise. I liken Guam to Subic, but on a bigger scale. There are parts which are full of people and others are not, parts that have developed into high end boutiques and hotels, yet there are also areas that have abandoned buildings and houses. The beaches are great and the weather is no different than Manila without the pollution. Nonetheless, Guam has been home to my maternal side of the family for over 20 years.
After that brief history lesson, I have to get down to business and get scrappy! Guam has the basic necessities any shopaholic would love, Kmart (ladies & gents, it's open 24 hours!), Macy's, the local malls like Agana Shopping Mall, Micronesia Mall and GPO. But what tops my list is my search for scrapbook supplies, lucky me I found two good ones when I was in town for a visit a year ago. BEN FRANKLIN and BOONIE STAMPING (located inside China Arts Store).
Unfortunately this trip of mine, made me leave Ben Franklin a bit dissapointed (hence, i guess I forgot to take pics too). I was expecting alot of goodies this time around, but it seemed they have lessened their scrapbook supplies. BF is a crafts store, anything from textile to balsa wood, stamps to scrapbook paper, adhesives, even party supplies are displayed in its huge store area. But like I mentioned, there were less scrapbook items so I ended up buying more general crafts stuff like egg shaped wood, wooden hearts and some adhesives.
For General Crafts, you can drop by BEN FRANKLIN
141 Serenu Ave, Tamuning Guam
Tel: (671) 646-6995
**I hope my address is correct, I know how to get there but not necessarily the right address. You're welcome to post the right store location if I dont have the right one :-)
But as usual, BOONIE didn't let me down. I only saw Boonies gracious owner, Elaine for a brief moment when I dropped by, but her staff were as helpful as ever and the added fact that one of them was Pinay :-) Classes are also held at the store, too bad I wasn’t around to take some with her, they usually hold classes during the weekends.
Being a stamper before I got into scrapping, I naturally gravitated to the stamps once more. I was so happy to find Technique Tuesdays among the lot! My SO took the pictures, as usual I was busy taking all the stuff in.
Stamps abound, as well as papers in different racks around the store. China Arts is an oriental store selling rugs, oriental decorations and the like and Boonie is right smack in the middle of it. So among the Persian rugs are Bazzils, new Basic Grey papers, chipboards and other knick knacks I can find excuses to buy.
There were luscious ribbons and some Cropper Hopper ribbon spools and embellishment drawers, inkpads, rub ons, stickers and so much more :-)
And so it all boils down to price, as an example 12x12 paper can cause .75 cents a piece (roughly around Php36), ribbons like Basic Grey's Hang 10 is US$12 and Fancypants Pollen Dust Acrylic stamps is US$45. I agree with Mabelle of Myscrapworks, there are scrapbook stores that can compete with the prices abroad, but then again the stocks still vary. So I do the best thing, to just purchase items which I know are not available in Manila or may cost the same if I bought it online (without the long wait).
If you're ever in the area or you're planning to take a trip to Guam, you can contact Elaine and find out what classes they're offering or new stock she may have:
ELAINE LOW: China Arts / Boonie Stamping
617 West Marine Drive, Anigua, Guam
Tel: (671) 477-8145/46 Fax: (671) 472-8150
Email: booniestamping@gmail.com
I’m sure there are far larger stores in other states, especially with Michael's and Archivers! But in my humble Guam, this is my paradise.
