The studio blog
Marikina workshops, journaling, art and small hobbies
Short, practical notes from a home art studio in Marikina: where to find workshops, how to start journaling, book clubs and reading groups, French and music lessons, and the handmade Marikina Field Notes. For where to drink coffee while you do all of it, see our neighbours at the Marikina coffee shop directory. Follow along on Instagram at @chqhomeartsstudio and @marikinafieldnotes.
Journaling & Field Notes · Workshops & Art · Hobbies, Book Clubs & Groups · French Lessons · Music Lessons · The Studio & Coworking
Journaling & Field Notes
Marikina journaling, coffee journals, prompts and the handmade Marikina Field Notes.
Marikina Field Notes: A Handmade Notebook for Wandering the City
Meet the Marikina Field Notes: a ₱100 handmade notebook for documenting cafés, walks, friends and small moments around Marikina. No two are alike.
Journaling & Field NotesHow to Keep a Coffee Journal for Your Marikina Café Adventures
A simple coffee journal method for café hopping in Marikina: what to write on each page, prompts to copy, and how the Marikina Field Notes fits in.
Journaling & Field NotesMarikina Journaling: Where to Start, Where to Write, Who to Write With
A local guide to journaling in Marikina: quiet places to write, cafés that welcome notebooks, meetups to look for, and how to begin with one page.
Journaling & Field NotesAre There Journaling Clubs in Marikina? What We Found
People keep asking on Threads where to find journaling clubs near Marikina. Here is what the replies point to, and how to join or start a small meet.
Journaling & Field NotesCafé Journaling in Marikina: What It Is and Where to Do It
Café journaling means taking your notebook to a coffee shop and writing there. Here is how to do it politely, and how to choose a Marikina café for it.
Journaling & Field NotesHow to Start Journaling: A Beginner's Guide That Fits on One Page
Never kept a journal? Start with five minutes, three lines and one rule. A beginner's guide to journaling daily without pressure or fancy supplies.
Journaling & Field NotesWhat to Write in a Journal: 25 Prompts for Blank Pages
Stuck on what to write in a journal? Here are 25 easy prompts for beginners, grouped by mood, plus a few made for cafés and walks around Marikina.
Journaling & Field NotesIs Journaling a Hobby? And Is It the Same as Keeping a Diary?
Yes, journaling is a hobby, and a cheap one. Here is how it differs from a diary, why people stick with it, and how to make it social in Marikina.
Journaling & Field Notes15 Journaling Prompts for a Walk Around Marikina
Take a notebook on a walk through Marikina. These 15 prompts cover the river, the shoe shops, the bakeries, the cafés and the streets in between.
Journaling & Field NotesWhat Is a Junk Journal? A Starter Guide for the Philippines
A junk journal is a notebook filled with everyday paper scraps: receipts, tickets, wrappers. Here is how to start one with things already in your bag.
Journaling & Field NotesJournaling Supplies for Beginners: What You Need and What You Don't
A short, honest list of journaling supplies for beginners in the Philippines: one notebook, one pen, and a few cheap extras worth adding later.
Journaling & Field NotesA Journaling Hangout With No Vendors: Just Tables, Pens and Coffee
Some people just want to sit and journal together without a market around them. Here is what a simple, small journaling hangout in Marikina looks like.
Journaling & Field NotesWhy Journaling Helps: What Writing Things Down Does for You
Journaling will not fix everything, but it helps many people think clearly and feel lighter. Here is why, and how to try it in ten quiet minutes.
Journaling & Field NotesDocument a Day in Marikina: A Field Notes Itinerary
One notebook, one day, five stops. A slow Marikina itinerary built for writing things down: river, breakfast, shoes, coffee and a studio afternoon.
Journaling & Field Notes9 Ways to Fill Your Marikina Field Notes
Not sure what to do with a blank notebook? Here are nine ways people use the Marikina Field Notes, from café logs to a year of small noticings.
Workshops & Art
Marikina workshops and arts and crafts: watercolor, clay, resin, wire, zines.
Marikina Workshops: A Guide to Creative Classes in the City
Looking for workshops in Marikina? A local guide to the kinds of creative classes you can find here: art, craft, shoes, music, language and writing.
Workshops & ArtArt Workshops in Marikina: What to Expect at a Home Studio
What an art workshop in Marikina looks like at a small home studio: the materials on the table, how a session runs, and how to arrange one for your group.
Workshops & ArtArt Workshops for Adults Who "Can't Draw"
You do not need talent to enjoy an art workshop. Here is why adult beginners do well, which medium to try first, and how to stop judging your own work.
Workshops & ArtPottery Workshop in Marikina? Try Hand-Building With Air-Dry Clay
Searching for a pottery workshop in Marikina? Here is the honest difference between wheel pottery and air-dry clay, and what you can make without a kiln.
Workshops & ArtAir-Dry Clay Without Cracks: 7 Tips From Our Studio Table
Air-dry clay cracks when it dries too fast or unevenly. These seven tips cover thickness, joining, drying time and how to repair cracks that appear.
Workshops & ArtWatercolor for Beginners: 5 Mistakes and How to Fix Them
New to watercolor? These five beginner mistakes cause most muddy, patchy paintings. Each one has a simple fix you can try on your next page.
Workshops & ArtResin Art Basics: What It Is and How to Stay Safe
Thinking of trying resin art? Learn what resin is, what you can make, and the safety rules about gloves, ventilation and curing before you pour.
Workshops & ArtHow to Get Fewer Bubbles in Resin
Bubbles are the most common resin problem. Six simple habits, from warming the bottles to pouring slowly, will give you clearer pieces.
Workshops & ArtWire Art for Beginners: Tools, Wire and Your First Three Shapes
Wire art needs only pliers and a spool of wire. Learn which wire to buy, the three basic moves, and three easy first projects to bend at home.
Workshops & ArtOil Pastel Blending for Beginners: Three Easy Methods
Oil pastels are the fastest way into colour. Learn three blending methods, a simple sunset exercise, and how to keep finished pieces from smudging.
Workshops & ArtZine Making for Beginners: Fold an Eight-Page Zine From One Sheet
A zine is a small self-made booklet. Learn what zines are, how to fold an eight-page zine from a single sheet of paper, and what to put in your first.
Workshops & ArtMarikina Arts and Crafts: Where to Make Things in the City
A local look at arts and crafts in Marikina: yarn and crochet, rug tufting, painting classes, shoe and leather craft, and small home studios.
Workshops & ArtArt Date Ideas in Marikina: 6 Plans That Beat Another Dinner
Six art date ideas in Marikina, from painting each other's portraits to making a zine together, plus where to get coffee before or after.
Workshops & ArtPrivate Art Workshops for Barkadas, Birthdays and Small Teams
Planning something for a small group? How a private art workshop in Marikina works for barkadas, birthdays and teams, and what to tell us when you ask.
Hobbies, Book Clubs & Groups
Hobbies for adults, book clubs, reading groups and third places in Marikina.
12 Hobbies for Adults You Can Start in Marikina This Month
Looking for a hobby as an adult? Twelve you can start in Marikina with little money: journaling, clay, guitar, French, book clubs, café hopping and more.
Hobbies, Book Clubs & GroupsThird Places in Marikina: Where to Be When You're Not Home or at Work
A third place is somewhere that is neither home nor work. Here are the kinds of third places Marikina has, and why a city needs more of them.
Hobbies, Book Clubs & GroupsHow to Make Friends as an Adult in Marikina
Making friends after school is hard. A practical guide for Marikina: join small recurring things, show up three times, and where to find them.
Hobbies, Book Clubs & GroupsBook Clubs in Marikina: How to Find One or Start Your Own
Looking for a book club in Marikina? Where to look, what to ask before joining, and a simple plan for starting a small one at a café or studio.
Hobbies, Book Clubs & GroupsSilent Book Club: How It Works and How to Host One in Marikina
A silent book club has no assigned book and no discussion homework. Here is how the format works and how to host a small one in Marikina.
Hobbies, Book Clubs & GroupsHow to Start a Reading Group With Four Friends
A reading group does not need rules or a big membership. Four people, one short book and five questions are enough. Here is a simple first-meeting plan.
Hobbies, Book Clubs & GroupsBook Club Questions, Answered: Fees, Rules and What to Expect
Are book clubs free? Do you have to finish the book? What do people actually talk about? Honest answers for anyone joining a book club for the first time.
Hobbies, Book Clubs & GroupsCreative Things to Do in Marikina, Rain or Shine
Beyond the mall: creative things to do in Marikina on a free day, including indoor ideas for rainy afternoons and evening plans.
Hobbies, Book Clubs & GroupsSolo Date Ideas in Marikina: 7 Ways to Take Yourself Out
Going out alone gets easier with a plan. Seven solo date ideas in Marikina, from a notebook café morning to an afternoon of paint and a river sunset.
French Lessons
Learning French in Marikina: lessons, conversation practice and first phrases.
French Language Lessons in Marikina: Your Options
Want French language lessons in Marikina? An honest look at the options: big schools in Makati and QC, online tutors, and small practice sessions.
French LessonsIs French Hard to Learn for Filipinos?
French is easier for Filipinos than you might expect, thanks to English and Spanish loanwords. Here is what will feel easy and what will take practice.
French LessonsLearn French Step by Step: A 30-Day Starter Plan
A simple 30-day plan to learn French from zero in 15 minutes a day: sounds, greetings, numbers, ordering food, and your first short conversation.
French LessonsFrench Conversation Practice and Language Groups in Marikina
Apps teach vocabulary, but you learn to speak by speaking. How language exchange and small conversation tables work, and how to join one in Marikina.
French Lessons20 French Phrases for Ordering Coffee
Twenty beginner French phrases for a café: how to greet, order a coffee, ask for the bill and say thank you. Practise them at your next coffee stop.
Music Lessons
Music lessons in Marikina: guitar, voice, piano and relaxed jam sessions.
Music Lessons in Marikina: A Beginner's Guide to Getting Started
Thinking about music lessons in Marikina? How to choose between a music school, a home tutor and casual sessions, and what to ask before you sign up.
Music LessonsGuitar Lessons in Marikina: What to Expect as a Beginner
New to guitar? What happens in your first lessons, how many it takes to play a song, what guitar to buy, and where a casual start in Marikina fits.
Music LessonsHow to Learn Guitar: Your First Four Chords
Learn G, C, D and E minor. These four beginner guitar chords unlock hundreds of songs. Includes a daily ten-minute practice routine for steady progress.
Music LessonsJam Sessions for Shy Singers: Making Music in a Living Room
Like singing but hate being watched? A small living-room jam session is the easy way in. Here is how one works, and how to join one in Marikina.
Music LessonsPiano or Guitar: Which Should You Learn First?
Choosing a first instrument? A comparison of piano and guitar for beginners on cost, difficulty, portability and how fast you will play a song.
The Studio & Coworking
Visiting, coworking and hanging out at a home art studio in Marikina.
A Coworking Space in Marikina That Is Also an Art Studio
Looking for a coworking space in Marikina? What a day at a home art studio desk is like: fast 5G Wi-Fi, coffee, quiet company and paint within reach.
The Studio & CoworkingYour First Visit to CHQ Home Arts Studio: What to Expect and Bring
First time visiting a home art studio in Marikina? How to arrange a visit, what the space is like, what to bring and what to wear for a messy afternoon.
The Studio & Coworking9 Questions to Ask Before You Book Any Workshop
Before paying for an art, craft, music or language workshop, ask these nine questions about price, materials, group size, and what you take home.