Kitsch of the Week: Mio’s Art

Assorted 12x18 inch gift wrappers (100 pieces for P2,000, 10 pieces for P250)

These gift wrappers were designed by a very special boy. He is a 7-year-old named Mio who has been battling cancer for two years.

I met his mother Jasmine Mendiola back when we were both full-time fashion and beauty editors in Summit Media Philippines many years ago—I for OK! Magazine and she for Total Girl. She was a single mother juggling multiple careers as a magazine editor, stylist and makeup artist in 2009 when Mio, then 5 years old, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia.

Jasmine Mendiola and her son, Mio

For the past two years, I’ve witnessed my friend go through ups and downs as she and her son battled the big C. The overwhelming support from family, friends, and complete strangers paved way for Mio Fights Cancer, a group that organizes creative fundraisers to support Mio’s daily medication, monthly intravenous shots, and quarterly spinal injections.

Mio is now on the maintenance phase of his chemotherapy sessions, and is emulating the grace and strength of his mother. He is excelling in academics as a scholar in Ateneo Grade School, while showing talent in drawing and coloring.

Mio, the young artist

But the battle is far from over. Mio has two to three more years of treatment to go. The latest fundraiser to support Mio’s chemotherapy expenses is StART With Mio, gicle on canvass artworks and stationery that features Christmas designs and The Mio Alphabet, a collaboration between Mio Mendiola and Filipino graphic designer Alessandra Lanot. The Mio Alphabet collection consists of monogram greeting cards, stickers, framed letters, and paper products that feature Mio’s colorful drawings.

The Mio Alphabet

Greeting cards (designs available for each letter of the alphabet), P350 per pack

Whether you’re purchasing these items for Christmas or for other special occasions, 100% of the proceeds are guaranteed to fund the cancer treatments of a 7-year-old boy who, just like your little brother, son, cousin, nephew or friend, goes to school to study and play, but has the resilience of a grown-up as he battles a life-threatening disease.

The Mio Alphabet (greeting cards for P350, notepads for P100 and monogram stickers for P50)

Christmas greeting cards (box of 10 cards with 10 envelopes for P350) and gift tags (box of 100 pieces, business card size, for P300 or P50 for 10 pieces). The 10-piece option is available at bazaars only.

Gift tags (box of 100 pieces for P300 or P50 for 10 pieces). The 10-piece option is available at bazaars only.

StART With Mio stationery is available at the following:

1. Santa’s Christmas Bazaar @ La Vista
December 10 and 11, 2011 at 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.
La Vista Clubhouse, La Vista Subdivision, Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines
(Look for the Mio Fights Cancer booth)

2. Online at Chicify.com

3. Upcoming bazaars all over Manila. Visit miofightscancer.com for updates.

To view StART With Mio gicle canvass pieces that are for sale, click here.

Photos from miofightscancer.com