The latest It girl to land the cover of Scout magazine is Martine Cajucom, creative director of sunglasses brand Sunnies Studios. Most people know her as the cousin of celebrities Georgina Wilson and Isabelle Daza.
Cajucom talks to Scout about her experiences on traveling on a budget, moving to Manila and what her job means.
Realistic
Excerpts from her exclusive interview:
On making a drastic career move:
Would I suggest that, realistically? It’s hard to say, because I did it and I was a success story, and I couldn’t be more thankful for all the cards that were dealt my way and what’s happened to get me where I am today.
But it isn’t a route for everyone. I would make people assess what their true assets and skills are, and see if it’s a good decision to make. But if you get to a certain age, you have to be realistic about your goals and what you can actually achieve. (It’s true, though. Sorry, millennials.) I would say that I’m for doing things outside of your comfort zone and making the most of it.
On what being creative director entails:
Being a creative director here means guiding the direction and vision of the brand in every aspect, in terms of development, style, marketing, the overall giving life to the brand—making it human, I guess.
Eating sardines every day
On traveling on a budget:
In Solenn Heusaff and my cousin Georgina’s book, “Besties,” they made me write an article on how to travel on a budget. People who have traveled and lived abroad have an open mind and are much more receptive to new ideas.
I have done a six-month stint in Europe, studied abroad and traveled around with a backpack. My luggage was full of sardines. All I ate every day just to save money was sardines and hard-boiled eggs. I was 20, and it was so fulfilling and wonderful. It’s something I’d recommend to everyone, but maybe not hard-boiled eggs and sardines.
On her plans of uprooting again:
Yeah, I definitely have plans of uprooting again. I’d love to live everywhere. If I could live in every country for a year, I would. Manila isn’t forever for me, but it’s always home.
On what’s next for Sunnies Studios:
This year we’ll open two more concepts. And we’ve been working really hard. We’re doing the Sunnies Café, which will hopefully be amazing. We’re opening an optical-eyewear line called Sunnies Specs, all prescription eyewear: frames, eye exams and lenses for one bulk price. Very competitively priced, as with Sunnies. So that will be massive, too.