Key Points
- Lovely Bandal is the CEO and founder of Regal Star Productions, one of the key players behind the Asia Model Festival. She also established Runway Academy, Runway Supermodel Australia, The Face of Australia, and Behind the Lens.
- In 2008, Lovely and her family migrated to Australia. While taking care of her children, she upskilled by studying in the country.
- Bandal’s first business venture was organising birthdays, weddings, and corporate events in 2014, with her partner being her then-12-year-old daughter, Crystel.
As a child, Lovely Bandal was exposed to her parents’ shoe manufacturing business in Marikina. However, the business eventually failed due to the influx of imported shoes. This marked the start of her journey juggling school, working in restaurants, modeling, and acting on television. She later secured a job at a multinational company, where she met her husband, a field engineer.
In 2008, Lovely and her entire family migrated to Australia.
According to Lovely, finding a job was challenging because she had two young children to care for, so she found a way to earn money.
“I started organising birthday parties, and the very first ones I did were for my children. My friends suggested, ‘Why not turn this into a business?"
With her experience in modelling and acting in the Philippines, Lovely decided to upskill and pursue studies while taking care of her children.
“Being a housewife doesn’t mean we’re limited to just taking care of the kids and cleaning the house. We need to remember that children will grow up, and if we don’t take action now, what will happen to us?
I know there will come a time when it’ll just be me and my husband, so I used my skills and did what I love to do.”
