Top-notch Filipino furniture designers are now being acknowledged not only in the country but also worldwide as seen from the recognition they received when they participated in international shows of furniture and furnishings. A Filipino furniture designer had been selected recently as Asia’s Designer of the Year in the first edition of Maison Et Objet Asia in Singapore.
Every region in the Philippines has its own unique tradition of furniture making and these are reflected in the furniture design of top-notch Filipino designers, which would surely be perfect for your house for sale in Alabang. Some of the more famous Filipino furniture designers are:
Kenneth Cobonpue
Born in the southern province of Cebu, Kenneth Cobonpue is a multi-awarded industrial designer that is known worldwide for signature designs in natural materials and fibers. He discovered that the use of natural materials and fibers would make a new medium and provide a new face in the furniture industry. He developed a mastery of techniques using these local materials amidst an abundance of raw materials and local craftsmen, in the process creating new pieces that offered a fresh alternative to the Western concept of furniture design.
The new concept as envisioned by Cobonpue was showcased in his first designs, Lotus in 1989 and Yin Yang in 1998, where two opposing elements were featured. They combined geometric and pliable rattan with the solid form of steel in a transparent volume. The collection became famous for the integration of function, material, and form – the kind of furniture you need for your home in Portofino Alabang.
Cobonpue had come a long way before his current recognition as a top-notch Filipino furniture designer. He initially entered business school at the University of the Philippines Diliman but realized after two years that it was not his calling. He tried to enter the Fine Arts Program but better opportunities took him to the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York where he took up Industrial Design in 1987. In 1994, he studied at the “Export Akademie Baden-Wűrtenburg” in Reutlingen, Germany. His work experiences included stints at a leather and woodwork shop in Florence, Italy and some designing jobs in Beilefeld and Munich, Germany.
Cobonpue came home to Cebu, Philippines to manage the Interior Crafts of the Islands Inc, a furniture company founded by Betty Cobonpue in 1972 that started making name with the use of rattan as the raw material. ICI became the launching pad of Cobonpue’s ascent into the high-end world of furniture design that gave him numerous international awards and recognition.
Ito Kish
Margarito “Ito” Kish is an interior designer turned furniture designer. As a first-time participant in the Manila FAME of 2012, Kish’s booth won the Best Design and his Gregoria furniture line’s two-seater won the Best Product Design for Furniture, indeed a rare double win. His two decades of experience in visual merchandising and design consultancy opened to him a new world – furniture design.
Kish wanted to incorporate the Filipino concept in everything that he designs. He brought back the traditional wooden balusters or ventanillas in the consciousness of many Filipino designers. In his years of interior designing, he has accessorized and styled a good number of beautiful homes in the country, like those in Portofino Alabang. He designed condominiums and converted old houses into contemporary and minimalist homes.
In the field of furniture design, his Gregoria line is a fulfillment of his desire to create furniture pieces that would be identified as Filipino. The Gregoria line has been inspired by the balustrades that adorned the vintage houses on Vigan’s cobblestone streets. He used local materials and Filipino craftsmanship in his furniture, his tribute to the rich Filipino heritage.
Allan and Chris Murillo
Murillo is a furniture company based in Cebu, Philippines that has been making furniture since the early 60’s. Established by Asher Murillo, the company is made up of people with skills in the art of making furniture that became known worldwide. The company is a stable of the country’s best craftsmen, weavers or carpenters that have immense talent in artistic design.
Allan and Chris Murillo inherited their father’s dedication to furniture making and design. They armed themselves with the needed technical skills to run the business themselves by taking studies in carpentry, welding, electricity, and other related fields. While attending school, the brothers worked with the craftsmen employed by their father, making them discover their innate talent in furniture design.
The Murillo brothers focused on understanding the potentials, limitations, and appropriateness of specific materials used in furniture making. They developed their own style of presenting the materials as close as possible to their natural state. They worked in Australia to gain experience in the commercial and residential standards of the industry.
Exposed to modern technology, the brothers are more technology-driven than their traditional and conservative father. They devote so much time to research and development and in finding creative and innovative ways of creating furniture. Both brothers subscribe to the idea that function and design must be the important elements in all the furniture pieces that they create.
The brothers complement each other. Allan focuses on design concepts while Chris is concerned with art works like paintings, sculpture, wall decors, and paintings. The brothers utilized rattan, wicker, iron, aluminum, leather, abaca, wood, sea grass and a host of other natural materials mixed with man-made items. They enjoy playing around contrasts on textures, colors, patterns, shapes, and forms.
Murillo’s factory and showroom in Cebu, Philippines is staffed by around 150 craftsmen that help them carry out their concepts and designs.
A lot more Filipino furniture designers
There is no dearth of furniture designers in the Philippines, a fact bolstered by the presence of so many design houses and furniture manufacturers all over the archipelago. Many of these designers have already made their name in the industry and are already successful in their trade. A lot more designers possess immense talent but are still trying to be recognized and be given a break in the field of furniture design. Your designer for your house for sale in Alabang may just be one of them.
