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profile: kenneth cobonpue

Who doesn’t know Kenneth Cobonpue? He’s like the Manny Pacquiao of the Philippine furniture industry!

In college, I first came to know about Kenneth as part of Movement 8–a world-renowned group of eight Filipino furniture designers who elevated the image of indigenous materials and gave modern furniture a new face. But, I guess, for a lot of people, he would be the Filipino designer whose works are in the house of Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie (the most famous being his Voyage bed) , and in the casino set of the movie Ocean’s 13.

Kenneth is a Cebu-based designer who studied industrial design at the Pratt Institute in New York. After a series of further studies and apprenticeships abroad, he returned to Cebu in 1996 and started to manage the family’s furniture company, Interior Crafts of the Islands Inc.

Now, Kenneth is known for his organic and often biomorphic designs. By exploring the properties of indigenous materials such as buri, abaca, rattan, and bamboo, he’s able to come up with forms that are unexpected. Apart from exploring the natural materials themselves, Kenneth goes back to nature where he often finds his design inspirations.

[Photo above: Noodle Collection (top) and Retaso dining table (bottom)]

During our trip to Cebu, we were able to squeeze in a quick visit to Kenneth’s Hive. Paolo and Karmel of Kenneth Cobonpue (the brand) toured us around the showroom, explaining the concept behind the displayed pieces. With the sculptural appearance of Kenneth’s works, the showroom looks more like an art gallery.

Aside from looking pretty and interesting, his furniture pieces are amazingly comfortable. Karmel explained to us that a furniture could take upto a year in the making to perfect the form, details, workmanship and, most especially, their ergonomics. Come to think of it, what’s the use of an incredibly beautiful furniture if it’s not comfortable, right?

[Photo above: Pebble tables and the Tilt Chair, which was featured in the set of CSI Miami.]

[Photo above: Matilda outdoor chair]

Now, for some of his recent works, he also turns to people, places, and things as springboard for new ideas. For example, his Pigalle collection is inspired by Pigalle, the red district in Paris, while the Manolo collection is inspired by Manolo Blahnik shoes. For his latest collection displayed in the recent CebuNext Exhibit, the pieces are inspired by the graceful and interlinked details of knits, crochet, and macrame.

[Photo above: Kenneth Cobonpue's booth, CebuNext 2010.]

Check out the rest of the photos of the showroom below. The showroom is located at 3A Gen. Maxilom Ave., Cebu City. To know more about Kenneth Cobonpue and his furniture collection visit his website here and his Facebook fan page here.

[View with PicLens]

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space matters: beach time!

Good morning everyone! Before we take a break for the weekend, let me leave you with some tropical eye candies to help keep your cool amidst the burning heat of… El Nino. Haha!

We spent the morning of our second day in Cebu to visit BE Resorts (formerly known as Mircrotel Resort) in Mactan Island. The resort’s relatively different approach in resort design caught our attention.

Garry Garcia, BE Resorts’ general manager, toured us around during our visit. He explained to us that the resort’s design was primarily inspired by the new generation of local and international tourists that they usually cater to. “These are the young, dynamic individuals who love traveling,” Gary shares.

Noticeably, Be Resort’s interiors sport a hip and vibrant look through the design’s playful use of color and pattern. The white-washed interior spaces are dotted with bright colors of lime green, orange, fuchsia, and tangerine. Their furniture pieces are a mix of modern, organic designs and updated classical pieces, showing off Cebu’s distinctiveness as a furniture design capital.

A similar “refreshed hotel” theme continues to their 160 guest rooms. For this room (above), a fresh color palette of white, soft yellow, tangerine, blue, and green create a welcoming and relaxing setting. It also has a balcony that allows you to enjoy the view of the beach.

What we love the most about BE Resort is its ambiance. It is youthful, happy and vibrant and, at the same time, it maintains the casual and relaxing atmosphere that everyone wants from a resort hotel. We’ll definitely BE back in BE!

BE Resort has an ongoing promo until May! Visit their Facebook fan page for details. [Thank you again Garry!]

profile: vito selma

Age doesn’t matter, especially when you’re actively pursuing a dream. At 26 years old,  Vito Selma has already made a mark for himself. Vito is a young furniture designer from Cebu. The df team first met him October of last year during Manila FAME’s exhibit. His designs got us really curious about him, to say the least.

We were actually looking forward to see his booth during our visit to the CebuNext exhibit. And, as expected, his collection of furniture and accessories are equally impressive. In fact, he bagged two Mugna Awards: Citation for Material Innovation for the Wrinkle Floor Lamp (below top), and Citation for Contemporary Furniture for the Geo Coffee Table (below bottom).

As I have mentioned before, Vito capitalizes on his creative impulse and whimsical ideas to come up with interesting, fun and partially quirky designs. His award-winning Geo Coffee Table and his Un-Deux-Trois Collection (below) were the results of a three-dimensional play of string art (my favorite project in elementary math!). For his Wrinkle Floor Lamp (above top), Vito wanted to introduce the idea of a “collaborative design” with his clients. The lamp is purchased/delivered with the flat layers of fine wire mesh sheets. It’s then up to the client to crumple it up whichever way he/she wants.

[Image via mocoloco]

Vito has a rich design background from which he has developed his design identity. His family’s firm (Stonesets) is one of the noted furniture companies in Cebu speciallizing in classical/period style furniture, so the industry is nothing new to him. In spite of this, he’s still very eager to learn and to develop his talent through formal and informal education.

“I took Interior Architecture major in furniture design in the Academy of Arts University in San Francisco. Although I had a year and a half left to my degree, I decided to stop. I felt like the course was geared towards architecture and not furniture as they initially promoted. I came back home and decided to work for the company to gain hands on experience instead. From then until now (2007-2010) I worked as the design director in the company and focused on contemporary furniture as the company was a classical manufacturing firm. In the past four years as well, I have had three internships at different times in Johannesburg, South Africa with George de Haast (interior designer to Nelson Mandela, other prominent South African figures and Middle East royalties). It is in this internship where I learned most about aesthetics and the beauty of all things natural,” Vito shares.

”A few weeks ago, I got confirmation from my dream school, Scuola Politecnica Di Design in Milano. I am admitted to the Master Course in Industrial Design. Technically, I get to skip college and head to the masters! It is the same school that I was admitted to learn and intern under the Campana Brothers, but the Italian embassy declined my application,” he continues.

At a young age, Vito has made several achievements in his career. His furniture have made it to the homes of prominent personalities such as Nelson Mandela (most of Mandela’s furniture pieces are from his company), Penny Stein (publicist of Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, etc.), and royalties (read: prince and princesses) from the Middle East and Southeast Asia. He and his works have also graced several glossies locally and internationally like in India (Better Interiors, Living Etc Magazine, Enhance Magazine), South Africa (Habitat Magazine), Brazil (Docol Magazine), and China (Furniture & Interior Design). On top of that, Vito was nominated for Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines in 2009. Whew!

But all work and no play makes [Vito] a dull boy. And a dull boy he’s not! What keeps him busy apart from designing beautiful furniture? Here’s a rundown:

1) Photography. “I recently had a solo exhibit/fundraiser last March 3 where all proceeds of the photo exhibit went to the orphanage of children who are orphaned from parents with aids in South Africa, Johannesburg.”

2) “Extreme” sports. While in South Africa, Vito tried the “Big 3″ all in one afternoon: Skydiving, Quad biking and Sandboarding with Desert Explorers.

3) Traveling. He wouldn’t call himself a wanderlust if not for his love for traveling!

As for future goals, Vito says, “… just KEEP ON KEEPING ON. Finish my masters and see what comes next.”

To know more about Vito Selma, his designs, and his daily musings, visit his website here and his blogs here and here. His designs are available in Manila at Kish in LRI Plaza. [Thank you so much Vito!]

*Photos courtesy of Vito Selma

space matters: art + home

I don’t think our Cebu trip is complete if we weren’t able to visit at least one home in the city. My college friend, Zina, suggested her uncle’s home, but didn’t give any details about the design of the house. She just told me, “My uncle has a really nice house,” and I simply took her word for it. I just didn’t know what she exactly meant by “nice”, hehe.

We were pleasantly surprised to find out that the house is more than just “nice”. The design goes beyond style and aesthetics. It integrated features for sustainability (green design) and accessibility (universal design). Plus, the house is also home to an interesting collection of artworks.

This is the home of Dr. Ted Gonzales, an ophthalmologist, who also happens to be an art collector and a design enthusiast. The site was previously occupied by his parents’ house which, unfortunately, got burned several years ago. His interest in design and architecture grew during the time when he and his partners were building clinics. He learned so much about design and construction from those projects, which he later on applied into building his own home. In fact, Ted was the one who technically conceptualized and designed the house with the help of Google Sketchup. He still closely coordinated with his architect to check whether the design complies with building standards, and to draw up working drawings for construction.

A big part of his design was inspired by the book Off The Grid: Modern Homes + Alternative Energy by Lori Ryker. Therefore, a lot of green features were integrated into the design. One, which is also the first thing that I noticed upon entering the house, is the use of louver glass windows (jalousie) all throughout the house to maximize the openings for ventilation. I personally like louver windows because I think they’re the best and most appropriate for tropical climates. While louver windows are often perceived as baduy in the Philippines, they are widely used in Australia especially in the design of many modern homes (see homes with louver windows here). Apart from providing 100% ventilation, their louvers could be adjusted/angled, instead of totally closing them (like in the case of casement and sliding windows), to protect the interiors from rains and strong winds while still allowing some amount of air to flow through. The clerestory windows above the living area are also in louver type. They allow hot air to rise and exit from the interiors and provide generous natural light during the day. Another green feature is the rainwater cistern built under the garage. Water collected here is used for watering the plants and for flushing the water closets.

Because Ted lives with his parents, the interiors, particularly the ground floor, have provisions for accessibility. The parents’ room is located near the entrance-living-dining areas, convenient enough for the older couple who have limited mobility. A ramp replaced typical steps leading to the adjacent bathroom under the stairs. 

The rail-free staircase, an interesting focal point of the interiors featuring mangkono (Phil. iron wood) planks, leads to Ted’s space at the second floor. Starting from the staircase up to the hallways, he displays his collection of artworks, from paintings, sketches, and sculptures, mostly from artist Raymund Fernandez.

[Image above: This is a replica of Picasso's Guernica which was used for a stage play in Cebu. Part of the play was a reenactment of what happened to the painting--the words "KILL LIES ALL" were spray painted onto the artwork during a protest againts Richard Nixon's pardon of William Calleyin 1974. Read about it here.]

His den at the second floor is like a mini-apartment which includes a living area with a sleeper (sofa bed), a dining area, a small kitchen and a bathroom. Apart from being Ted’s workspace, it also functions as a small entertainment room where he hosts small gatherings, and as a spare room for guests. Opposite the den is Ted’s bedroom which is also fitted with a working desk and a bathroom.

[Images above: (left) Raymund Fernandez's "Ninoy", which is part of his Alpiler Series. Read about it here. (right) Nude drawings displayed in the masters bedroom.]

Apart from the design of the house and his collection of artworks, Ted is also proud to share that the house was built within a limited budget. He did this by making the design simple and functional. Also, a lot of his furniture pieces were flea market finds, like the leather chaise lounge and coffee table at the den (photo above).

Ted’s love for art and design coupled with a realistic and practical mindset allowed him to create a beautiful, functional and equally comfortable home. [Thank you again Sir Ted for welcoming us to your home. And for introducing us to dried langka and pineapple!]

in good taste: z bar, cebu

Z Bar was one of my friend’s highly recommended places to visit in Cebu because of its unique and impressive design. Because bars are always dimly lit, their interiors seldom have very detailed designs. But Z Bar is different.

After our first dinner in Cebu, Ana and I went to check the bar together with Ian (our impromptu photographer for the night, with his ever dependable Lumix camera) and our new-found friend Chito (our unofficial sponsor for the night, hehe).

I have seen photos of Z Bar before, but it looks way more amazing in person. Its design is a collaboration between modernist architect Ed Calma and designer Kenneth Cobonpue. Kenneth is internationally known for his organic furniture designs. Z Bar is, if I’m not mistaken, his first design applied on a full-scale interior. From what I gather, the primary motivation for the design was the small size of the space. So, to make the space look bigger, instead of highlighting the walls and ceiling, they were made to sort of disappear!

Those little wishbone-shaped stuff that seem to be floating in mid-air are bamboo twigs tied by hand onto a randomly welded metal frame. It is a blown-up, warped version of Kenneth’s Kris Kros screen which uses the same concept. Down on the floor are lighted onyx (translucent natural stone) tiles whose natural grains complement the overall organic look. This is the same material used for the lighted staircase (first photo). Apart from the lighted floor, there were also hanging accent lamps made from salago fibers, such as the round Moon lamp.

The bar felt and looked like there’s an abyss above you. Actually, I don’t know which is a more fitting association—a galaxy/outer space, an interior of a glowing beehive, or some scene in Avatar. You just have to see it for yourself.

Z Bar is located at the second floor of The Tinder Box, Archbishop Reyes Ave., Banilad, Cebu City.

*Photos courtesy of Ian Santos

i saw design: designers of the next generation

Seriously, I envy these design students from Cebu. One, they got the opportunity to be mentored by some of the top furniture companies in the country. Thanks to the Student Internship Program (SIP) of the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation Inc. (CFIF), organizer of the annual CebuNext Furniture Exhibition, 26 students from the University of the Philippines Visayas Cebu College (UPVCC) Industrial Design program and the University of San Carlos (USC) Interior Design program were paired with Cebu’s best furniture designers/manufacturers in coming up with a design for their own individual furniture prototypes. From 26 participating students, a total of 31 furniture pieces and accessories were produced.

[View with PicLens]

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[Furniture prototypes designed by the students of UPVCC]

Second, apart from being mentored, the students’ partner company also sponsored the actual fabrication of their designs. Wow! In my alma mater (UP Diliman), we also had a furniture design course. However, we were set in groups and were supposed to fund the production of our own chair prototype. :(  I was telling the Cebuano students that they’re very lucky to have such program set up for them.

[View with PicLens]

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[Furniture prototypes designed by the students of USC]

Third, which I think is the most important part of the whole program, the students got to show off their work in a really big event! Local and foreign guests of CebuNext got to appreciate their designs. It’s not surprising that some of the guests might even be interested in purchasing their work. Ana and I especially love the Expanding Bookshelves by Jurisse Gerzon (UP) and B Chair by Merchin Paul Belarmino (USC). Which of these is your favorite?

For larger images and details about the furniture pieces and the student, visit df’s flickr photostream here. For more information on the participating schools, visit UPVCC Industrial Design’s site here and USC’s site here.

i saw design: 2010 cebunext

Based on our visit to CebuNext, I’m guessing that we’re in for a “romantic” decade.

Romantic, in the case of art and design, would refer to the predominance of human or natural qualities (emotions, impulse, organic movement, whim) as oppose to logical/mathematical/linear qualities (sorry for using big words!). If you go visit other design and decorating blogs and websites, you’ll find out that this appears to be an up-and-coming trend. A lot of people seem to have a renewed interest in everything that’s vintage/granny chic (especially the floral and lacey ones), everything handmade (the growing popularity of Etsy is good example), everything organic (biomorphic and sinuous forms), and everything antique/period style (but with an added contemporary twist, like a punch of bright color).

I have to credit Kenneth Cobonpue for somehow bringing up the term to my attention.  He’s one of the first designers that we got to talk to during our visit to the exhibit. When I asked him about the concept behind his latest designs, he said, “I wanted to introduce the element of romance into my designs. For my latest pieces, I turned to handmade textiles like knits, crochet, and macramé for inspiration.”

The reference to traditional crafts and reinterpreting their intricate handmade details for his furniture defined the romantic aspect of his latest designs. “It’s like a comeback from the past decades’ minimalism,” Kenneth added. Adopting crochet, knit, and macramé details resulted to pieces with a softer and more casual look. Moreover, their fine details make you want to feel the texture of the pieces. I especially like the Little People Collection with little human figures that make up the form, and this white side table (above) whose patterns resemble a gathered crochet stitch. (Know more about Kenneth Cobonpue in a separate feature next week)

The use of sinuous, growing, and free flowing forms is another recurring feature that we saw among the displays. Clayton Tugonon’s designs for Classical Geometry feature these characteristics. His furniture’s free flowing linear patterns echo the organic form seen in nature. The emotive element of his designs is further emphasized by the design for the booth. Newspaper pages cover the walls and floor. A thin wash topped with drips of white paint finish off the graphic surfaces.

Nature and world cultures are also the inspirations for the designs of Accessoria and Detalia Aurora. Sisters Vikki and Paula Rodriguez are the young designers behind a number of the brands’ latest pieces. Stylized interpretations of stones, nautilus shell, and tree sections are supported by their use of indigenous materials and traditional craftsmanship, showing off detailed surfaces in a clean silhouette.

The nostalgic effect of finding inspiration in history and reviving period style pieces is also parallel with the romantic idea. Companies such as Pacific Traders, Mehitabel, and Obra Cebuana take this direction, reinterpreting period style pieces by adopting a more edited form to make them more relevant to contemporary aesthetics.

Obra Cebuana, however, took it to the next level, retaining popular furniture silhouettes but redesigned the rest of the components.

Designer Vito Selma capitalized on his creative impulse and whimsical ideas to come up with partially quirky designs. The exaggerated proportions and unfinished surfaces of his take on the Louis XVI commode (below, right photo) and the atypical design of his Nine Kiddie Chairs bookcase  (below, left photo) clearly demonstrate his adventurous design approach. (Know more about Vito Selma in a separate feature next week)

Check out the picture gallery below for more photos of the 2010 CebuNext exhibit.

[View with PicLens]

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cebu weekend

Hello everyone!

Ana and I just got back yesterday morning from our weekend in Cebu. It was tiring but every minute was well worth it. While we’re still working on the photos and the articles, we’ll give you first a preview of our trip. Too bad Lilli Beth and Green Guide were not able to join us because of work and their theses.

Our two-day trip started with a very early 4:15am flight to the Cebu. Good thing our hotel had vacant rooms and checked us in immediately when we arrived. We were still able to grab a good three hours of sleep before we hit the furniture show.

Day 1, Friday, was spent going around the CebuNext Furniture Show at the Waterfront Hotel. We ooohed and aaahed over the impressive furnishings from Cebu’s top furniture and lighting companies. We even got to meet some famous designers like Kenneth Cobonpue, Vito Selma and Clayton Tugonon. Talk about being star struck! Read all about our feature on the CebuNext show tomorrow.

We spent Friday night with two friends, photographer Ian Santos and architect Chito Basit, who both happened to be in Cebu as well. After dinner in Ayala Terraces (which very much resembles Greenbelt 3) we went to the highly recommended Z Bar at The Tinder Box along Archbishop Reyes Ave. in Banilad. The bar’s interiors were designed by Kenneth Cobonpue. To call it beautiful or interesting would be an understatement. Again, special thanks to Ian and Chito for being our photographer and “sponsors” that night, hehe!

Day 2 started early with a cab drive to Mactan Island to visit BE Resort (formerly known as Microtel, Mactan). Maybe because of her lack of sleep, Ana almost forgot her camera! Along the way, we got a glimpse of Sharngri-la Mactan’s lush driveway and uber private Abaca Boutique Resort’s gated front.

It was like a breath of fresh air when we finally arrived at the white, bright, and colorful place of BE Resort. Unfortunately our tight schedule only allowed us to stay around two hours to shoot a couple of the resort’s areas.

In the afternoon, we made a quick visit to Kenneth Cobonpue’s inspiring showroom. We almost missed the place because we were looking for a showroom with a ”Cobonpue” or a “Hive” signage. We didn’t expect that the site was actually an unassuming place which also includes the designer’s workshop/factory. 

Our last stop, but definitely not the least, was the house of Ted Gonzales, uncle of Zina, a good friend of mine from UP Interior Design. His passion for architecture, interior design and art produced a lovely place which he and his parents call home.

This week is not enough to feature everything about our trip. So, we will be dedicating the next two weeks for all the design goodness that we have encountered in Cebu starting tomorrow with our feature on the 2010 CebuNext Furniture Show.

i saw design: excited over cebu next!

It’s March already! This means Ana and I are off to Cebu soon!

Last October, we got a preview of CebuNext over at Manila FAME. We were so impressed by their furniture displays that we wanted to see more. So this weekend, we’ll be flying to Cebu to attend the exhibit. We know that we’re in for loads of design treats!

In the past, Cebu has been the leader in furniture trends:

In the 60′s, the Cebu furniture industry popularized rattan furniture. Its casual and comfortable appeal was so widespread that no American home was without it. When rattan resources struggled in the 70′s (due to the extremely high demand), we stepped in and introduced buri, sourced from the most stately and largest of the Philippine palm trees. Buri’s unique tensile strength made it quite a sought-after material for furniture, and was most often seen in the ubiquitous piece of the period, the woven peacock chair.

In the 80′s, stonecraft, also known as laminated stone, took center stage, while woven cane & iron furnishings took over in the 90′s. In 1997, Cebu revamped the image of one of the oldest exports from the Philippines, abaca, by using it to interpret modern lines and processes. Combining the indigenous abaca with contemporary designs and technology made abaca hip again, giving a fresh, eco-conscious look to every room that had abaca furniture in it.

Such success prepared the world for the outdoor woven furniture trend that also started in Cebu in the year 2000. Since then, Cebu designers and manufacturers have been producing and shipping the most relaxing and most stylish outdoor furniture to top-end destinations all over the world, including trendy boutique hotels, exclusive vacation resorts, and the private homes of the rich and famous.

Key to the success of Cebu’s furniture design and manufacturing industry is their sustainable approach:

Cebu’s furniture designers and manufacturers have been using sustainable materials and methods long before “eco-friendly” and “going green” became buzzwords. Natural fibers from renewable sources have been the R & D cornerstone of many Cebu-based furniture companies, while nature’s castaways are now being incorporated into contemporary designs.

Naturescast by Nature’s Legacy Home and Garden is at the forefront of such efforts. They use forest wastes such as twigs and leaves in the creation of chairs, vases and other furniture items and décor. They prove that sustainability is an achievable ideal. It can be done.

Other Cebu furniture players participate in the sustainability drive as well, though not all efforts are visible in the furniture pieces themselves. One example is the continued use of traditional, handcrafting methods which reduce potential carbon emissions and the consumption of fossil fuels. Responsible manufacturing processes such as recycling waste water or using water-based finishes are on the list, as are identifying renewable sources of local materials, and the development of technologies and procedures to produce furniture and furnishings that are globally competitive. Tree-planting initiatives by the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation (CFIF) round out the sustainability drive on an industry-wide level.

Sustainability, Return To Handcraftsmanship, and Individual Design are the three focus areas of CEBUNEXT. Sustainability is the heart of CEBUNEXT, which presents the concept to the world as a necessity, not a novelty, in hopes that world-wide sustainability efforts are not just trends but permanent fixtures that manufacturers, retailers and consumers can begin to take seriously and permanently – as unconscious fixtures in day to day functions as opposed to a conscious effort to ride a trend and profit from it.

Apart from CebuNext, we’ll be visiting a couple of interesting sites in the city. Watch out for our special Cebu features next week!

*Photos and texts via CebuNext