Design Folder: Your Online Design and Decorating Resource

i saw design: nintendo nostalgia

I saw these and just had to share them with you. These Nintendo-inspired products bring me back to simpler days when all I had to worry about was how to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser.

mushroom lamps via unplggd

arcade mugs via walyou

tetris chair via walyou

donkey kong & super mario bros. wall decals via blik

We’re in the process of renovating our office right now. I wonder if I can convince my bosses to install Super Mario Brothers decals on our walls? -lilli

objects of design: space-saving furniture

Heaven-sent for those living in small spaces!

i saw design: there’s no place like heima

Watching the Philippine election coverage is stressful. So, I’ll just divert my/your attention to beautiful and positive things.

Last Friday, Lilli Beth and I dropped by Heima’s Makati store launch. Unlike the usual design/store launches that we have attended, “There’s No Place Like Heima” party is a celebration of everything young and Pinoy. Apart from the store’s launch, the highlight of this event is the collection of collaborative pieces of Heima with other young artists. Among them are Heima’s canape (rococo style sofa) with a graphic design by Team Manila and the small artworks above it by Heima + Folk Superlative.

The artists fromFolk Superlative were also working on an on-the-spot painting during the event. It was interesting to watch them. I’m just not sure if all the “watching” is making them self-conscious, hehe.

Too bad we were not able to stay for the live performances.

Again, congratulations to the young minds behind Heima! More great and pretty creations to come.

style shopping: heima’s second home

As promised, here’s a sneak peek at Heima’s new home in LRI, Makati before they formally open their doors tomorrow!

Heima, which is at home in Icelandic, is a design and lifestyle store by young interior designer Rossy Yabut and her partner Bong Rojales. Just like their first store in Cubao X, their second home in LRI will also carry the same fun, youthful vibe through their signature colorful pieces, quirky art pieces, and dainty accents.

True to the meaning of Heima, the store is laid out and designed to simulate the areas within the home, where you have a foyer, a living area, a dining area, a kitchen (the store’s counter space), and a home office or study. Apart from the store, the space is also home to Rossy’s design office, Heim Interior Design Inc.

Apart from their 2010 collection, we are also excited about Heima’s collaborative pieces with Inksurge, Everywhere We Shoot, Team Manila and Folk Superlative, which will be showcased during tomorrow’s launch.

CLICK HERE for more details on “There’s No Place Like Heima” launch party. See the rest of our photos in the picture gallery below. {Thanks Rossy and Dy! }

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fashion meets design: ava x heima

Ava Paguyo is a young fashion designer who had her first appearance as one of the contestants in Project Runway Philippines Season 1. She participated in last year’s Philippine Fashion Week with a ready-to-wear collection whose designs (above) explored the concept of urban chaos. Her pieces are a graphic display of disarrayed patterns reminiscent of graffiti art.

Heima, on the other hand, is a furniture store in Cubao X which we featured in our earlier posts last year. Their pieces model the classic silhouettes of popular period style furniture but were given a vibrant contemporary look through the use of bright painted finishes and cheerful fabric choices.

What will you get when you cross Ava’s urban chic graffiti print (below, right) with Heima’s fun, dainty silhouette (below, left)?

 One rocker chic piece of design:

This is just one of Heima’s collaborative designs with other artists outside the interior design industry. The rest of the pieces will be displayed during the opening of their new store in LRI, Makati this Saturday.

Watch out for our sneak peek of Heima’s new store this Friday.

objects of design: pup’s aarniovation

One of the most influential furniture designers of the 1960s is Finnish interior designer Eero Aarnio. His innovative and playful designs such as the ball chair (top left), bubble chair (top center) and pastil chair (top right) feature simple geometric forms in plastic and fiberglass which becam iconic pieces of the period’s pop culture.

The works of Eero Aarnio were the inspiration of PUP’s furniture exhibit designed by the second year interior design students. Entitled Aarniovation: Filipino Versions of Mind-Bubbling Eggball-ution, their designs were reinterpretation of Aarnio’s popular pieces, giving them a Filipino flavor through material choices and production techniques.

 [Photos above: Trumpuan Chair + Sahanlai Rib Chair]

[Photos above: Maya Bubble chair + Luna chair]

The exhibit is located at the newly opened Interior Center at SM North EDSA. According to their posters, the exhibit is only until today, March 27, bu I was told that it will extend until April 15. Most of the furniture pieces are so for sale. So, if you’re interested, just ask the students for further details. See the rest of the designs in the picture gallery below or in df’s Flickr photostream here. Congratulations guys!

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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.

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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

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.

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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.

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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.

conscious living: green furnishings

I was impressed that Cebu’s furniture industry is actively developing materials, processes and designs that are sustainable. Most of their furniture pieces and accessories now rely on the use of indigenous materials. Because indigenous materials like buri, rattan, abaca, and coconut shells are locally available, more abundant, easily harvested and processed with less energy, they are much more sustainable than wood.

[Photo above, from left: Mantid Bench in rattan, leather and metal from Obra Cebuana. Sunny Day Cocktail Table in rattan, leather & metal from Obra Cebuana. Palwa Occasional Chair in palwa (cocnut fronds) & rattan from APY Cane. Floor lamps and pendant lamps in curled/bent rattan & metal from Accessoria Inc.]

Now, Cebu designers are already exploring the use of forest wastes such as twigs and branches as materials for furniture production. Two examples are Kenneth Cobonpue’s Kris Kros screen (also used for the interiors of Z Bar, to be featured later this week) that uses small bamboo twigs on metal frame, and Naturescast’s furniture and accessories (above) that use cast pulp made of recycled paper and forest wastes (branches and leaves).

[Photo above, from left: Loom Floor Lamp using recycled foil textile (for the shade) from Hacienda Crafts Company. Chaise Lounge in rattan, steel & reused textiles from Pacific Traders. Floor & Table Lamps using camera film on metal frame from Detalia Aurora.]

The industry is also looking into developing recycled materials for furniture and accessories. Hacienda Crafts Company is making woven textiles using shredded foil wrappers and bags of potato chips and other snacks. Such fabrics can be used for lighting (above) and accessories .

These efforts do not only make Cebu’s furniture industry a model of a green and sustainable industry, but they also contribute in making their designs stand out internationally. This just proves that it is possible to be green without sacrificing on beauty and quality.