The Philippines is a little known yet happy hunting ground for savvy design goers and retailers looking for handcrafted design objects made from natural materials. A craft-led creative culture has deep roots in island communities while furniture manufacturing is big business in the capital, Manila, and next largest city, Cebu in the Central Visayas region. Last month’s 70th edition of
“Though not familiar to many, Manila FAME is already one of the best-kept secret sourcing hubs of big global names in the industry,” said Pauline Suaco-Juan, executive director of fair organiser, the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (
After losing the price war with China and Vietnam, the Philippines creative industry is fighting back with artisan-led designs, at a time when handcrafted objects are highly desirable. A new generation of designers and social entrepreneurs are engaging traditional weavers and crafters with contemporary designs and pushing their collections via social media and E-commerce.
Companies like West Elm, Williams Sonoma and Crate and Barrel have all sourced and developed product in the Philippines while lighting and furniture by leading Filipino designer Kenneth Coponbue have been imported by Australian businesses like Ke-Zu and Hermon & Hermon for more than a decade. Then there are handcrafted fashion accessories, stocked by Scanlan & Theodore and Lucy Folk, who have tapped the accessories flair of Manila makers Aranaz, S.C. Vizcarra and Zacarias 1925.
“The creative economy is viewed as a sunshine industry in terms of total Philippines exports,” says Suaco-Juan. “But it’s a sector that gives back. It provides a lot of opportunities and publicity. It’s a soft power.”
At the invitation of
DESIGN COMMUNE.
Left: Lozenge pendant is a collaboration between designer Stanley Ruiz and local manufacturer Arte Cebuana. Ruiz worked for Jonathan Adler in the US and also West Elm. His scaled-up rattan light shades are variations on existing Arte Cebuana products. “I just squished it a bit and elongated the shape.” They come in white, black and natural rattan. Positioned beneath the Lozenge pendant is the Orion Cabinet by Nix Alonon, made by
Right: Rattan Chair, designed and made by Obra Cebuana Furniture Designs. Sinamay and Buri Sticks Leaf Lamp by Kitty Bunag and Mia de Lara made by Cagayan de Oro Handmade Paper Crafts. Palawan Driftwood Side Table designed by Nix Alanon. Made by Goltrio Inc.
Braided Rings Tub Chair designed and made by
Woven Pandan Divider designed by Kitty Bunag and Mia de Lara, manufactured by My Souvenir Banig De Basey.
Left: Abaca Carpet by Stanley Ruiz, made by Natural Craft Connections; Wicker Basket by Dierde Export Trading.
Middle: Woven raffia Basket designed by Kitty Bunag and Mia de Lara, manufactured by P1 Handicrafts.
Right: Lion decoration – a whimsical weave attached to a raffia woven child’s swing, made by My Souvenir Banig De Basey.
Solihaya Round Table designed and made by
Poufs woven from sudsud grass designed by Stanley Ruiz, manufactured by Tagolwanen Women Weavers. Photography by Kris Ryan Zara./ KriZara Photography.
This year’s Fair was the first directed by Pauline Suaco-Juan, the former editor-in-chief of Preview magazine. Her influence was seen in the Design Commune exhibit which paired designers and stylists with manufacturers in a merchandise development program.
Product designers Stanley Ruiz (Home & Lighting), Nix Alanon (Furniture) and Andre Chang (Fashion) – along with junior product specialists Kitty Bunag and Mia de Lara – collaborated with 57 companies to produce 350 Design Commune pieces. Creative Director Vince Uy tied the collection together at the Fair with ceiling-hung strips of blush-hued fabric.
Rita Nazareno designs these architectural bags and accessories fashioned from wicker under her brand
Nazareno is also creative director of S.C Vizcarra, the Manila company started by her grandparents and continued by her mother Vicky Vizcarra Amalingan-Sales.
One of the earliest Filipina trading companies, S.C Vizcarra, was founded in 1925. It began as a hand-embroidery studio, evolving into a retailer selling various locally-made products to locals, US servicemen during the war, and tourists. The company invented those giant wooden fork and spoon sets that hung on kitchen and dining room walls in the 70s!
S.C Vizcarra’s creative director, Rita Nazareno, now guides artisans in the workshop started by her grandparents 93 years ago to produce a contemporary accessories collection under her brand
‘Phage’ abaca weave is a recent contemporary design from the
Social entrepreneurism ventures that pair artisans with communities practising traditional Filipino crafts is paying dividends for numerous local companies and savvy designers. Projects are tapping into available local materials and weaving methods (which, along with the dialect, can differ from island to island) to provide an income source for provincial village weavers while ensuring their crafting traditions are preserved.
“Every island is unique and there is something that ties them together but there’s not one thing that singularly represents the entirety of the Philippines,” says Noni Agulto from the tourism and trade arm,
When interior designer Wilhelmina S Garcia joined a pilot project to re-form recycled plastic waste from households on Taal Volcano, Batangas, she could hardly have imagined it would blossom into a community project involving 80 island women. Today the community is paid for the materials generated and receives 5% from end-product designs sold in Garcia’s Manila interiors store
Left: Lambat chair by E. Murio. Right: Dog House was part of the Filipina collection that showed at Maison & Objet Paris in September.
Left: Capsule Lamp is a simply constructed bamboo design set in a concrete base.
Right: Yakap chair by E. Murio.
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