The calling card reads, “Ito Kish: Chief Creative Storyteller.”
Kish’s furniture collection works like a narrative, inspired by his life. Coming from humble beginnings in Laguna, he worked his way up from a visual merchandiser to entrepreneur and, subsequently, an award-winning designer.
“There has to be a story in anything that you do. It carries you all the way till the end. I don’t think you can create on a whim. You’ve got to have reasons for doing something in a certain way,” he maintains. “When I started, I decided that I would not design anything that was sort of pop culture. The same pop culture in Manila would be found in Paris, Tokyo, New York and Copenhagen. I want to design from our culture, from who I am and whatever I see in daily life,” he says.
In the past few seasons, Kish’s furniture collections describe his family tree. The new collection at the Manila Furniture Fair from March 14-17 at the SMX Convention Center pays homage to his paternal grandmother, Juana, and his father, Rodolfo.
For the Juana collection, he mixes wood and PVC (polyvinyl chloride), a popular plastic material that is sturdy, weatherproof and flexible.
Intimacy
Unlike the popular linear and boxy outdoor chairs, the Juana handwoven PVC chairs are curvaceous, evocative of intimacy. The backs of the chairs are embellished with rattan rings for a vintage feel.
The design was inspired by a childhood memory. While having lunch with friends in Tagaytay, he spotted an old rattan rocking chair with loops on the back. It reminded him of his visits to his grandmother, Juana, who was a laundrywoman. He recalls her knotty hands from the daily hand washing. In her little bamboo hut on stilts was a rocking rattan chair.
Juana’s metal framework is wrapped in PVC so that it can withstand all weather conditions. Kish explains that the backs of the PVC strips were used to cover the chair for a matte effect.
“We wanted to make it look organic. If we used the top side, it would look too shiny. You would know it’s plastic,” he says. The rattan rings lend a textural element.
Drawing inspiration from the tingkop, a woven container from Palawan, Kish created metal-and-PVC versions. They are sturdy enough to be used as a stool or side table and deep enough for storage. Named Santamaria after a close friend, this collection is perfect for condo living.
Meanwhile, the Rodolfo collection of console tables and disc towers suggests an Art Deco feel with its geometry and exotic wood finish that highlights the stylized decor. Normally reddish-brown, the common tanguile is made classier with an ebony finish that highlights the wood’s wavy grains.
Kish’s double-sided console is a reference to Rodolfo’s personality. A tall, lean, macho, dusky security guard, Kish’s father separated from his mother when he was 10 years old. He didn’t elaborate on the family drama.
The front side of the console is solid, made with veneer and penshell as a counterpoint. The backside is a bare skeletal framework with pockets for storage. The console can be showed off both ways.
The same concept goes for the disc tower, a solid front, while the back’s exposed framework can be used to display objects. The dual character of the furniture pieces says something about Rodolfo, the man. Like human nature, you either present the façade or reveal what’s inside.
“I wanted to show both strength and weakness,” says Kish.
The Juana and Rodolfo are like sequels to Kish’s previous collections. In 2012, he came out with furniture pieces inspired by the balusters and ventanilla (cutwork panels under the window) in old houses in the provinces.
Every feast day of San Isidro Labrador, Kish would visit their ancestral home by the rice fields in Quezon. He remembers how the sunlight would cast shadows of the ventanilla on the floor. He dedicated the collection to his mother Gregoria, a teacher.
The Gregoria collection is built with gemelina, a sustainable wood. The piece de resistance is the curvaceous settee with tall balusters on the back and solihiya (cane woven) seats. At night, the spotlights sculpt the patterns of the balusters and the weaving on the floor. The rest of his baluster pieces are named after his aunts Concesa, Elpidia, Romana, Flora and Francisca.
Modern and traditional
Last year, Kish’s collection combined modern silhouettes with traditional weaves from the Mountain Province to Mindanao. It was named after his maternal grandmother, Basilisa Soriano Galiano, an entrepreneur who owned a dry goods store. Through hard work, she was able to support her six daughters, including Gregoria, Kish’s mother. The barrel-shaped stool is the most popular for its versatility in usage, and it can fit in most design styles.
He also derives design ideas from Filipino icons. Busilak, a collection of bell jars with decor and lighting, is the most salable. It recalls the ivory icons kept in glass containers in church. Kish modernizes the classic shape by adding a base made of crushed stone and resin.
Made of marble and wood veneer, Liwanag and Marikit are little tables and planters embossed with the Philippine eagle, the anahaw and the sampaguita. For drama and depth, he adds either side lighting or downlighting.
He adds that you can personalize these accessories by adding your own touch.
“That, in a nutshell, is the story of my family, who I am and where I came from,” says Kish.
But it’s not always about Kish. As an entrepreneur, he also focuses on the client’s story: Where can a big settee fit in the living room? What pieces can multi-task in a compact condo? People ask him questions about furniture proportion and design styles.
In trade shows, only a few exhibitors such as Kish have the advantage of having their own showroom. After an exhibition at the SMX Convention Center, buyers and customers flock to the Kish store in Makati to see his designs in a room setting. Then there’s a wave of clients who rush to the store after seeing postings of his pieces in Facebook and Instagram.
When they seek his advice, they feel they are being enlightened. They realize Kish is more than just furniture. It’s about the environment and the lifestyle. He gets people enthusiastic about making their space more attractive and functional. Ultimately, Kish helps them tell their story through their living rooms.