These Filipino designers at Emerge: Find Design Fair Asia honor a range of concepts in their designs—from sustainability and national heritage to family histories
In the contemporary design scene, Filipino creators are making waves on a global scale, with an imaginative approach to craftsmanship that is often grounded in a meaningful local context. The Emerge section at the Find Design Fair Asia features over 50 designers from Southeast Asia, with five stellar Filipino representatives.
What does it mean to value something, and how can it translate to design? Curated by Suzy Annetta of Design Anthology, the theme “These Precious Things” invites designers to delve deep into the concept of value, often echoing a vein of sustainability while pushing their crafts to reflect the worth of materials, traditions, and collective memories.
The designers share their inspirations and processes with LIFESTYLE.INQ.
E/lou furniture studio: Nest Table
Straight out of college with a degree in industrial design, Edward Sibunga is the mind behind E/lou Furniture Studio. Armed with a series of local awards and with experience working for a governmental organization, his distinct style focuses on woodworking, blending simple forms with complex, handmade wood joinery.
For Emerge, he presents a unique nesting table made out of small wood off-cuts and sawdust, making a statement on sustainability, reducing waste, and challenging our perception of value in discarded materials.
“The idea is transforming post-production waste from our woodworking studio like timber off-cuts, sawdust, and shavings. Instead of discarding leftover materials, we collect and repurpose them to make something valuable out of it,” the designer shares.
On his aviary inspiration, Sibunga shares, “The table draws inspiration from the way birds construct their nests. Birds instinctively gather a variety of materials like twigs, leaves, and other found objects to create a functional nest. This natural process of repurposing reflects a profound understanding of material value and functionality. In a way, the table is a nod to nature’s creativity in repurposing small precious things.”
Chini Studio: The Puddle Table
Chini Lichangco, a graduate of industrial design with experience working under popular designer Kenneth Cobonpue, brings her skills in material exploration with the Puddle Table. She not only salvages precious capiz materials but also captures the ephemeral beauty of nature with an ultimately functional piece in marble.
“I am presenting the Puddle Table, a collaboration with Krete Manila, focusing on repurposing the discarded remnants of capiz shells and marble—materials known for their elegance and fragility. These off-cuts, often considered waste in manufacturing, are transformed into a functional and beautiful table that embraces their imperfections.”
Lilianna Manahan: Merchicken
Lilianna Manahan, known for her focus on metal, stone, and ceramic work, brings a touch of whimsy in colorfully hand-painted and gold-glazed porcelain objects that portray special memories referencing the bigger picture of life while showing the value of personal and familial history.
“I will be exhibiting two pieces from a series of ceramic objects that I have been working on this year called the Merchicken 12. The Merchicken is the first object I designed when I first started out my practice in 2012. It was made of cast brass back then and I decided to revisit it this year and celebrate it in a different material and approach.”
The artist shares how each item is a vessel of memory and imagination, inviting viewers to connect with their own precious memories. “The Merchicken is a fantastical creature I designed based on a collection of cloisonne animals my grandmother had that I enjoyed looking at as a child. Each animal seemed so special to me and gave me room to imagine, create stories, and observe finely crafted objects.”
Nazareno/Lichauco: Panika
Design duo Rita Nazareno and Gabriel Lichauco is much respected for their thoughtful pieces, curatorship, and mentorship. For this Emerge presentation, they bring a historical perspective with a Nazareno/Lichauco x Zacarias 1925 collaboration that honors pre-colonial systems.
They describe their work as an exploration of “the notions of value and precious objects, by proposing the remembrance of pre-colonial systems… Entitled ‘Panika,’ the collection features intricately produced hand-woven pieces in the form of barter rings, and ring-shaped gold ingots used as currency in the Philippines until the 16th century. Using woven wicker, the Panika is a series of wall and lighting pieces, with its forms also exploring the value of craft, design, and art.”
Selena Placino: The Rebound Lamp Collection
Crafted from various types of timber, the Rebound Lamp Collection features lamps in the vein of sustainability, constructed totally without screws. The collection offers three variations: Tall, Wide, and Carry.
Designed to reflect light off the walls, the Filipino designer writes in an Instagram post about Find Design Fair, “The Rebound Lamp embodies the concept of “recovery of value”, breathing new life into what would otherwise be discarded… Each lamp features a base that doubles as a platform for displaying small objects.”
Jasser Aguila: Iba-Iba Lamp
Jasser Aguila, also a mentee of Kenneth Cobonpue, creates sculptural furniture that melds elements of abstraction with solid, often functional objects.
For Aguila’s work for Find Design Fair, the Filipino artist creates the Iba-Iba lamp, stating in an instagram post, “I wanted to highlight the beauty of individuality. So I designed the Iba-Iba lamp collection, with ‘iba-iba’ meaning ‘different’ in Filipino language. Each lamp comes in unique shapes, sizes, and characters to celebrate our diverse identities. By appreciating and embracing our differences and the unique light we each bring.”
Find Design Fair Asia runs from Sept. 26 to 28, 2024 at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.