In developing her unique, beautifully eclectic style, Tina Maristela Ocampo takes inspiration from her favorite destinations and magazines
Tina Maristela Ocampo’s elliptical dining table is bursting with colors, from bright yellow crocheted placemats to rich blue and teal plates painted with elements of nature—plants, birds, clouds—a scene not disconnected from the view outside her window. The table isn’t just a symphony of colors but a play on textures, too.
The table isn’t just a symphony of colors but a play on textures and travels, too. The crochet placemats and tortoise-printed glasses are from the Casa Collective collection, sourced by Tina’s husband Ricco on his travels abroad.
There’s a lot to digest on her table, and we haven’t even talked about the food yet.
“My personal love is a maximalist table. There’s so much going on, but really, things that are important. One thing I love is to put some of my finds from my travels. I position them in a way that they’re not obstructing the space where the food is,” Tina says.
Tina has been a known name in fashion for years, being one of the country’s top models and a co-founder of the Professional Models Association of the Philippines, and later establishing several successful fashion retail concepts. One of which was Celestina Maynila New York, which was launched in New York in 2006 with a collection of shell minaudières. The namesake brand was also featured in Vogue 2006, and has since become known for statement crocodile handbags, sold exclusively to valued clients in Manila and abroad. But while most of the world knows Tina’s work in fashion, friends have been privy to another outlet of her creativity: fixing and arranging spaces.
Her aesthetic, both in fashion and in design, is an amalgamation of interests, experiences, and inspirations. It wasn’t something she specifically learned, she shares. Her eye for aesthetics was something she’d honed, a gift she constantly develops and shares.
Her home is the perfect reflection of this. There’s an eclectic mix of colors and patterns, art pieces, books, and decor, not exactly fitting any specific period or theme. And yet, there is a sense of balance; diverse yet not chaotic, vibrant yet somehow unified.
“I just happen to have the instinct or trained eye. I didn’t study anything about interiors, scale, or spaces. I just know when something is wrong or needs to be aligned,” Tina says as she shows us various elements of the French-Chinois-themed table she’s put together that day.
“What I really love when I set the table is that I always try to go back [to] the past and use it as my reference,” she says.
Inspirations
Working with her husband Ricco on her brands Sari-Sari, Anonymous, and i2i brought Tina across the globe, where she relished the sights and designs of various hotels.
“We love going to really nice, exotic hotels, not just the usual ones that are generic. [We love those that are] very visual. We love to do that, so I was able to develop [my aesthetic] through my travels,” she says, with Morocco and Milan being among her most inspiring destinations.
She also recounts how having moved homes 21 times throughout her life gave her the challenge and opportunity to discover how best to fix up spaces. With the growing collection of pieces she and her husband have amassed over years and years of travels, Tina honed her interior design instincts.
But she doesn’t just attribute her aesthetic sense solely to her travels. Also among her inspirations is the Italy-based biannual interiors and decorative arts publication Cabana Magazine. Having collected the magazine since it started publication in 2014, its focus on the design sense of various personalities have influenced Tina’s own eclectic style.
If anyone wants to become better at developing their own style, Tina says, being creative is essential. “You have to have an innate love for art. That’s the basic,” she says. “You can hone it, if it’s your interest.”
Putting together the perfect dinner
One important ingredient in a successful table or gathering of friends, Tina says, is having someone who’s a strong conversation starter. The “taya,” she calls it—although Tina is also quick to admit she is not that person at her dinners.
Contrary to the very social nature at the heart of hosting and of her fashion circles, she confesses to being an introvert, finding joy in seeing guests enjoy themselves rather than being the one to actively rally up a crowd. More than anything, having these gatherings to express and channel her creativity is what really fuels her energy.
The process of curating what goes on the table for her family or guests is what Tina enjoys the most. It’s more than just presenting a visual and gastronomic feast. Rather, she creates these settings to be the perfect spaces for nurturing more meaningful connections. “It’s nice to have a conversation that’s not just ‘hi, hello,’” Tina says of the intimate dinners she hosts for close friends. “I’m at this age where I want to know more [and talk] about life. [But] how are you going to do that when there are so many people?”
She cites a situation common to large gatherings—one we all likely have experienced ourselves: At a large table, different ends have their own topics, and at the end of the night, you’ll realize you probably barely talked to some of the other guests. “It should be a round table. How beautiful it is if you’re able to get some learnings out of a beautiful dinner?”
It’s like her own love language. Where others may find their best expression of love through acts like cooking or others by way of driving conversations, for Tina it is the act of service of designing beautiful scenes on the table, on which her nearest and dearest can enjoy good food and even better company.
This inclination towards dinners centered on conversations stems from a routine she developed during the pandemic. In the period of lockdowns, when it was just her and her husband at home, Tina had kept their days occupied by setting and styling dinners for themselves.
“Every day, at the strike of 6 p.m., maganda na ’yong table. Kaming dalawa lang, every day!” she says. “We were able to discover [the pieces hidden in our bodega] that we have not used for how many years, maybe 10 years, thinking, ‘Oh, ang ganda pala nito.’ So we unearthed it, and brought it up to our kitchen again. It was like an activity for both of us. We loved that. [Ricco would buy ingredients], cook it, and I’ll lay the table really beautifully.
“That made me hone my creativity and also helped me not get depressed because there’s something to look forward to… and that’s art.”
Rediscovering the various pieces they’ve collected from their travels not only helped fuel Tina’s creativity, it also unearthed memories. “It was a part of our conversation, too,” she says.
Setting the mood
While the art of styling spaces the way she does is something Tina can’t teach, she shares a few elements she believes can help set the mood for hearty conversations and nourishing meals.
“Proper lighting,” she starts off, pointing to the various lamps and candles around her space. “I like lamps because they fill the middle space.” Candles, meanwhile, add not just light, but another important element: scent, which welcomes guests the moment they step into her home.
Indoor plants also add to the hominess of the space, she says. For homes without large gardens, indoor plants can help create that sense of connecting with nature. In the Ocampo home, potted flowers also form part of the tablescape. Even cuttings from pruning the garden are transformed into beautiful yet functional pieces. One of Tina’s favorites is placing cut branches of bamboo inside a huge jar. “[I] place it on the edge of the table, creating a sort of installation,” she says.
In the same way Tina’s aesthetic is not defined nor limited by any particular rules nor periods, so is her hosting style—one that emphasizes flexibility and creativity. The secret to putting together a great dinner, she says, isn’t just about what is beautiful to you, the pieces you use, or the menu you meticulously prepare. It’s equally about knowing what your guests love.
Photography by JT Fernandez
Makeup by Angel Manhilot
Hair by Mary Jane Nunez
Styling by Ria Prieto
