“
My inspiration can come from the
material, a shape, a color, a texture,
anything really,” says Ito Kish, visual
merchandiser, design consultant and
now furniture designer, on his second
year as exhibitor at Manila Fame.
Always though, he says, “I follow my
gut feel.” It was this, coupled with
finely honed marketing instincts, that
led Kish to adopt the label “chief visual
storyteller” at his eponymously named
home store and design company.
As such there is a narrative thread
unfolding and intertwined in his two
collections — last year’s majestic
Gregoria, and this year’s more modestly
scaled Basilisa. Both tell the tale of
the designer’s Filipino experience. In
Basilisa he cleverly uses five different
solihiya
weaving patterns found in
different regions of the Philippines
for visual texture, at the same time
earmarking the pieces within the
history of our country’s furniture design.
He has a three-seater, a one-seater,
stools, a bar cabinet, a bench, a lounge,
lamps and an armoire — all made of
kiln-dried mahogany with rattan woven
solihiya-style, and all stunners. The
stools and ottomans are particularly
clever. The technique used to make
them strike an emotional chord, as they
remind us of childhood days spent at
our grandmother’s house, while their
uneven, geometric orb shapes are very
popular right now, and place them
unmistakeably in the present.
“
I am a Filipino and I design as a
Filipino,” says Kish. “My design identity
will always be who I am and where I
P I N O Y D E S I G N S
come from.” Closer to the heart, Kish
has named his collections for loved
ones. Gregoria is his mother, Basilisa
his
lola
(
grandmother), the woman
whom little-boy Kish would watch
when he was a child, repairing the
solihiya on their broken dining chairs.
As it did in Kish’s grandmother’s
time, this strong artisan culture
continues to prevail throughout the
Philippine islands. Nearly everywhere
you go, you will encounter weavers
of fabric, workers of wood, all sorts of
craftsmen still engaged in traditional
work. This benefits local designers.
“
The Philippines is basically
handicraft-based,” says Kish. “We
can’t compete with other countries
who use metal and glass and
whatever technology-driven materials
you have, but when we design, we
can count on the work of craftsmen.
This kind of design has soul.”
Craftsmen of a more modern sort
are the people behind Resurrection
“
I am a
Filipino and
I design as
a Filipino...
My design
identity will
always be
who I am
and where I
come from”
Clockwise from left:
A sideboard from
Resurrection Furniture; the
Sillamese is made of two
chairs (
silya
in Tagalog)
turned into one; the
Aparakitsch, Resurrection’s
take on an old
aparador
(
cabinet); the trio behind
Resurrection (left to right)
designers Arlene Barbaza
and Binggoy de Ocampo,
and architect Leah
Sanchez
115
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PHOTOS
AT MACULANGAN
