Dutch Treats

They’re sexy, they’re different and they’re daring. We’re not talking about the latest showbiz squeeze, though they’re probably more colorful.

Rather, they’re what you want to bring home with you and show off to friends, plus they’re conversation pieces and have the potential to be talked about behind your back. Alas, we’re not talking about boyfriends either.

We’re talking about furniture. Modern, functional and very practical pieces that are anything but boring.

Corvelli European Design is currently exhibiting at the ground floor of Robinsons Place Malate and Robinsons Galleria until August. This is the place to go if you want furniture off the beaten track – straight lines combined with large, round legs; or curvaceous cabinets that are both a statement and a lesson on how to bend wood to the furniture maker’s will.

Corvelli is about marrying Dutch design sensibilities with Filipino craftsmanship. You see, it’s owned by two Dutchmen, Paul Cornelissen and Piet Vellekoop. It’s the retail side of Far East Furniture, a Pampanga-based company that exports furniture around the world. Upon the request of Filipinos who’ve seen their products, the two Dutchmen decided to make a go for retail.

Rob van Reisen of Corvelli says, "People said, why have you been exporting for so long to Europe, the US and Australia, but not selling in the local market? People tell us they’ve been seeing a lot of the traditional furniture here but not quite like our designs."

"The designs are quite unusual for the local market," he continues. "People have to get used to them." Judging from the turnout at Robinsons Malate and Galleria, Filipinos are apparently willing to take the chance.

Indeed, Corvelli is about the ingenious way of crafting furniture in non-traditional shapes, of making use of the best fabrics and technical parts from Europe (like nubuck and leather from Italy and France, cabinet gliders from Germany), of putting equal importance to both function and form, and of catering to a market with the right attitude and not simply the right age bracket. The attitude being open to new designs and the age bracket being anywhere between 20 and 70. Needless to say, Corvelli gets buyers that range from the newlyweds to the grandparents.

"We cater to people who appreciate good design that’s different from the traditional," he says. "They’re people who are brave enough to buy a green chair and also have the interiors for it."

Van Reisen says the design trend for the current year and next is on the more colorful side of the pole. As some designers and exporters we’ve spoken with in the past year have said, Zen had its peak and to some extent it will stay – but color is in like never before, the palette has become embellished with reds and blues and yellows. In short, the rules are not so rigid anymore.

Instead, what has prevailed – and will always prevail, thank God – is good taste. As Van Reisen says, "It is possible to do anything you want, mix all the pieces or colors you want. It just has to be tasteful."

Corvelli offers furniture with a deep folio of materials to choose from. You have to see their fabric books from which you can choose leather, canvas, nubuck and altara, and nylon for beds, among others. Then there’s the matter of color.

What’s important to Corvelli is the use of colors. If you don’t know what you want, the choices can make your head spin – but that’s all right, since Corvelli people can advise you on this matter. Also, the exhibit is set up in such a way that you can picture how the furniture would look in your home. For instance, in one corner of the exhibit floor at the fountain area of Robinsons Malate, you can see how colors blend together – red, cobalt blue (the best-selling color) and green.

Van Reisen also describes a very practical feature that helps owners keep their Corvelli furniture in optimum condition. Fabrics may be treated with Teflon protection layer. "If you throw water on it, water just slides off. A lot of people are afraid that their furniture will be stained because they have children in the house. Now they don’t have to put a fence around their sofa because it’s protected by Teflon." Yes, Teflon is the same company that makes frying pans which infomercial hosts like to show off by burning cheese in them. Teflon also makes protective materials for clothing companies like Izod.

"Paul Cornelissen and Piet Vellekoop go to textile fairs all over the world and from there they develop new designs. It totally depends on what is out there on the market, so designing is an ongoing process."

Vellekoop, who focuses on the retail side of the business, has been doing retail in Europe for the past 25 years. Van Reisen says there are two concepts in Europe Vellekoop has worked on. "One is the traditional and romantic Gallerie Claire, which is a shop in a shop concept; and the others are more modern shops named Giorgio Designs and Zone Design."

As far as design is concerned, the idea is that "while furniture is a serious buy, the design should be a little bit playful also."

Apart from the modern designs, Corvelli also has some romantic pieces such as metal-framed four-poster beds. Van Reisen relates a funny incident where the mother-in-law excitedly wanted to get a four-poster for the newlyweds but when her son-in-law saw it, he said, "I’m a guy, I’m not going to sleep in a bed like that."

"Another thing we consider is that the average Filipino home is limited to an apartment, so we’re not doing furniture that are too bulky or big."

So why are there a number of Dutch furniture makers in the country? "Are there?" van Reisen asks. I tell him about the Dutchmen that I’ve interviewed.

"I think they are attracted by the craftsmanship of Filipinos. They have an eye for design," says Van Reisen. "Paul says the Philippines is the Italy of the Pacific. I’ve been to other countries in Asia and I don’t see the kind of creativity that’s here. I think what Far East and Corvelli want to do is to combine Western design with Eastern qualities. Paul likes to say it’s a merger of European design and Filipino craftsmanship."

* * *

For inquiries on Corvelli, call the exhibit floor at Robinsons Place Malate at (0917) 846-61-78 or Robinsons Galleria at (0917) 846-61-79. For inquiries on Far East Furniture, call their Pampanga office at (045) 887-34-74, fax (045) 887-40-29.