4 for the show

There are only two words to describe the recent October edition of the bi-annual show organized by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM): Beyond words.

The numbers – $63.048M (P3.467 billion) in sales with 3,587 buyers – generated by the show, beyond a doubt, speak louder than words.

For this show, CITEM banked on the sterling – make that good as gold – talents of four designers: Carlo Tanseco, William Gordon, Daniel Dela Cruz, and Vic Barba. If there’s anything these designers have in common it is their unremitting commitment to their craft and pursuit of excellence.

Of course, you don’t have to take our word for it. Let the photos on this page and the next speak for themselves.

1. Carlo Tanseco: My designs are fun and functional

Wow!" was the initial reaction to Carlo Tanseco’s Full Bloom chair (inspired by a flower, it graces the Domani showroom in Greenbelt, Makati). This daring and dashing young architect/interior designer/entrepreneur has certainly elicited a thousand-and-one wows with his innovative but familiar designs.

Take his heaven-sent chairs (well, they were among the first ones taken by Italian buyers at the CITEM show) named Icarus – one with folded wings as front legs and the other with wings behind as back legs in metal and immaculate white velour.

Says Carlo with a cherubic smile, "My design philosophy fuses the four f’s – form, function, familiarity, and fun or funkiness. With the Icarus chair, there’s a nice balance – it’s familiar, you can sit on it, and it’s funkiness. When you sit on it, you look angelic, like you have wings. There’s a little bit of fun and play – that’s what I like doing with my designs. Everyone else is so serious with these modern, sleek, low sofas. All the silhouettes are the same, you start to think that they just look at the same magazines. We all need some fun in our lives."

Carlo gets tons of fun from transforming junk materials into precious works of art. He likes to repeat this somewhat recycled but beautiful story: "Wendy Orozco of Formax once came to me and said, ‘Carlo, we have so much leftover scrap wood chips from our production. What will I do with the sacks – will I throw them already?’ I told her, ‘No, let’s do something with it.’ So we came up with the Domino chair line that’s made of scrap wood. Now, the problem is, it sold so well – naubos ang leftover scrap – they had to make scrap."

The scrap king adds, "I like stretching materials to their limits. Everything has been discovered, but there are certain uses and applications we have not tried and that’s where I like to experiment."

There are Philippine indigenous materials, but is there a Philippine design?

"I think there’s no one distinct Filipino look except that it’s very good," Carlo asserts. "Like Filipino culture, Philippine design is a happy confluence of different influences. Nothing’s pure really, but that’s not too bad. Our design sensibility is so keen we appeal to a global market, which in export is good because it translates into sales."

This purpose-driven designer believes that Philippine design "is creeping into the world’s consciousness though not in a very in-your-face way. But before they know it, they’ll wake up one morning surrounded by Philippine products."

"Imagine a Philippe Starck chair beside a dulang table," adds the Starck-struck Carlo, who likes mixing things. "Or a bishop’s chair from Bohol with a modern coffee table."

With booked orders and inquiries from bigger buyers like Crate & Barrel and the Bombay Company in the US as well as bigger department stores in Spain and Italy at last month’s CITEM show, Carlo can’t afford to sit back and relax. "I look forward to being busy and stressed. But it’s a happy kind of stress."

If there’s one cause Carlo is happy to espouse, it is protecting intellectual property rights. "It’s become my personal campaign," he enthuses. "I like to protect my design – and my clients. If a design of mine is sold abroad at a certain price, it shouldn’t be much cheaper in the Philippines or out in the bazaar for half the price because the client will be turned off and he’s not gonna buy in the Philippines anymore. Designing is not just doodling on paper. As far as I’m concerned, it goes through a long process. Doing a collection of eight to 12 pieces of furniture or houseware or accessories is not easy. It has to percolate in your mind, you have to research, you have to be inspired."

Judging from his works, this workaholic designer is not lacking in inspiration – coupled, of course, with perspiration. Expect Carlo Tanseco to give us more "wow" designs.

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2. William Gordon: More than beauty, I want to give people an experience

Award-winning graphic, industrial, and furniture designer William Gordon literally had his hands full at the recent CITEM show, designing 175 products for 16 companies. It was his first time to come to Asia and little did this Atlanta-born designer know that he had been exposed to Filipino design in furniture fairs in the US.

During his six-month stay in the Philippines, William was exposed to more than just Philippine design. He was exposed to the Philippine way of life. And yes, he just loved Filipino food.

William’s designs for the CITEM show have a mouthful to say. For instance, there’s his "Donut" chair. He says, "It’s modular, it forces you to sit in a circle and talk. Instead of sitting on a couch and looking at the TV, you’re looking at each other. It’s a storage, too."

Then there’s the chair that William delightfully calls "Granola with icing." It looks too good to sit on. It’s got a stool that can be stored under the chair.

Surely, for William, a chair is not just a chair. He’s come up with different versions of the couple’s chair – for couples both in marital bliss and blister. There’s a pair of chairs facing each other. "Couples who are having troubles are forced to look at each other," William points out. And there’s a pair with the chairs placed back to back, each with a mirror at its side. "Instead of sitting face to face, couples can use the mirrors to communicate."

Let’s hope feuding couples don’t end up smashing the mirrors.

Turning to home for inspiration, William designed a log bench that, yes, doubles as a storage. "Sitting on a log in the countryside – we do that a lot in America," he fondly reminisces.

And then he invites us to kick up our heels and sit in his "Ergo" chair, which he designed for Padua International. "Didn’t you sit like this when you were nine years old?" William asks us as he curls up in his chair. Made of soft braided leather, this chair is cozy enough to bring back warm childhood memories. Sofa so good!

A designer who likes to think out of the box, William has also come up with what he calls the Filipino igloo. A cool idea, if you ask us. "It was developed by Nature’s Legacy," William tells us. "It’s basically a composite of all these natural waste materials that you’d normally trash. You can put it in your house, on the beach, anywhere."

On this muggy afternoon, there’s no place we’d rather be than in a cool tea room. Yes, you can take the cushions off and just sit inside and talk. It’s made of handmade paper and can be closed for some privacy. Care for some tea?

"More than just function or beauty, I wanted something very contemplative, that would really envelop the user and give him an experience," William declares.

A s-tea-mulating experience, to be sure.

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3. Daniel Dela Cruz: Filipinos have a better understanding of Christmas

Much sought-after holiday decor designer Daniel Dela Cruz gave us four nights to remember when he staged "A Night to Remember" last Oct. 18-21 at the Forum of the PICC. Fact is, guests were humming a Christmas tune as they walked out of the halls and dreaming of not a white but a bright Pinoy Christmas with the aroma of puto bumbong wafting in the nippy air.

But that’s getting ahead of our Christmas story. Making a comeback for this show, Daniel comes up with a setting composed of three towering structures representing three different themes – American Pop, Holiday Sparkle, and Following Yonder Star.

"Being Filipinos, we have a bit of a better understanding of Christmas than the Chinese, for instance; it’s part of our religion," says Daniel, whose impressive list of clients includes Walt Disney, Villeroy & Boch, and Enesco. "The Philippines cannot really compete too effectively anymore with China because of price so we need to get into a certain niche, specialties to attract the customer. One of those things is that our understanding of Christmas is still a lot better, especially the religious side of it. You can’t really buy a Nativity set from China. Apart from using natural materials, our Nativity has a different look, a very Filipino feel."

Always a big come-on at CITEM shows, holiday decor has drawn buyers from Eastern European countries. "They come in with smaller orders, but Eastern Europe is a new marketplace for us to tap," Daniel notes.

Of course, the Philippines has dazzled buyers from the US, where you can find our very own Christmas decor in many department stores, from Neiman Marcus to Walmart. "We cover the whole spectrum," says Daniel with a twinkle of pride in his eyes. "Holiday decor has always been one of the strongest markets in the country. It’s really very much a worldwide phenomenon, with Germany as one of our better customers. Our Christmas decor is even sold in Saudi Arabia."

So, what inspires Daniel?

He’s quick to reply, "Anything can inspire design so a designer must keep his eyes and ears open."

Of course, it helps a lot that Daniel has little kids – Eduardo, Dana, and Diego – who make him feel like a child again waiting for Santa Claus. Says this proud dad, "You can’t help but be amazed at and envy the way children’s minds work. For them, angels come in different shapes, colors, and sizes, not just thin or white. And Santa Claus goes around the country in a horse-driven kalesa instead of a sleigh."

A very merry Pinoy Christmas to all!

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4. Vic Barba: It’s all about twisting and keeping tradition

It was a scant five weeks before the CITEM show this October that Vic Barba was called to do the fashion setting.

But with his proven magician’s skills, Vic breezed through the job like the pro that he is. No sweat!

"I’m a beauty queen, I work well under pressure," says the irrepressible Vic. "I didn’t know what to expect: They said merchandise design, consultancy program, go over contracts, blah-blah. I wasn’t so busy then yet and I didn’t think it was going to be that hectic so I said yes."

With this show, Vic’s life took a different turn. "In product development, there are some twists and turns, hence the title of the exhibit. There were disappointments, but on the average, it was a good experience because most of the exhibitors delivered though some were hard-headed."

It was hard for those based in Cebu, says Vic, except for one who got his kiliti. "She was the second to the last who signed up two weeks before the deadline," Vic relates. "But in less than a week, she had pictures of the finished products which she e-mailed from Cebu."

This Chinese woman, who caught Vic’s discerning eye, has been around and she knows product development like a chef knows his onions. "Five days after we met, she already had a whole fall collection – pati mga anak, not just the mother concept," says an awestruck Vic.

"It’s easy if people know what to expect in product development," says Vic. "You don’t set limitations, that’s why you’re product developing. It’s a laboratory. It’s really all about exploring avenues. Only through trying would you be able to come up with all these ideas."

So how are we faring in terms of accessories abroad?

"For shoes, buyers still come to the Philippines because they get the best wooden soles here," says Vic.

Bless our sole!

He adds, "For accessories, our designs are better. They say for design concepts, it’s the Philippines. For copies, you go to Singapore, Thailand or China. But then again, we can’t keep patting ourselves on the back and saying we’re better, we’re better. We have to compete with them because they’re copying quickly. We always have to churn out new ones."

This avant-garde designer who dares to be different is always asking, "Why not this? Why that?" "You can’t keep doing sinamay and coco shells – that’s so Christmas wrapper, you gotta go beyond that," says Vic.

As did the manufacturer of the big totes in denim and banig exhibited in the CITEM show. So very tote-provoking! But alas, the judges at the Katha Awards probably didn’t see that. We really think this tote should have bagged an award.

"There’s a debate on whether we should stick to tradition or modernize and move forward with the rest of the world," says Vic. "I’m all for twisting and keeping tradition and yet moving forward. You have to combine both."

On the fashion scene, this designer/champion equestrian rides high with the grace of a thoroughbred. "Yes, I still ride," he tells us. "I ride more often than I brush my teeth. Like yesterday, I had to teach some kids in the morning and then come back at night to teach again and ride. I teach two-legged creatures and four-legged creatures. Sometimes, the four-legged creatures are less stupid than their owners."

Learning how to ride at age 10, Vic confesses, "It’s my life, my anchor to sanity."

So what other surprises does this designer have up his sleeve?

"Yes, I want to get pregnant and have children," he says with a mischievous grin.