MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines International Furniture Show (PIFS) will be held at the SMX Convention Center from March 13 to 16. PIFS is the platform for the furniture manufacturing and home décor sector, where the best of the new collections are displayed. Over 8,000 visitors from 70 countries are expected at the four-day event.
This year, PIFS has invited celebrity designers Mary McDonald and Nathan Turner of the hit TV program, Million Dollar Decorators, to join the show. They will choose their favorite items from the exhibition and talk on the latest international design trends in a special presentation at the exhibition.
McDonald is an award-winning and internationally published interior designer and author. She has been consistently ranked as one of House Beautiful magazine’s top 100 designers, and one of Veranda magazine’s top 25 designers. Nathan Turner, is a well-known and respected furniture and accessories designer. His work has been featured on Domino, Vogue Living, Elle Decor, House Beautiful, Food & Wine, and C Magazine.
Renowned architect and interior designer J. Antonio Mendoza returns for his second year as creative director of PIFS. “We are delighted to welcome Mary McDonald and Nathan Turner as our special guests. They are considered to be among today’s most sought after tastemakers. They are already interested in our product and we’re certain that they will be blown away by the caliber of new design found in Philippine-made furniture at this year’s show,” he said.
Mendoza will be overseeing not just the look and feel of the show generally, but the featured interior lifestyle vignettes in particular. These will present contemporary Filipino furniture against a backdrop of elements from the national past. This is a developing theme following the huge success of the special settings he oversaw at last year’s event. “It is our history that has given us the insight into East meets West design and allows us to communicate internationally. This is context of our creative ability,” he says.
“PIFS is the ultimate Filipino collection. It is where we show the world, and our colleagues at home, how we interpret the latest industry trends, and in many cases, take the lead in design innovation,” said Christina Gaston, overall event chairman. “Industry pioneers and trendsetters have long been associated with Filipino design. The Campana brothers, Gaetano Pesce and Karim Rashid have all contributed to, and recognized our abilities. We are proud that such well known designers and industry leaders have been associated with our product.”
Mendoza and Gaston will be supported in the organization of this year’s PIFS by the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation, Inc. (CFIF), the Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines (CFIP), and the Pampanga Furniture Industries of the Philippines (PFIP).
The lineup of exhibitors exhibitors include Azcor Lighting, Coast Pacific, Designs Ligna, Diretso Philippines, Far East Furniture, Hein Chrispijn Metamorfose, Ito Kish, Locsin International, MCCA Industrial, Pacific Traders, and Vito Selma.
For information, visit www.pifs.ph or email info@pifs.ph.