Asia's best kept secret is out

The Philippines opened its doors revealing Asia’s best kept secret in furniture design and craftsmanship in the four-day Philippine International Furniture Show (PIFS). The world’s elite furniture brands, distributors, retailers and manufacturers came together at the World Trade Center for the annual event, which was held last Feb. 28 to March 3.

On the first two days international visitors from 56 countries were the main guests. Some 981 foreign buyers paced the halls of the World Trade Center in what seemed like a mad rush to swipe the best products in the show. Though strictly a trade show, when it was opened to the public, they turned out in unexpected numbers.

The furniture show’s sales reached $17.6 million, a 10 percent increase from last year. Foreign buyers moved from booth to booth keenly appreciating the seemingly endless array of products which incorporated an ingenious mix of industrial and natural materials that the modern world has taken for granted.

In all my travels to furniture showrooms the world over, nowhere had I seen the exceptional and outright ingenious incorporation of banana and abaca bark, bamboo, water hyacinth, abaca, bakbak, raw hide, India cane, arurog and lanot rope into luxuriously designed and executed furniture, except here. The country works with these materials so well that it has created a new furniture category described as "mixed media."

I grew up in a family of cabinetmakers and it was a dream of the industry back then to gain the prominence we were deprived of for so long. While the country had been exporting to top-brass companies in the United States and European Union, we were always required to ensure that there should be absolutely no indication that the furniture was made in the Philippines.

That was the secret then. It’s no longer a secret today. Manufacturers are increasingly acknowledging that their furniture is made in the Philippines. From the prestigious B&B Italia, Roche & Bobois, EJ Victor, Thomasville and Ferguson Copeland to the largest chain stores, such as Pier-1 Imports, Target, Crate & Barrel – they all source from the Philippines. These breakthroughs in design and finer product lines don’t come cheap and these companies are willing to acquire collections at higher prices as compared to other Asian manufacturers.

Export Team’s Pat Borgonos introduced collections by Leo Yao in lanot rope weaving so finely done that, from a distance, it took on an appearance of fabric. Evolve design’s multi-awarded Milo Naval’s interpretation of a tatami room in banana bark lends a very contemporary look to this traditional Japanese room. Design savvy is by no means limited to the Luzon participants. Not to be outdone, Passad owner Anto Lee surprised visitors with his stainless steel armchair with laminated bamboo seat and a wooden globe painstakingly put together using small wooden chips both developed by Carlo Tanseco. Almost in a class of her own, Johanna Lacson for Johanna displayed a magnificent collection of one of a kind furniture and accessories which are always a must on a buyers shopping list. Every conceivable species of reed, vine, leaf, stalk is painstakingly composed together in countless combinations to produce beautiful works of art with no two pieces being identical. Relative newcomer Padua International drew attention with an all-new 30-piece collection of casegoods in laminated bamboo and woven leather seating designed by Val Padilla.

The show ended with many wondering what will be in store for them in 2003. Well, for now, that remains Asia best kept secret.

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Gene Soler is a technical consultant to the woodworking industry. He can be reached at genesoler@yahoo.com