Into Design Dreamland

Other than the fact that Cebu was my first home, one of the reasons I was so excited to visit again was the plan that after a pleasant morning strolling around and checking out the window displays and shops in the beautiful and sprawling Ayala Malls Cebu, we would take a side trip to visit Kenneth Cobonpue’s showroom before our flight back to Manila.

After a delicious lunch at Siam and some shopping, we headed off to take a what-we thought-would-be-a-quick-but-who-are-we-kidding peek inside Kenneth Cobonpue’s (www.kennethcobonpue.com) Cebu showroom. The area is more than a showroom, and is more like a complex where showroom/workroom/design dream-room merge together into one exciting, inspiring creative space, and where designs are constantly being conceptualized and produced on site.

Paolo Reyes, Crissy Miguel, Kitkat Zobel, myself & Anton Mendoza take a Voyage into design heaven

It’s got a modern shape AND it’s comfy…I’ve got my eye on this award-winning Lolah couch 🙂

Of course the Bloom Chair is still my first love…

Our sneek peak quickly turned into an hour-and-a-half visit, and although we almost missed our flight because of it (luckily PAL was delayed), it was well worth the chance for me to take a closer at how all the amazing designs, from concept to product, are proudly produced locally (thanks for taking me around the workshops, Gene!) So inspiring! 🙂

A look beyond the showroom–this is where imagination meets reality

I’ve always loved seeing how something is made. The process from idea to product really fascinates me!

Skilled furniture artisans from Cebu make each piece by hand…

…weaving…

…and painstakingly shaping each piece.

We also got to drool over many of the smaller items found in Hive (www.designbyhive.com), the lighting fixtures and home accessories brand that boasts of exciting pieces created by a young, dynamic design team headed by Kenneth Cobonpue.

Hive was quite literally buzzing with creativity