FURNITURE SERIES 2: Cobonpue Inspirations

I don't know the legalities of using the designs. Evidently this resembles like the YODA, my favorite Cobonbue design. I am definite about having available pieces like this and was confirmed by the owner (sorry but through eavesdropping ) of Oo yah Milk tea house  that he got this from Angeles City. 

I don't watch television on weekdays. On weekends I find myself following what my son wants to watch. He's GMANews TV addict. Last Saturday, I unexpectedly chanced upon 100 % Pure Pinoy when the episode is about furniture. The world stopped in a snap and I abandoned everything to see that episode.

What better way to fill up an episode like this than to feature Kenneth Cobonpue. Of course, around two-thirds of the Philippine Population knows the basic. He designed for the film Ocean's Thirteen and further to the couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. I have seen Kenneth been interviewed couple of times but that day was different. I bragged to yaya that I know him (not personally but because I'm aware of who he is) and brought out my magazines that featured him.

The course of the episode explained the inspirations behind his famous chairs. One of the notable designs is the dragnet which is likened to a fisherman's net. The other designs are equally familiar. I've seen them in resorts and in furniture stores in Angeles City. That made me wonder about the legalities of using the those designs. The show likewise pronounced that Cebu is the furniture capital of the Philippines and not Angeles City, Pampanga as I thought.

I've been to numerous furniture stores in Angeles. They are generally kind to clients like me. I would usually say "Naninigin-ningin lang po. I don't have much money to spend on expensive pieces. If you would just let me see the less expensive ones". I did not see something like the dragnet or bloom but basically the likes of voyage, mermaid and my favorite yoda. I mean, I love the yoda. I remember almost buying a piece when I find something like it. Then, I realized that I have to buy a pair - the other one for my wife. Buying two pieces would cost me a fortune.

In Balanga, there's one tea house which has yoda as the seats in the place. The day I decided to have this post, I rushed towards the tea house to take pictures.  Too bad there were clients who are having a business meeting. I'm just too shy to pull the chair to have it in better view. Another thing to be so shy about is sound of my phone upon camera click. I settled to having picture of the seat the way there are.

I wished hardly for their meeting to end that I can approach the service crew so I can arrange the pieces for the pictorial. While waiting, I could not help listening to the people around. From there, I realized that one of them is the owner of the place. I pretended to read a magazine featuring Venus Raj. I've read the story couple of times so that meeting was more interesting to me. Towards the end, one of the clients paid attention to the yoda.

"Ang ganda naman nito, saan mo binili eto? magkano ito, mga P500 isa? "

"No that's P3500 each and I got it from Angeles."

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The above blog description says : My mother always told me then that I have to take up fine arts in college... About thirty years later, my closest association with that statement is having an office mate whose daughter is a fine arts graduate.

She's Ana Patricia V. Bernardo and here is one of her designs. Admittedly, I am very envious whenever her mother talks about her work which is basically what I for once in my past dreamed of. What I like about her is her genuine excitement whenever she gets praises on her FB account. So I won't do that. Kidding.  

an Ana Patricia V. Bernardo design grabbed from her FB account.

Today whenever I have an idea for a furniture, I'm thinking that I might be doing something wrong or contradicting a particular rule because I don't have formal education for it. Cobonpue was from Pratt Institute in New York. Bernardo is a yuppie whose holds a degree from University of Sto. Tomas. Anyways, I remember than art is an expression but just the same they have the appropriate learnings.

Part of the feature in that episode I mentioned was a successful designer who has a different background - Clayton Tugonon. The personality is not that familiar. I believe he's in the rank of the famous designers but I probably bought design magazines not on issues that feature him.

I got this description of him from furnitureandinteriordesignatadamsmith.blogspot.com

Clayton Tugonon is one of the designers working for Snug but also has his own company 'Classical Geomerty Trading'. Clayton Tugonon has no formal training in furniture design he is trained as a barrister and has a BS in Biology. However he has always been designing and followed his dream to have his own company. Clayton tries to express the spontaneity of play in his designs, the result is ingenious application of materials and creativity, his work combines bold form and silhouette with stunning finish and surface design.

He serves as an inspiration to those who wants to venture into the industry. That does not include me -anymore. I am just happy about designing for personal consumption. I am paying attention to my ideas because we had parts of our house demolished so I basically have materials to experiment on. Once these are gone it would cost me a lot for executing these ideas. We are also fortunate and quite torn having numerous pieces passed on to us from the old house. Fortunate, that they blend well with the vintage look I want and of course it is expensive to buy custom made that looks like them. Torn because we cannot dispose what we don't want for sentimental purposes.

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The magazine feature says something about Kenneth, living, breathing design  and the likes. I am sure he has hardships too that are downplayed in the magazine and television features. I'm not living a life full of regrets and forgone dreams. I could have just dreamed of too many things for God to provide all of them. It keeps me happy knowing I am trying to taste the pieces of them. Anyways I already have few successful and not-so-successful projects in the past  like the wooden bench press where I do my sit ups. Today, I have my one favorite design which I now officially name as Wilfredo (sounds like a pasta bowl of KFC). Wala lang, gusto ko lang Wilfredo. He's an uncle and there's no story about it.

This is wilfredo. I got an old patungan ng cabinet and transformed in it a vigan tiled bench. the alulod is not part of the design. Naipatong lang sa ibabaw. 

I got this picture from Bataan Tourism Office where I got a casual interview with one of the staff. The First Lady of the province was said to have purchased this along with other Cobonpue inspired designs from furniture manufacturer in Angeles City. This Angeles based manufacturers could have been affiliated or have tied up with Cobonpue.