Uniquely Kenneth

It's fascinating how someone who could be so mundane would be able to make it really big in the modern world. But with a touch of elegance and class, it's no wonder why Cebuano designer Kenneth Cobonpue has achieved the extraordinary feat of getting noticed in the international arena.

This down-to-earth achiever draws inspiration from everywhere but basically goes back to nature- his "great source of inspiration" - in visualizing his designs.

At least three sets of his world-class furniture, which cost a hefty $70,000, are filling up the lobby of the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) and which warm revelers with its large, all-engulfing and yet surprisingly so comfortable chairs.

He admitted even a dented can of coke and a loaf of bread had evinced something for him to resemble in his vast array of furniture.

"I do modern designs but use natural materials- a lot of rattan and bamboo in my designs. It's cheap. And I've succeeded in turning it into intriguing, fashionable pieces, especially during competitions," he said.

True enough, Kenneth has been garnering kudos all over the world for his uniquely sexy and curvaceous designs, as he offered at the same time a new meaning to the Western definition of modern design for furniture with his hand-made designs made out of indigenous materials.

Although dogged by many as "stodgy, outdated" material for furniture, Kenneth proved this hackneyed notion wrong when he captivated the Class A market with his awesome rattan designs and architectures. Time Magazine even dubbed him as the "first great virtuoso" in the rattan material.

Kenneth's Lolah chair has won him recognition in the 2005 Design for Asia Award, the most celebrated award for designs in this part of the world.

In Lolah, Kenneth experimented on the employment of rattan poles and strips fixed firmly together with glue, nails and nylon wire, exuding traditional Asian shipbuilding-a design that was praised by judges for its "simple structure, sculptural form and innovative use of rattan material."

Now the big apple beckons for Cebu's ace designer as Warner Brothers asked Kenneth to furnish a casino set for its upcoming movie Ocean's Thirteen.

Kenneth said Warner Brothers originally decided to purchase only few pieces of his collections but decided to put him on task by asking him to furnish the whole casino setting.

Hollywood celebrity Brad Pitt has been Kenneth's client for four years now, with the latter having had purchased four pieces of his precious furniture sets in his Los Angeles showroom, the latest of which was the Voyage bed for Pitt's adopted son Maddox.

Other pieces of furniture purchased by Pitt include Pigalle and Croissant chairs.

In his quest to establish himself in the international market, Kenneth was bold enough to deviate from the usual practice and do away with company name in his furniture and sold it instead under his name.

Sure he lost some of his clients in the process but the end result is sweet-aside from getting noticed he has also received numerous accolades here and abroad.

"To make it to the market, you must have something unique. You find beauty in things that are ordinary. Find something special in it. I think that's the secret," he said before members of the local and foreign media in a press conference last Thursday afternoon at the small briefing room in the CICC.

Furniture craftsmanship runs in Kenneth's blood, with her mother Betty Cobonpue founding the family business Interior Crafts of the Islands, Inc. in 1972. It was incorporated in 1984 and ventured into exporting of products thereafter.

It's a medium-scale company with 250 workers, and which Kenneth intends to keep as such, although they go into outsourcing for the framing part - that is, the putting up of metal structures.

The Philippines traditionally caters to the lower and middle markets for furniture but these have been taken over by other countries in the region, especially by China, so that the only market left for Filipinos to capture is for the high-end products.

Kenneth keeps more than 150 showrooms in different parts of the world, spanning from China to Africa.

Here in the Philippines, he keeps one showroom in Manila. The one he has here in Cebu is the family's furniture factory.

When asked what prompted him to volunteer to beautify CICC with a touch of his elegant furniture collections, Kenneth said, "It is service to the community and the love for Cebu."