MANILA, Philippines - A taste for adventure, a penchant for risk-taking and the drive for excellence: these are traits that best describe Eric Alvin Po, a young entrepreneur and furniture designer.
Originally from Cebu, Eric is a scion of a notable, business-oriented clan in the province. A consistent honor student, Eric exhibited both sharp business acumen and political smarts, leading to a stint as vice president of the University of San Carlos Supreme Student Council while pursuing a degree in Accountancy.
Eric could have joined the family business after graduation but took a different route. Instead, he founded an environmental advocacy group and spent a year in China, studying Mandarin and the Chinese way of doing business: disciplined and exacting. His vision was guided by French philosopher Andre Gide’s words: “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” Eric took these words to heart, packed his bags and moved to Manila in 2005, where he started from scratch as an associate sales executive of a top real estate development firm.
The real estate stint was a valuable learning experience for the budding entrepreneur as he learned the ins and outs of the real estate market and a keener grasp of what prospective apartment owners wanted. Not only did they want a physical space to call their own, they essentially wanted this space to be an extension of themselves.
It didn’t take long before the idea of starting his own furniture business came to mind. “I saw a real and growing demand for furniture for new homes, and when new condominium buildings start turning over the units to homeowners, I knew the demand for furniture would be incredibly high.”
Moreover, the Cebuano in him persuaded Eric that he had a fighting chance in Metro Manila’s furniture market. In the Philippines, Cebu is regarded as the mecca of world-class furniture, home to well-known designer Kenneth Cobonpue, who continues to run his furniture business there. Eric saw how homeowners would settle for high-priced European-style pieces available in any local store than fly to a furniture gallery in Cebu and wait for months for their orders to arrive so he thought, “Why don’t we bring our furniture to Manila?”
So in 2006, Eric, along with fellow Cebuanos Eric Mendoza, Vincent Sandoval and Johann Escañan, established Home Mavericks and opened its first store along EDSA in Makati City, using his own money from sales commissions he saved from his real estate stint. Eric is the designated managing partner, overseeing day-to-day operations and pursuing new business leads—and it wasn’t always easy.
Fast-forward six years and Home Mavericks is now a fast-rising brand both in furniture and interior design. It is now located along Arnaiz Avenue (formerly Pasay Road) in Makati City and slowly making its mark in highly competitive Manila.
Meanwhile, Eric is adding “furniture designer” to his impressive resume. “Over the years, I saw my furniture designers come up with fascinating pieces, and I’ve also researched on a wide swath of interior design styles — from Mediterranean to Asian-inspired to Miami-style — that inspired new designs in my head. So I asked myself, what’s stopping me from creating my own? And so I took the plunge.”
Eric’s eponymous design line, set for a late 2012 launch, will be headlined by his unique take on the solihiya chair. A fixture of local design since the Spanish era, solihiya has been revisited and re-imagined many times over, from bags and accessories, even architecture.
So why did Eric choose solihiya for his first design, the Luna accent chair?” Shaped like a crescent moon and using the solihiya weave, Eric calls his concept “weaving a Filipino dream.” “My first design is inspired by my journey and struggles in achieving what I really wanted to do in life. The shape of the chair is a moon representing the dream. The weave is solihiya that signifies Filipino artistry while the cushion and accent pillow cue modernity.”
What’s next for Eric Alvin Po? He wants to surprise himself by attempting new things and continuously striving to master the things he’s already good at to leave an indelible stamp on every piece or project he’s involved in. He also encourages aspiring business owners to give it their best shot. “You don’t need big capital to start a business; just learn how to invest it correctly. Nobody starts great but you have to start to eventually become great.”