Coolhunting in Frankfurt

MANILA, Philippines - One below-zero Sunday in Frankfurt, Germany, I sought relief from the bitter cold in a packed pavilion that was five train stops away from my hotel. Warm bodies lugging trolleys came by the hundreds, proving that even after so many years, this design and consumer goods fair that I came to Frankfurt for was still one of the most attended and most important in the world.

Ambiente 2013 is staged yearly at Messe Frankfurt’s 578,000-square-meter exhibition area –– a massive space with 10 halls and several quaint restaurants, one of which is called Veranda and it overlooked Frankfurt’s then-snow-capped roofscapes. This was where I gathered strength in between browsing through Ambiente’s many booths and consumed illegal portions of potato wedges and fizzy water.

The thing about Frankfurt is, without imagination, the city can be quite the “business district,” a palette of browns and grays with pops of terracotta and the occasional head of magenta hair. A colleague observed how every hallway, door and stairway at Messe looked like the other. But I liked this about the city, how it’s a kind of blank canvas that you can fashion as you like, safely, and with the guarantee that, in case you got lost, at least 10 people around you will understand when you ask, “How many stops till Frankfurt am Main?” –– regardless of your distinctly Asian accent.

One would understand immediately why Ambiente is such a big deal. It brings in tourists and businessmen from around the world, samples the imagination of different countries, and adds a welcome chaos to the flawlessly organized, hyper-functional city. With European, Asian, American and African design showcased on the same plain, being at the exhibit is almost like cross-country window-shopping. Holland in Hall 11 for beauty goods, check. Japan in Hall 11 for wacky but sensible designs, check. India in Hall 10 for hipster-ethnic curios, check. The Philippines for crafts made from various materials (and a “nosebleed” break) in Halls 9 and 10, check.

This year, our country debuted Design Philippines at Ambiente. Under this unified image, Filipino exporters presented their design-centric lifestyle products, with the assistance of the Center for Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) and Worldwide Exhibitions Linkage Services (We-Link) and Messe Frankfurt. We-Link flew us in to witness the exhibition, which featured Philippine-made products from companies like CSM Philippines, AeroStone, Ann Ong, Nature’s Legacy, 1968 Export Corporation, Island Accents, K.B. Arts and Crafts, Terra Cotta Art Works, Maze and MASAECO. Their products range from home décor and handicrafts to paper art, metal furniture and sustainable interiors, and jewelry.

When presented alongside products from Japan, Europe and the US, it becomes clear why our exporters have chosen to participate in Ambiente, some of them for decades now. Put simply, our products are a hit with the European, American and Middle Eastern market. They are unique and well-made. Also, while hanging out at different booths and talking to the business owners, I observed how accommodating and flexible Filipinos really are.

Pete Delantar of Nature’s Legacy, a Cebu-based company that produces sustainable materials and products (from all sorts of farm wastes like corn husks and mango seeds), shared how the late The Body Shop founder Anita Roddick herself asked them to design and produce the packaging for one of their most controversial and popular products, their hemp line. Today, Nature’s Legacy has four plants around Cebu and a showroom in Mandaue City.

Judith Manarang, owner and designer of Maze, manufacturer of ornate metal furniture, shared that she has found a niche in the Middle East, that particular market being partial to intricate designs that some might even consider over-the-top. In her 18 years in export and 21 years in manufacturing, the Kamapangan has designed and supplied for courtyards of kings and has perfected manipulating metal and turning it into works of art.

Similarly, jewelry designer Ann Ong and Wataru Sakuma of MASA Ecological Development, have each found their markets at Ambiente. Ann Ong designs and produces hand-made jewelry, while Japan-born art school graduate Wataru Sakuma creates decorative wall art from paper products and runs a plant in Tagaytay.

Although Juergen Werz, Messe Frankfurt area manager for Africa, Middle East and Asia shared that there has been a 50 percent decline in Filipino exhibitors this year due to the costs involved in joining a fair of Ambiente’s magnitude, the ones that chose to participate this year were happy about the excellent turnout and the new businesses they have acquired. Werz says Messe Frankfurt sees so much potential in Asia as well as Africa that a mini-Ambiente could soon be in the works for these regions.

Meanwhile, at the not-so-mini Ambiente held in Frankfurt, almost every part of the world relevant in the area of design was represented. Integrated into the trade fair was an exhibition featuring 22 products by 17 companies that have been selected for the Design Plus Award for outstanding product design and sustainable innovations, as well as a display of the winners of the German Design Award 2013.

Every booth had at least one design gem, but most had more. And with every design gem I had to ask, “Why didn’t I think of that?” I guess that’s what separates designers from us consumers –– they articulate our needs for us, things we didn’t know we even needed, through the smartest yet simplest of things. Lifestyle-changing stuff.

Before I left for Frankfurt, I was warned that the city could be quite uninspiring. The number of Instagram photos I took is a testament to the contrary. If you happen to be in the area this time next year, just follow the trail of warm bodies. They might just lead you to some place cool.

* * *

For more information about Ambiente and Messe Frankfurt, log on to www.messefrankfurt.com or www.ambiente.messefrankfurt.com