For the set design of the Hollywood film Ocean’s 13, a few pieces of unique, rattan weave furniture were ordered. The producers and directors at Warner Brothers liked the pieces so much that they ordered whole collections from him, so that everything on the set was made by just one designer. When Brad Pitt stepped on the set, he instantly recognized the furniture, saying he knew who designed it because he owned a few of those, too. After filming, the group auctioned off the furniture among themselves and even ordered more. These pieces can also be seen in some of the most exclusive resorts in Greece, Spain, Mexico, Dubai, Maldives and even in the home of Queen Ramia of Jordan. This world-class luxury furniture is proudly Philippine made by Cebu-based designer Kenneth Cobonpue, and here are 10 things you should know about the man who has been dubbed “The Rock Star of Philippine Design.”
Brad Pitt owns a total of seven pieces by Kenneth, and the two of them are actually collaborating on a huge design project soon. “Brad Pitt is a design collector, he can talk to you about every single item in his home,” Kenneth shares. Pitt purchased items made by Kenneth around three years prior to the Oceans movie. Pitt owns a green design company, and when he was planning this project promoting sustainable materials, he told his team that he knew a designer from the Philippines who did this kind of work. Two months ago, one of Pitt’s people showed up in Kenneth’s Cebu showroom and said, “Brad Pitt told me about you, and so I’m here.” They are currently working together on a (secret) project, and though they have scheduled to meet up several times, he says he will meet Pitt in person soon.On the famed Voyage bed that Brad Pitt owns, Kenneth shares: “That was the only piece of furniture he had shipped from the US to their home in the south of France.”
Kenneth Cobonpue in numbers:
27: Number of countries that his furniture is distributed in.
15,000: Amount in dollars of his most expensive furniture.
1: Number of years it takes to create a piece of furniture, from idea to actual finished product
He has won over 20 design awards locally and internationally, but back in school, he did not pass the exam to get into the UP College of Fine Arts. He attended college in UP Diliman taking up a business degree, and after two years, he figured it wasn’t for him and instead he wanted to take up design. Since he didn’t make the grade, he went back to Cebu to again learn the basics of drawing, before moving to New York’s Pratt Institute to take up industrial design. After graduating, he wanted to stay and work abroad, but had to go home when his father passed away to take over the family businesses. One of which was furniture.
For Kenneth, the most prized award out of all that he has received is the Design for Asia Award. It is usually awarded to industrial products like Sony, Hyundai, Samsung, “But that year, they awarded it to a rattan chair,” he shares with a smile. The Lolah chair is so far the only Philippine winner of this award.
In international exhibitions, he is almost always given an obscure space “where hardly anyone sees it,” Kenneth shares. This year, he told organizers that he would make a car out of rattan, and they said that if he could do it, they would give him a space front and center. And he did it. Being a vintage car collector, Kenneth was inspired to make the Phoenix roadster, a biodegradable concept car made of bamboo, rattan, steel and nylon. This first and only bamboo car in the world was one of the most talked-about pieces in the Imagination and Innovation exhibit in Milan, Italy in April this year. He and his team worked on it day and night for 10 days, sharing that it doesn’t run but “it rolls,” and an electric engine is the next step.
With great designs seem to come many copycats. In fact, Kenneth has to go to court once or twice a month to defend his designs from those who blatantly copy them. Between getting flattered and getting inis, he chooses the latter, saying “I’m not happy about it, but I try to think that I’m contributing to the progress of Philippine design.”
On finding inspiration: “It’s like a sport. When you do it a lot, you get better at it.”
Kenneth is known for drawing inspiration from the most ordinary things. He has fruniture designs inspired by a crushed Coke can, a croissant, and even Yoda. The challenge there is, “If something appeals to me, I have to make sure it also appeals to you.” He explains that there must be a common fascination or a universal feeling evoked for the concept to work. “Finding inspiration in things is a discipline,” he shares, adding that he wasn’t born with this skill, but he worked hard to develop it.
On the problem of “brain drain” and Filipinos wanting to work abroad, Kenneth shares that he has also been dealing with that issue. “That’s the problem of the creative industry here, after you train them, they leave.” His wish for those who do leave is to learn and get better wherever they are in the world, then come back. “They do that, many have,” he shares.
It is his greatest advocacy to put the label “Made in the Philippines” on all things proudly crafted by Pinoys, and in the early 2000s, he had no orders for two years because of this mentality of his.
In the ‘70s and ‘80s, the Philippines would export a lot of handicrafts but it would always be labeled a generic product or under a different brand. Kenneth changed all that 12 years ago when he insisted that his name and logo be put on his pieces, saying “this is made in the Philippines.” For two whole years, he didn’t get any orders and though he did think of changing his strategy, he stuck to it, persevered, and now, many dream of owning a piece by Kenneth Cobonpue. “I think it’s just difficult for them to believe that luxury can come from a Third World country,” he shares. But we can.
Around four years ago, international luxury label Fendi carried his furniture in their home line Fendi Casa. “It was great in the beginning. But when you putyoour brand in a bigger brand, you’ll always be pushed down, and so I learned from that and pulled out all my furniture and said, ‘No more,’” Kenneth reveals.
He actually has gotten more offers since. Kenzo wanted to put his Bloom chair in their collection and label it as a Kenzo product. Kenneth said, “But wait, you have to put my name on it,” and Kenzo refused because that’s not the way they do things, so Kenneth declined the deal as well. He had another offer from Louis Vuitton, asking if they could work with him on their home line, but since they also refused to put Kenneth’s name on it, he also declined that deal
I strongly applaud Kenneth for changing the way Filipinos see design, and for changing the way the world sees Filipinos. He holds dear to him a handwritten letter and clippings sent via snail mail by a Pinay OFW caregiver based in Israel. She wrote: “I’m just so happy you’re doing what you’re doing because my employer thinks that all Pinoys are good for just domestic work. Then I saw this newspaper where you were featured and I showed it to my employer saying, ‘Look, there’s a Pinoy featured in your national newspaper,’ and you did good.” Kenneth believes so much in the talent of the Filipino that when I asked him if it’s a big deal that all these luxury labels want his work, with both humility and pride, he says, “Not really. It’s like, I’ll get there one day, where you are. We’re no different. You just have a hundred years ahead of me, I’ll get there slowly.”
