BRANGELINA'S FAMILY SLEEPS IN HIS BEDS AND HIS FURNITURE HAS BEEN IMMORTALIZED IN THE MOVIES OCEAN'S THIRTEEN AND WIMBLEDON AND IN THE TV SHOW NIP/TUCK. CHIQUIT TORRENTE GETS THE LOW-DOWN
ADDITIONAL RESEARCH BY RONALISA CO AND REBECCA RODRIGUEZ
TELL US ABOUT THE LINK UP WITH OCEAN’S THIRTEEN
The movie is set in Las Vegas and Warner Brothers needed to furnish a casino, so they ordered a few pieces from me. I sent them a catalogue and they decided to furnish the entire lounge with my pieces. They said they have never ordered so much from one supplier before.
HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN THE NEWS CAME OUT ABOUT BRAD AND ANGELINA OWNING YOUR FURNITURE?
I found it uncomfortable at first, because I wanted be recognized for my work, not because Brad Pitt uses it. But it is flattering that a person who can buy anything in the world to fill a corner of his house chose to get not only one, but four of my designs over a period of three years!
HOW DOES BEING FROM CEBU INFLUENCE YOUR DESIGNS?
Cebu and the surrounding islands give me the resources and inspirations to turn my designs into objects of beauty. It’s home to thousands of skilled craftsmen and artisans and it’s they who turn my designs into reality. My designs are created by human hands, not machines.
YOUR DESIGNS TAKE A LOT FROM NATURE…
My materials are natural and warm. My forms are organic. Everything about my designs reflects nature; my designs bring nature indoors. A lot of my early work has a transparent characteristic to it because you get that same feeling when you look through a foliage of leaves or a cluster of trees.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
I work with the materials right away to translate inspiration into a reality. I build models out of rattan or industrial cardboard. Working three-dimensionally from the beginning gives my designs that sculptural and spatial edge not found with illustrations made on paper or on computer. After experimenting with the right materials, I put it down on paper. It would be nice to have a single constant design philosophy, but I find my convictions challenged as new designs come to the fore every year. I always try to create beautiful objects born from a fusion of technology and craft.
WHY RATTAN?
No one has really picked up the material to develop modern designs. I think there are still a lot of things that can be done with bamboo and rattan that haven’t been tried before. They are both wonderful materials and require less work, maintenance and capital investment to develop than wood.
Kenneth Cobunpue is located at Interior Crafts of the Islands, Inc. 3-A General Maxilom Avenue, Cebu City. In Manila, see his works at B at home, Nicanor Garcia Street, Makati. Visit www.kennethcobunpue.com
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