Artisan

Discover the rich heritage of craftsmanship in Cebu, the furniture capital of the Philippines

From its modest beginnings in the 1940s as a hub for rattan porch furniture and antique reproductions, the Cebuano furniture industry has come a long way. Today, Cebuano brands are not only attracting the attention of celebrity interior designers and international luxury brands, they are also making big impressions at prestigious trade fairs such as Maison & Objet. When placed in the hands of Cebu’s creative designers and their capable craftsmen, treasures from the seas (such as shells and molluscs) and the land (such as abaca, coconut, rattan, wood, bamboo and animal skins) are transformed into exquisite furniture and home decor.

THE NEXT GENERATION

Vito Selma is a prime example of how Cebu’s furniture industry has evolved. He spent much of his childhood around his parents’ traditional furniture-making business. As a young adult, Selma left Cebu to study design in San Francisco and Milan, then returned home to help his family rebrand their business with a new aesthetic that is more streamlined and functional, with strong Japanese and Scandinavian influences. With Selma, everything is considered and transformative—a chair can be reconfigured as a night light, while lamps inspired by woodblock puzzles can be reassembled for variations in form. “Cebuano furniture is special because of the craftwork, which has become an integral part of the design,” he explains. “A lot of things are made by hand, and this can be seen in the details.” Like Selma, brother-and-sister duo Dean and Laelany Pasquet belong to the new generation that has stepped up to improve the family business. La Galuche was founded by the siblings’ father, Jean Marc Pasquet, a French gemmologist who met and married their Cebuano mother when he went to the island to source red and black coral in the 1980s. The brand specialises in marquetry using exotic skins, particularly galuchat—the highly prized skin of rays, first used for samurai sword hilts in 15th-century Japan before becoming fashionable in France in the 17th century. The brand’s limited edition Art Deco-style furniture, as well as smaller items such as jewellery boxes and ashtrays, have made fans out of the likes of Robicara, John Lyle, Cravt,