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.
Lifestyle Feature ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1,
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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.
Nature's
Legacy Foundation, Inc. celebrated the EASTER
SUNDAY last March 31, 2013, held at Natures Legacy Family Park and Garden.
The celebration is for the entire children, relatives, friends, neighbors.
