Cebu X to feature lifestyle furniture

Local furniture manufacturers will feature pieces that evoke the typical Cebuano lifestyle in an upcoming exhibit, the “Cebu X 2007: Everything Inspires.”

"In every show we think of using new materials. There is no limit to creativity," said Michael Basubas, Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation (CFIF) president.

He said this year’s Cebu International Furniture and Furnishings Exhibition will be held at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino from Feb. 26 to March 1.

The exhibit will feature lifestyle furniture and furnishings, contract furniture and furnishings and outdoor furniture.

The items that will be on display would include multi-media pieces made from indigenous materials such as rattan, wicker, bamboo, wrought iron, wood and buri.

Furnishings made of non-traditional materials like laminated shells, stones, and animal bones and skin will also be on display.

The public, who will view the show on March 1 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., should expect more pieces that evoke a laid back lifestyle and multifunctional items.

”Unlike fashion accessories and garment, the trend in the furniture industry does not change much, this would involve the color and lifestyle,” Ruby Babao-Salutan, CFIF executive director, said.

”In Cebu, we have the lifestyle furniture. So, you buy the image that you choose to live. You would see a piece and say, 'I want to live that way',” Salutan said.

She said this would mean something that would have more value because it would be something intangible.

"So we are not just producers of furniture, it’s a lifestyle,” she said.

Salutan explained that lifestyle is demographic.

"In contrast, furniture manufacturers in Malaysia come up with pieces made of teak or the institutional form while in Europe, where they have small spaces and the land is expensive, they have the minimalist pieces. In North America, they prefer the bulky pieces,” she said.

Twenty six companies that have signed in as exhibitors will be using or experimenting on new materials for their designs. Participants from Bacolod, Manila, and Pampanga and Davao have also enlisted to showcase their products.(PNA)