Emerging Talents at FIND – Design Fair Asia 2024

At the recently concluded FIND – Design Fair Asia 2024, over 14,000 attendees from around the world gathered at Singapore Design Week’s premier trade show. The event, held at Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre, spanned 17,000 square meters, a 30% increase from last year. FIND brought together global brands, designers, and industry thought leaders. 

For its third edition, Suzy Annetta returned to curate EMERGE @ FIND, a section showcasing young designers from Southeast Asia. “When I was first brought on board to curate the show, I decided that the best way to start something like this was really to give people an opportunity to see what work was already out there and how designers were working,” Annetta recalls. “I went through the portfolios of designers and really just observed how they were working and what their practices looked like.”

The first year of EMERGE @ FIND focused on materials, while the second year centered on making and production. “This year, since we wanted to commercialize the show, I thought it would be great to give it more of a gallery sense and add a theme and title. So there would be a narrative that tied the pieces together,” she adds. “We challenged the designers with the idea of value. That’s what we’re exploring here—what each of the designers values and how they interpret that.”

A Sustainable Use of Materials

Entitled “These Precious Things”, the show features pieces by designers displayed on plinths made of cinder blocks topped with plywood. Sections of the show are lightly demarcated using various materials. Pieces of ceramic artwork hang at different lengths from the ceiling, a geometric gridwork of metal rods connected by cement cubes creates a room, while bamboo rises and stretches over another.

Annetta worked with design consultancy Superstructure once again for this year’s edition of EMERGE @ FIND. “We’ve challenged them each year to create a showcase that wouldn’t cause more waste. Many of the exhibition booths in a trade fair are torn down and thrown into landfill,” Annetta details. “None of us wanted that to happen.”

Superstructure incorporated materials that could be reused or even waste. The hanging glass with terrazzo can be reused as a soap dish. The bamboo slats sat in blocks made from municipal waste ash mixed with eco concrete. “Singapore incinerates a lot of its waste instead of sending to landfill,”adds Annetta.

Nature-Inspired Nest Table

The Nest Table by designer Edward Sibunga of E/LOU is a low table set that features a terrazzo of wood offcuts from his studio. Sibunga was inspired by a documentary on how birds collect materials to build their nests. “I wanted to mimic how birds created their nests. That’s how this product came to be—it’s an interesting, playful piece that mixes wood offcuts and wood shavings,” Sibunga says. Additionally, the taller table’s leg can be inserted into the lower table to nest together.

Rebound Lamp Collection

Wood offcuts find further use in other products such as Selena Placino’s Rebound Lamp Collection, which she designed in collaboration with Lamana. The lamps, designed as accent lighting, softly illuminate a part of a room by facing them towards the wall.

“Every time I design, I always try my best to inject sustainability into my work. With this year’s theme on value, I was inspired to create something that is often not valued anymore or considered waste. That’s why I partnered with Lamana, who prioritizes sustainability in their practice,” Placino explains. “This time, I followed a different concept—I used the design process called ‘form follows availability.’ The form is dictated by the available materials, which were various types of wood in different sizes.”

Whimsical Papier-Mâché Lamps

Jasser Aguila created a family of lamps made from recycled paper with whimsical, anthropomorphic features. Using papier-mâché, the lamps appear earthy but are surprisingly lightweight. Aguila explains, “I chose to step back and look at the bigger picture. Despite our different beliefs, we are all the same. When you embrace your own light, others might appreciate it.”

“The route I took was about valuing individuality. With all of the global issues we’re facing—political wars, gender identities, and more—I chose to step back and see the bigger picture. Even though our beliefs may differ, we’re all the same. When you embrace your own light, others might appreciate it,” Aguila shares.

The Kapiz Finish Puddle Table

Designer Chini Lichangco partnered with Krete Manila to use discarded capiz shell waste to create what they call Kapiz Finish—a cement integrated with capiz shell. “Capiz is widely used as Christmas decor. Once the capiz shells are cut into shape, the ones on the sides end up in landfills. We wanted to maximize the use of the shell because their population is also dwindling due to unethical harvesting,” Krete Manila’s co-founder Viktoria Laguyo explains.

Lichangco wanted to make use of capiz’s natural iridescence to create a beautiful sheen on her table. “My piece is called the Puddle Table. The table is inspired by puddles in the street. Once light strikes it, it creates a sparkling effect. The concept is it can also be flat-packed without screws,” Lichangco says.

Wicker Wall Sconces and Ceramic Merchickens

Design tandem Rita Nazareno and Gabby Lichauco featured wicker wall sconces in the shape of panika, or gold rings used as currency in pre-colonial Philippines, to convey this year’s theme of value. Lilliana Manahan’s entry consisted of ceramic art pieces of a fantastical creature she calls Merchicken, adorned with paintings of things precious to her.

“I think as a curator, you are only working with the work that you’ve got,” Annetta explains. “So I think the credit really goes to the designers. The proof is in the pudding. It shows how much talent is in the region. I think you can’t really ignore what is here anymore.”

Genteel Home

As FIND is the region’s hotspot for connections in the design industry, it was no surprise that brands like the Pampanga-based furniture company Genteel Home wanted to bolster their presence. Katrina De Leon, principal designer of Genteel Home, was intentional in joining this particular trade show.

“The main purpose is to go global. We want the global market to feel the presence of Genteel Home,” says De Leon. She also mentions that Singapore’s close proximity to the Philippines made logistics easier than doing a trade show for the first time in Europe, for instance.

Genteel Home’s furniture showcases contemporary silhouettes that make use of local materials and support the community of artisans. One chair, called Victoria, loosely mimics the shape of the iconic Tulip chair by Saarinen but is made of rattan. Its seat is upholstered with silk sourced from La Union.

“Whenever I tell people who visit our booth that the furniture is from the Philippines, they are so surprised. They can’t believe it,” says De Leon.

Just like the talents seen in EMERGE @ FIND, it’s high time that the immense skill and craftsmanship in this region be recognized on a global scale. With shows such as FIND – Design Fair Asia, instead of surprise and shock that such work can come from Southeast Asia, it will soon be sought after.

Photographed by Jar Concengco.

Read more: Making Sustainability Mainstream: Liza Morales’ Commitment to Eco-Architecture

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