Debbie Palao . Blog

In The Mood for Musing: Exerpts of our 2011 Moodboard

• • • • • This year’s theme was in honour of CFIF’s creative team, and our running themes were KAGIKAN. In Cebuano, this means ‘origins’, ‘roots’, ‘that from which one existed.’ In a way I think this is a very apt theme, considering the many changes the industry and its constituents have undergone given the trying times. We’ve been forced to reexamine ourselves and reestablish what we believe, what we stand for, our voice in design.

Our challenge: how do we interpret this highly conceptual thought to design?

Our image: threads. Travel. We go back to go forward. We unravel who we are even as we knit ourselves tighter and tougher. From Kagikan, and from thread as a lead concept and material, we discovered five little stories from which 2011 will be coloured in.

Since this is a project that seeks to meld our experiences and our achievements (as well as the lessons we’ve learned; every achievement whispers trial-and-error stories!), and the forecasting of future furniture trends, K and I picked keywords to work with that would eventually form the core of our collection. Let me share some images that comprised our moodboard for this year:

• TRAVEL •
culture › places › leaving › returning

The best things we carry with us after we’ve left a place are often not physical, are always the experiences and realisations that we come to when we keep moving! The visual and sensory saturation can be overwhelming in a good way!

Top to Bottom: [1] From Gujarat, India, courtyard of a renowned Kachch weaver, who welcomed us into his workshop; [2] Raffia weaving in pillows and patterns in pretty pink; Dauis, Bohol; [3] Spools of cotton thread ready for weaving on a loom. Kutch is a dun-coloured landscape [»], thus the need for colour to enliven everyday life, and their dyes are vibrant vegetable dye; [4] In front of the Doumo square in Milano, during the Milano show; [5] Me in the middle of our Camino de Santiago pilgrimage [»]… the knocker on this inn’s door was so simple but special, and very novel!

• COMMUNICATION •
differences › dialogue › sameness › seamless

Top to Bottom: [1] Kae and my friend (and this year’s KAGIKAN ‘momma’) Ina Gaston of Hacienda Crafts [»] discuss the outline of a seminar/ meeting I was giving early last year over a cup of very strong Negrense coffee; [2] Various make-up and liner in bold colours; [3] hands; [4] Sample tiles from many experiments ago with leaf imprints, on black-stained rattan seat; [5] clips from The 57th Oscar Awardee for Best Film The King’s Speech [»] (Copyright Tom Hooper and its producers).

• BOLDNESS •
prints › protrusions › oil black › carbon white › colour carnival

Top to Bottom: [1] Textures and bold contrasts on Balmain Sp/Sm 2011 [»]; [2] boat knots tied at harbor (photo courtesy of Flickr user Dormiel [»]); [3] powerlines jutting out over tents at a local park.

Of course nothing is complete without food, from which I derive a lot of my sensory inspiration from! Recently I managed to get my hands on some crushed saffron, and am looking to cook up my own version of chat masala! Or maybe I’ll roll up the sleeves for a genuine paella marinara cook-out for the family this coming Holy Week!

Stay tuned for our succeeding posts exclusively featuring our collections.