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AFTER
recently receiving the Mugna Award for his “Infinity”
collection, which was adjudged Best in Furniture Design
at the Cebu International Furniture and Furnishings
Exhibition 2008, held recently at the Waterfront Cebu
City Hotel and Casino, Allan Murillo, a multiawarded
furniture designer and exporter who hails from Cebu, has
launched his work of art exclusively at Alcid Manila: a
classic house transformed into a showroom inside the
modern and booming BF Homes in Parañaque City.
Allan
and his brother Chris, under the supervision of their
father Asher, have been doing furniture since they were
kids. The brothers imbibed their father’s love for
furniture-making and everything connected with it,
absorbing and arming themselves with the needed
technical skills, such as welding, electrical,
carpentry, etc., during their school years. Allan
recalls that they used to bring their completed products
to their father’s place of work. Working and learning
from the expertise of craftspeople around them, they
discovered their innate talent for art and design, and
set out to make their mark in the furniture industry.
Thus, in 1993, they established Murillo, a company whose
know-how and skills in the art of making quality
furniture goes back a long way.
Their
long experience has taught the Murillos a good
understanding of specific materials and their potentials
and, equally important, their limitations and
appropriateness. Their work experience in Australia,
moreover, exposed them to the commercial standards of
the furniture industry. Their products can be found in
many books and magazines published in different regions
of the world.
Being
more technology-driven than their father, the brothers
constantly engage in research and development. The
search for new interpretations of conventional furniture
motivates the duo. Both have strong beliefs that design
and function are very important elements in all the
products they create, mixing rattan, wicker, leather,
iron, aluminum, wood, abaca, sea grass and other natural
materials with manmade ones. They also love to play
around with subtle contrasts on colors, pattern,
textures, shapes and forms.
Supreme
craftsmanship, clean fluid lines, elegant aesthetic
details—these are the elements that the duo strives to
achieve on both transitional and contemporary pieces
that they create. Allan creates design concepts for the
furniture, while Chris does most of the artwork like
sculptures, paintings, lamps and wall décor.
“I’m not
making weapons for mass destruction, so I never stop my
imagination from running in many directions. My
challenge as designer is to create something that makes
people lives easier and more enjoyable. My designs are
inspired from nature and some manmade objects. Nature is
the best designer, and it’s hard to argue with that,”
Allan says.
It is
hardly a surprise that the Murillo brothers have joined
forces with Alcid Manila, which is also a family
business ingrained with a passion for art and
fine-quality furniture.
The
Alcid Manila showroom was organized by its president,
Manni Alcid, a creative director in the advertising
industry and a Fine Arts graduate from the University of
Santo Tomas (UST); executive vice president Allan Alcid,
who is also an art director and artist from the UST; and
managing partner Gec Alcid, who earned a Bachelor of
Arts in Advertising and Public Relations at Assumption
College.
Among
the stunning pieces displayed at Alcid Manila is the
Mercury Chair with a canopy created by Murillo, which
just won the highly coveted Adex Gold Award for Design
Excellence. The chair is an exclusive piece that made
the trip to New York after being purchased by tennis
stars and husband-and-wife André Agassi and Steffi Graf,
who are now into the furniture business. “I wanted
something that expressed both mine and Steffi’s design
sensibilities, which are very different. When looking at
furniture, I look for comfort and subtle elegance,
something that’s luxurious but not opulent. Steffi likes
streamlined designs, symmetry; more specifically, she
likes modular, square designs,” Agassi said. “I love the
softness of the woven leather and the strength of the
steel and synthetic rattan,” he added.
Also on
display at Alcid Manila is Murillo’s “Infinity”
collection, which embodies the designer’s vision to not
just continuously create impeccable designs but also
embody furniture as works of art. Truly, the Alcid
Manila showroom has reserved its best seat for every
visitor with the Murillo furniture.
Visit
Alcid Manila at
112 Concha Cruz Drive,
BF Homes, Parañaque City. Call (02) 799-4064, text
0928-2143523 or e-mail alcidmanila@yahoo.com for more
information or to schedule a private viewing. |
