Kenneth Cobonpue

Who is Kenneth Cobonpue?

Born a proud Cebuano, Kenneth Cobonpue, is a world renowned, multi-awarded, industrial designer known for his signature designs in natural fibers and materials. Being born from a Chinese family who was business oriented, he was greatly encouraged to take up a business course at the University of the Philippines Diliman. Realizing that it wasn’t for him, he applied in the Fine Arts program, which at that time offered Industrial Design. He failed the entrance exam saying that he couldn’t draw well enough. His luck was changed and better opportunities came his way when he attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, where he took up Industrial Design in 1987. While completing his degree, he worked for a leather and woodwork shop in Florence, Italy. In 1994, under a state and private scholarship, he studied furniture marketing and production at the “Export Akademie Baden-Württemberg” in Reutlingen, Germany and soon afterwards worked in Bielefeld and Munich. Cobonpue’s brand incorporates locally sourced natural materials such as seagrasses, rattan, buri, bamboo, and abacca with innovative handmade processes which make his brand unique and globally recognize.