THE 1991 ERUPTION of Mt. Pinatubo was one of the largest the world had ever seen. It spewed mountains’ worth of ash and stone, radically changing the landscape of Central Luzon. People and places were rubbed off the map, and those that survived had to make do.
Back then, Sydney Dy, co-founder of Destonos, owned a piggery with her husband in Tarlac. In the aftermath of the eruption, the farm was awash with ash. During an April 29 media lunch in Makati, she remembered asking what she would do with all of the ash around her — 30 years later, all that ash is now an upscale furniture brand.
To be fair, this wasn’t the first time Ms. Dy had to make difficult decisions: she had started out in banking, but a knowledge of style made her resign and work in fashion. After a few years of designing for a store (and seeing her collections sell out), she moved on to designing for the home.
She discussed with us how she made furniture out of the ash: resin, volcanic ash (or pumice stone ground to the consistency of ash), and fiberglass are mixed together and formed into a stone cast. They then turn into wall panels, coffee tables, and benches. From afar, the porosity makes it appear like an exotic coral — when touched, they are quite smooth, and very heavy. No one piece is the same due to the nature of the product.
Asked about durability, she says that they go through weathering and weight tests to prove to their foreign clients how well they’ll do during shipping: prior to the April launch event, Destonos only sold to the export market.
She recalls that she was largely ignored the first four years that she started the business, until a French catalog paid attention to her, placed a large order, and gave her a break: soon, clients from other countries started coming to the Tarlac factory. “I’m still here,” she said in a speech.
Asked what it’s like to “come home” (selling to the Philippines instead of abroad), she said, “It feels very good. Now is the perfect time. Before, I didn’t do it because I didn’t think the Philippines was ready, and they will not accept what I do. This time it’s different. People are more open.
“I create something different: from nothing, to something.”
To inquire about owning a Destonos creation or to schedule a private viewing, visit www.destonos.com. — Joseph L. Garcia
