Manila FAME 2026 in Bloom: Filipino Design, Craft, and Sustainability
When was the last time you paused to appreciate Filipino art and design—not just how it looks, but the imagination, skill and materials behind it?
At Manila FAME 2026, my family and I found ourselves doing just that. My mom first visited years ago with my dad. This time, she was struck by the fair’s vivid colors, substantial furniture, and variety of materials. My sister, a graphic designer, loved seeing traditional and modern styles meet. With Zed and Zoey there too, we each found something different to admire.
An Art in Full Bloom
“Bloom” was a fitting theme for Manila FAME 2026. The fair brings together Filipino craft, natural materials and contemporary design, with furniture and home décor ranging from wood, bamboo, rattan, shells and abaca to pieces exploring material reuse. Contemporaneo, for example, used discarded wood chips in sculptural furniture and décor.
The lineup also included Art Meets Craft, with its bright colors and playful forms; Lija by That One Piece, with home accents made from tinted fossilized leaves; and South East Metro Arts, whose work incorporates Mount Pinatubo’s volcanic ash into furniture and metal pieces. Each offers a different interpretation of Filipino design.
Zoey was with us, too. We do sustainability work with his future in mind, so having him there made the day personal for both me and Zed. The things we admire, make, and choose today are part of the world our children will inherit.
The Question Behind the Beautiful Things
As we moved through the fair, I kept thinking about the stories behind the materials. Junk Not, founded by designer Wilhelmina “Willie” Garcia, makes products—including furniture—from discarded materials such as plastic. At SSX, I also heard about furniture designer Noel Tañada and WASTO Waste Solutions, a distinct initiative developed by Alpha DDSI, the company he leads. Their approaches are different, but both prompted me to think about how an idea moves from material to product—and what it takes to make that work last.
One of my strongest takeaways was that plastic is not automatically the enemy. It is practical and sturdy, especially for packaging and food. The challenge is what happens across its life: how much we use, whether it can be collected, and whether it can be recovered or responsibly disposed of afterward.
Filipino creativity can give recovered materials another purpose. But a beautiful or clever product is only one part of the picture. We also need reliable collection and processing, people willing to work with those materials, and buyers who help make that work viable. That, to me, is part of the promise—and the challenge of sustainable design.
From Manila FAME to SSX
The transition from Manila FAME to SSX felt natural. The fair showed how makers imagine new possibilities for materials. SSX brought the conversation to the systems around them: collection, sorting, recovery, financing, and the markets needed to keep those systems going.
Zed and I have had many of our usual conversations about what it takes to make sustainability work in real life. Hearing him moderate and join the SSX panel discussions on EPR and sustainable materials brought those ideas into a larger room.
As I listened, I found myself thinking about the gap between a promising solution and one that can last. A business needs customers. A recovery system needs a market for what it collects. Small enterprises need partners, financing and access to buyers.
I kept returning to the thought that no single material, product or policy can carry the whole responsibility. EPR should lead to real collection, sorting and recovery—not just targets on paper.
And conversations between businesses, communities, government, designers and waste workers need to become partnerships and practical action. I mean, what if your next set of furniture was made from upcycled materials - snack chip wrappers, PET bottles, discarded rattan, and even the now prolific bubble wrap from online shopping? Wouldn't that be unique and exciting?
That same principle applies to alternative packaging. EcoNest PH and Oikos offer plant-based options, including cassava-based products; EcoNest also offers items made from materials such as bagasse. I’m glad these alternatives exist, but compostable packaging needs suitable collection and processing.
Without systems and large-scale composting facilities that can handle it, it may not break down as intended. If the options are too expensive or difficult to source, many businesses and consumers will struggle to adopt them. Making sustainable design work means building the infrastructure and demand alongside the alternatives.
I was glad to see members of PARMS and PASS at SSX as well, including EcoNest, WASTO, Sentinel, EcoHeart, Café Leopoldo and SoilMate. Their presence made the work feel less like separate initiatives and more like a network that can help promising ideas grow.
What We Carried Home
My mother left with a renewed appreciation for a fair she had known years ago; my sister left with new design ideas to mull over. I left thinking about how Filipino design, materials, businesses and people can develop together—and Zoey reminded me why art and sustainability matter.
If you visited Manila FAME 2026 or SSX, what piece, display or idea stayed with you?
I went to show my mom a fair she once loved. I left thinking about how sustainable design can bloom when makers, businesses and communities help good ideas grow.
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