Skyline designer climbs for fresh vantage

Casual Living Staff -- Casual Living, 9/10/2010 5:24:04 AM

Asenjo’s luxury outdoor woven collections for Skyline Design include Bishan, a modular sectional that can be used separately as loveseats, benches and ottoman or coffee table.NOEL ASENJO, lead designer of Skyline Design, credits another designer with helping show the path toward his career.
     "As a fresh graduate, I worked for a famous designer in my hometown," Asenjo said. "He worked with big clients such as famous actors and actresses -- even political people. His work inspired me and I worked even harder because I had a clear vision of what I wanted."
     After envisioning his career path, Asenjo's training has always been on the job. He started his design journey in the early 1990s as a draftsman for a company in the Philippines. By 1994, he had accepted a furniture designer position with another company. In 2000, he began his venture with Skyline Design as lead designer.
     Asenjo finds ongoing inspiration through raw materials he works with. He enjoys designing furniture with the look and feel of natural materials, such as bamboo, rattan and wood. He also adapted to using outdoor synthetic fibers, which he finds satisfying for outdoor furniture designs.
Asenjo's luxury outdoor woven collections for Skyline Design include Bishan, a modular sectional that can be used separately as loveseats, benches and ottoman or coffee table.
     "I work closely with my craftsman/ weavers to provide designs they can translate into Skyline's furniture collections," he said. "I am always very curious to work with new materials and figuring out the possibility of converting it into a collection."

     He finds more inspiration and spots trends by attending many tradeshows. "The market of furniture changes very fast," Asenjo said.
     Like many other industry players, Asenjo thinks a great casual furniture design is one that will capture the market. "The product should sell by itself," he said. "Some criteria are great design, vast choices of colors, comfort and also reasonable pricing."
     The IGLO from Skyline Design is one of Asenjo's favorite designs and has captured global media interest.
     In addition to traveling to tradeshows, he climbs mountains with friends whenever he needs to reignite his creative spark.
     "Usually, a whole day of hiking and strolling on the top of the mountain makes me fresh and I can start to create something new," he said. "I also really enjoy hearing back from our customers."
     Looking back over his career, Asenjo wishes he had recognized earlier the value of having an ability to draw and design.
     "Initially, I did not have interest in my ability to draw and almost took it for granted until I realized what it takes to be a good designer," Asenjo said. "How valuable it is to create something from nothing."