Considered creativity: exploring Pristine Lampard’s Dalisay Collection

What pieces do you usually find to be the most challenging when designing?

For me, the challenge is less about the type of piece or the actual design but more about managing budgets and time. Creating more sustainable, and often bespoke, furniture pieces takes time, especially because we incorporate a lot of hand-carved or handwoven design features. This takes longer than mass manufacturing and nowadays, fast furniture is everywhere. So we do need to manage customer expectations while also maintaining our quality standards. Fortunately our clients are quite supportive of the process and we always provide really clear communication and efficient project management. This way, we can both keep our clients happy and stay true to our values.

Please tell us about Dalisay; what principles and philosophies are espoused by the company?

Dalisay Collection is an artist-driven, design-oriented fabricator of unique and timeless furniture and decor pieces. Our ethos comprises three main pillars:

1. Conscious design. We create with circular design principles in mind so that every piece has a longer life cycle. With deliberate timeless aesthetics and high-quality, natural materials, our pieces can be used, repaired, and then reused again and again either in their original form or in new designs.

2. A diverse, global community. We build a community where globally-minded individuals can come together and share our designer pieces and their own stories, inspiration and experiences.

3. Celebration of craftsmanship. We honour and acknowledge the craftsmanship and stories of our makers and our materials in contemporary designs. By partnering with makers in under-resourced communities, we strive to provide meaningful and sustainable work to preserve their crafts and cultures.

How does your company apply sustainability as one of its principles?

As much as possible, we use reclaimed wood to promote sustainability. This may be wood sourced from fallen trees after typhoons or storms, old homes or even previous furniture pieces. One of the benefits of natural wood is that it can be repurposed and has a long lifecycle.

Is there a certain proclivity or school of thought that informs Dalisay’s aesthetic?

We try to stay away from anything too trendy, but are influenced by some longer-lasting styles such as mid-century modern. The aesthetic is also heavily influenced by the materials themselves. Since we use largely locally sourced materials from the Philippines and are working with local craftsmen, we want the designs to reflect that heritage and storytelling rather than trying to fit the mold of trends from other locations such as Scandinavian style. This is rooted even in our company’s name “Dalisay”; we imbue our designs with a creative spirit that mirrors the purity of the materialities we work with.

What is the most important aspect of your design process?

Whether it’s the overall form, the material or a handcrafted detail, we lead with the idea of our pieces as functional artwork and intentionally take risks with our designs. Because we create in small batches and do a lot of bespoke work, we are able to take these risks while also keeping sustainability in mind.

Are there any artists whose work have inspired Dalisay?

I am drawn to the styles of artists like George Nakashima and Sopheap Pich because of the rich combination of artistry, intention and storytelling. There is value placed both in the design and in the materials during the creation process which really gives life to every piece and something that is imbued in the design process for Dalisay Collection now as well. I hope we can continue to promote this value-driven design process when working with our clients and with our craftsmen.

What new designs are you currently working on?

We recently opened Cafe Dalisay, our namesake neighbourhood cafe in Legazpi Village in Makati. The cafe features furniture and lighting designed and created by Dalisay Collection, including some of our popular retail designs to give people a way to experience our craftsmanship beyond a traditional showroom or shop space. This spring, we will be launching a new collection at the café, which will take a lot of inspiration from our experience as caféowners while also leaning into more sculptural form from our studio background in architecture. We also have a number of custom pieces in progress for commercial clients in Hong Kong and the Philippines, which we are excited to see come to life later this year.

Why did you decide to be based in Hong Kong? Any plans for expansion in the future?

As Filipinos, we know that there is such a rich history of craftsmanship in the Philippines that however, is not frequently recognised outside the country, despite being the manufacturing home to many global furniture brands. One of the reasons I launched Dalisay Collection in Hong Kong was to put an international spotlight on the materials and craftsmanship of the Philippines while also offering one-of-a-kind, modern designs. Since the launch of our retail line 2021 in Hong Kong’s K11 Musea, we have expanded our client base to Hong Kong, the Philippines, Europe and the US.

This year, we are expanding our in-person shopping experiences in the Philippines and opening our workshop to select visitors and clients. This initiative will allow them to experience firsthand the meticulous process behind creating our pieces and better appreciate the value of artisanal craftsmanship versus disposable alternatives. From a sustainability perspective, there is added transparency in our production processes, the social impact we create, and fosters a community that values responsible creation and consumption.

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