From Cebu to the World: Kenneth Cobonpue speaks at Creative Summit

If you wander around Cebu City, you will bump into Kenneth Cobonpue. The Golden Son of the Queen City of the South sure knows where home is. Despite having his works ordered by resorts, hotels and homes in the Caribbean, Europe and America – and by Brad Pitt whose Cobonpue-made Voyage Canopy bed has been transported from the actor’s Hollywood home to his castle in France –  Cobonpue’s own feet always take him back to this “innovation island” where he was born and raised. Here is truly where his heart, his family and his work stays, and if he had a choice, he would not leave very often – especially not on a work week.

“There is much work to do here,” says the 44-year-old Industrial Design graduate from the Pratt Institute in New York who personally oversees the work of his team of 300 craftsmen (plus 150 for lighting) in his well-organized and  homey hectare-sized facilities in Cebu City.

However, whether it’s social calls, press invites or trade shows, requests to travel never end. The requests that Cobonpue loves to fulfill however are of those that ask him to share his learnings and experiences to his fellow Filipinos and Cebuanos,  whether it’s in the classrooms or in the talks he gives. One such talk is the upcoming Creative Industries Summit organized by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry as part of the Cebu Business Month. Slated on June 14 in at SM City Cinema 1, Cobonpue will share his journey from inspiration to creating objects of desire at his presentation called “Inspire | Desire.” Audiences will also have a
chance to ask Cobonpue questions of their own during an open forum scheduled after his talk.

Even outside formal discussions, Cobonpue offers informal and friendly mentorship to budding Cebuano entrepreneurs such as the Ralfe Gourmet Chocolate to whom he’s giving advice regarding branding, packaging and marketing. He is happy to see more Cebuano and Filipino brands become world-class and readily shares what he thinks are the basic formula for global success.

Here are three of his tried and tested tips on how to start from an island to every land.

“To make it globally, you need to have something unique,” said Cobonpue. “Maybe it’s not so difficult to have something unique here in the country but globally, you always have to look at the world as your market. And, as I would say, the world doesn’t need another chair. If I can’t make it different, there is no point. That’s the first.”

In his second tip, Cobonpue talks about branding and packaging “When you have something good, you should know how to present it and sell it to the world. You have to start out right.”

For his third tip, Cobonpue says, “It takes a lot of hard work really to build a (strong) brand, everything has to be consistent. You must never settle for mediocrity. In fact, our furniture here takes a year to design. That’s how long it takes (to build) quality. There are things here that were designed 12 to 15 years ago and are still selling in the market.”

The three nuggets of advice above provide food for thought for upcoming and existing Filipino entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, Filipinos are grateful that Cobonpue continues to live, work and create in his home country.

He has truly found his way from Cebu to the world and back.

For more of Cobonpue’s recommended courses of action for new entrepreneurs, as well as the list of other featured speakers for the Creative Industries Summit, visit www.cebubizmonth.org or contact 0916- 464-1747 or email mymelgar@cebuchamber.org or follow Cebu Business Month on Facebook.