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Friday, March 29, 2024

Stanley Ruiz lights up Manila FAME 63rd edition

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The works of internationally awarded industrial designer Stanley Ruiz will be one of the higlights of Manila FAME’s 63rd show to be held this April 21-24 at the World Trade Center. Organized by the Center of International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), the export promotions agency of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry, the country’s premier design and lifestyle event will also feature the works of designers Nina Santamaria and Ito Kish who are collaborating with Ruiz for the Spring Forward special setting, which will also showcase the finely crafted seasonal indoor and outdoor product collections for the home by several Filipino manufacturers. 

Aurora – A Light Imprint installation piece designed by Stanley Ruiz, Jinggoy Buensuceso and Wataru Sakura

Ruiz, who took up Industrial Design in UP Diliman, will  be designing light and home accent pieces to complement the spring-themed presentation. He will also be collaborating with 10 exhibitors from Pampanga, Cebu, Davao, Negros Occidental, and Metro Manila to develop functional, stylish, and commercially viable lighting products. Together, they are exploring the themes of post-industrial design and Philippine heritage taken on a more modern-day level. 

Chosen as one of the “Rising Asian Talents” who showcased collections in the Rising Asian Talents section of the March 2016 Singapore edition of Maison & Objet Asia, a prestigious international trade show featuring front-line interior design concepts,  Ruiz discovered his passion for designing when he was a student. After learning about materials and the essentials of design and being able to apply what he learned, he embraced his major and began taking on designing projects for small and medium enterprises in the provinces while still studying in the early to mid-2000s. His efforts eventually paid off, and so he decided to work in the design industry.

As a designer, Ruiz gets inspiration from everyday life, local industries and materials, and nature, transforming the ordinary into clever and exceptional design patterns. 

Stanley Ruiz

Asked what he could advise aspiring young designers, the designer shares that one should take the work seriously and “explore on your own, think outside of the bounds of the academe, read a lot – not only about design, but other disciplines like music, film, arts, social sciences because these all come into play eventually. It’s not only about being good at drawing, colors, or computer software. There is a lot that you can apply if you know the world more. So, travel – just expose yourself,” he says, adding that it is what he did. 

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No wonder then that Stanley has become recognized in the international scene with his own studio in Manila, the Estudio Ruiz Design Consultancy. Some of the awards and recognitions he has received include being listed by New York-based Surface Magazine as one of the Avant Guardians of 2010, getting the Bronze Award at the A’ Design Awards in Italy in 2013, and receiving the Outstanding Asia Talents award at the Bangkok International Gift Fair in 2014. 

At the October show edition of Manila FAME last year, Stanley worked with Filipino visual artist and sculptor Jinggoy Buensuceso and Philippine-based Japanese designer Wataru Sakuma to create the northern lights-inspired installation titled “Aurora – A Light Imprint.” Inspired by the Aurora Borealis, the dreamy natural lights spectacle in the northern hemisphere, the ingenious display was made of over 20,000 chain-linked colorful glow sticks hanging from the ceiling.

Ruiz's lighting pieces during the March 2015 Manila FAME show

Many admire Ruiz for remembering his roots and not letting fame get in his head, continuing to return to Manila to join FAME. “I love Manila FAME because this is the venue for local companies to show their prowess. It’s actually a showcase of real industry – what our resources are, who we are as a people, and what our crafts are all about, which are basically part of our culture,” he shared. 

The designer has in fact been participating in Manila FAME for six editions now as a product specialist, creating product designs for Philippine manufacturers under CITEM’s Design for Exports Program aimed at assisting Philippine manufacturers in creating globally competitive products with design support from some of the country’s top design experts. 

“We get fulfillment out of it, like collaborating with companies. I learn from them. I was able to impart some of my knowledge with them to come up with some new products for their collections. In fact, that’s one of the main goals of my design studio here in Manila: to be able to contribute to the local design landscape. And by doing these consultancy projects, I think I’m partly on my way to achieving my goals,” he said.  

For more information on Manila FAME, visit www.manilafame.com.

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