Nature is a strong influence in the new collection by Industria Edition called Ultima, in its organic forms and materiality. Jude Tiotuico, owner and head creative designer at Industria Edition, is known for manipulating steel to create his furniture pieces but believes this collection sees growth.

“We’re kind of showing a new face, you know? It’s an evolution of what Industria Edition is,” Tiotuico says. “Ultima is like pushing the envelope of what we can with steel - mixing it with other media and showing people the possibilities.”

Jude Tiotuico

Jude Tiotuico and Eric Paras

Tiotuico started furniture making in the late 90s and started the brand formally in 2007-2008. He collaborated with designers such as Eric Paras who helped design some of Industria Edition’s earlier pieces. “We started with the industrial vintage look. Now the pieces reflect more of my sensibility and my fondness of organic shapes and what I can do with metal and mixing that with nostalgia or familiarity,” he adds.

The Loopy Chair, which won the Katha Awards for best product design at Manila Fame 2015, gets a size update to fit more condominium layouts. “It also now comes in more subtle colors of leather, cow hide, or woven with a double coating,” he says. He hopes that designers and clients can be inspired by seeing the flexibility of Industria Edition’s pieces.

“We have this new dining table. It’s a different take on how people usually use stainless steel. With other tables, the typical way of doing it is using the wood for the table top and the metal as the base. This one is inverted,” Tiotuico points out that the legs are made of white trunks of wood while the table top is made of matte stainless steel in a brushed pewter finish. Unlike other tabletops made of stainless steel, this one isn’t cold to the touch.

There’s a certain restraint to his designs, which makes the pieces easy to imagine in your existing collection. “We don’t do too much artsy stuff that can come off as outlandish. We just want to make pieces that are grounded and functional. We don’t design the pieces with the sole intention to make them stand out, but instead we want them to be cohesive with anything,” he explains.

Hanging from the ceiling is a pendant light that is formed by dramatic clusters of steel. “This is called Starburst. It’s inspired by a natural phenomenon called supernova—right before the star bursts into supernova. So that’s the idea,” he points out.

Like many of his pieces—whether in material or form—he is inspired by nature and the natural world. “That’s how you get familiarity. I also try to make things seem as if they are in motion. It’s either they’re kind of almost falling down or wind is kind of blowing on them,” he concludes.

Industria Edition’s Ultima collection can be seen at their showroom at Arnaiz Ave. G/F Manila Tower The Residences at Greenbelt, Ayala Center, Makati City.

Photographs by Jar Concengco