From her earliest days, her entire world was a workshop. “Ever since I was a child, I’ve always been into creating,” shared furniture, accessories and lighting designer Chini Lichangco. “I’ve been intrigued by anything visually pleasing to the eyes.”

Growing up happily surrounded by blueprints, bricks and beams, thanks to her family’s roots in the construction industry, she tightly embraced the creative potential in the most industrial of materials. “It became a kind of playground for me,” she recalled, “where I could nurture my ‘what ifs’ — the many ideas in my head — into reality.”

A graduate of Industrial Design from De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde, she credits her collegiate years — and a pivotal internship curating regional artisan crafts for Manila FAME — with deepening her appreciation for the Filipino maker’s ingenuity. And that sense of awe would only grow stronger.