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Friday Five with Maybelline Te of Snug Furniture

Maybelline, born and raised on the central of 7,107 islands of the Philippines called Cebu, has always lived a life steeped in design. She has served as Managing Director of Cebu-based furniture company Tequesta International, Inc. for 11 years right after earning a degree in Business Management from the University of the Philippines. Spreading her kaleidoscopic wings at The Art Institute of Charlotte, North Carolina, she earned her Interior Design degree. She now wears the new hat of Creative Director of Snug Furniture and maintains a popular blog called Frou La La. Hailed as one of her country’s most fashionable women in a leading magazine, she spreads her unique take on chic into multiple avenues, leaving a trail of incomparable style.

You can leave me alone anywhere and I’ll get lost from one museum to another. As much as there is to love about the major museums, I like going to small ones too where one captures the soul of the institution and the people who curated the collection. The dialogue between the viewer and the artist is more intimate which makes the discovery, rediscovery, and experience truly pleasurable. Notable artists have works in most museums, but I would like to mention which artists/pieces make the museum memorable for me.


Photos: Kettle’s Yard, Beacon.org, and John Williams on Flickr

1. Dia Beacon in Beacon, New York
I like them all but love Richard Serra’s awe inspiring and space deafening installation, Fred Sandback’s negative space within a space, and Louis Bourgeois’ Crouching Spider which protects and encroaches the space all at once — in this order. Only an hour and 20 minutes from Grand Central Station, a perfect day trip away from the city.


Charles and Ray Eames exhibit to mark Charles’ 100th birthday. Photo: Maybelline Te

2. Vitra Design Museum in Weil Am Rhein, Germany
It can’t get any better, buildings by architecture greats Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Tadao Ando, Herzog & de Meuron etc housing iconic furniture from the estates of of Charles Eames, Verner Panton, Anton Lorenz, and Alexander Girard. The fire station by Zaha Hadid was the venue for the Eames exhibit. Great museum shop too!


Photos: Fondation Beyeler and Alexander Calder sculpture by Fondation Beyeler, Ellsworth Kelly sculpture by Maybelline Te

3. Fondation Beyeler in Basel, Switzerland
The Renzo Piano building was built to shed natural light on Ernst Beyeler’s amazing art collection from different periods. My favorites are Giacometti, Miro, Rothko, Mondrian, and the African sculptures. Nothing is more exquisite than sitting outside Restaurant Berower Park with the view of Berower Park where Alexander Calder’s The Tree and Ellsworth Kelly’s White Curves stand proudly.


Photos: Maybelline Te

4. Musee De L’Ecole Nancy in Nancy, France
Homage to Art Nouveau — furniture by Louis Majorelle and Eugene Vallin, glasswork by Émile GallĂ©. The whole city is well preserved and walking around is like going back in time. Place Stanislas is a Unesco World Heritage site. It’s definitely worth a day or overnight trip from Paris, only an hour and half away by rail.


Photo: Things to Look At

5. The Design Museum in London, UK
Inspiring and on the cusp exhibits. they mounted the most comprehensive exhibit on Zaha Hadid’s work at the time of my visit in 2007, one of the most admired architects.

There’s more Friday Five goodness right here.

Jaime Derringer, Founder + Executive Editor of Design Milk, is a Jersey girl living in SoCal. She dreams about funky, artistic jewelry + having enough free time to enjoy some of her favorite things—running, reading, making music, and drawing.