Young Filipina furniture designer shines in Asean tilt
A 25-year-old Filipina, who designed a bench honoring traditional weaving in Bohol and the resilient women in her life, won on Wednesday the majority’s approval in a regional competition for young furniture designers held in Thailand.
Deya Tsyna turned emotional while receiving her Popular Vote by Asean trophy at the Asean Furniture Design Award 2025. The ceremony took place at the opening of Style Bangkok 2025, an international trade fair for lifestyle and fashion that runs until this Sunday at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center.
“I’m just happy that I’m here,” she told Lifestyle at the event in mixed Filipino and English. “I really have a lot of self-doubt as a designer. This is also a blessing, and I’m happy that I did it.”
Another reason for Tsyna’s tears of joy was the overwhelming support she got from architect and designer Jed Yabut, whose eponymous furniture and design company made the prototype of her winning design, Amara Bench. It’s now on exhibit at the fair along with the other finalists from Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and eventual winner Singapore.
Yabut flew to Bangkok with fellow members of the Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines (CFIP). The group is behind the Masterpis: National Furniture Design Competition for 25 years old and younger. It served as a preliminary for the Philippine candidate to the Asean Furniture Design Award 2025.
“When I won at the national competition, I was told that I’d be competing next for Asean,” Tsyna recalled her victory last March in Manila. “I’m happy to represent the Philippines here in Thailand.”
The rising designer, who’s also an architecture apprentice, said the story behind Amara Bench strongly resonated with the stakeholders in both national and regional competitions.
Asean Furniture Design Award is described on its website as a brainchild of the Furniture Industry Group of the Federation of Thai Industries with the Asean Furniture Industries Council (AFIC). Its mission is “to propel and support the new generation of young furniture designers, empowering them to compete strongly on the international stage.”
Female weavers as inspiration
Tsyna explained, “My inspiration is the women weavers of Bohol,” referring specifically to those in Tubigon municipality. “I want to help elevate Tubigon raffia weaving.”
Amara Bench is made of black-dyed abaca ropes woven together to create a long wave-like shape with intricately braided textures. It has steel bars to achieve a floating effect.
Tsyna said she was thinking of her grandmother’s long black hair while conceptualizing her winning piece of furniture. In fact, she still keeps a photo showing her Lola Beatriz’s glorious locks.
She had her mother in mind, too, proudly saying she was raised by a single mom. “Of course, it wasn’t easy. I also wanted to prove to her that we can achieve something.”
She then declared, “I think Filipino women are really resilient, though silently.”
Passion for designing
Tsyna clarified that while being an architect is her long-term goal, she will not stop designing furniture and other products “for satisfaction.”
Two mentors have helped her hone her craft and fuel her passion. There’s Cebuano designer Vito Selma, who guided her as a participant in the first Obra Design Masterclass. It’s a design and product development mentorship initiative by the Department of Trade and Industry’s Philippine Trade Training Center–Global MSME Academy that concluded in March 2024.
Her current mentor is Vanessa Gaston, an architect and designer from Dumaguete—that’s where she’s based now.
Tsyna added that being recognized at the Asean Furniture Design Award 2025 inspires her to keep on making designs that underscore her advocacy of uplifting communities.
The recognition is also a win for the design industry, said Yabut, “to intensify and cement that we’re really a good design country in general.” He described Tsyna’s Amara Bench design as very modern with a strong nostalgic feel and cultural references.
Tsyna later joined the winner and other finalists in a talk that was part of Style Bangkok’s program. They discussed their respective designs: Raihan Syahmi’s Heritage 60 stool (Singapore), Supakorn Chanrorun’s Harmony Chair (Thailand), Vonny Kornellya’s Sulur Renjana furniture (Indonesia), Thahn Huyen Tran’s Cyclo Chair (Vietnam), and of course, Tsyna’s Amara Bench.
