Karen Santos’ eye for the extraordinary
The eye has to travel,” Diana Vreeland famously said, and it’s a quote that Karen Santos repeats again and again. But before Santos became renowned for sourcing European antiques and one-of-a-kind home finds, she was a fixture in Philippine fashion in the ’80s, having founded Kashieca, one of the country’s most well-loved local brands.
She later on ventured into natural stone, supplying materials for homes for over two decades before returning to her first love: creating beautiful spaces.
“I’ve been in construction for over 20 years. As I saw all the houses being built, I realized that everything was just so modern,” Santos shares. “It sort of triggered an interest to start bringing in vintage pieces and antiques. That’s really how this all came about.”
In 2014, Kassa was launched, also offering beautifully made, timelessly designed table linens inspired by Philippine embroidery traditions. At the same time, the Kassa showroom itself has evolved into a layered world of beautiful eye candy—vintage treasures, restored heirlooms, and some contemporary pieces, all comfortably coexisting.
Now back from her latest buying trip across Europe, Kassa opens its doors for its latest container unloading from Aug. 6 to 8 at its Makati space.
Sourcing off the beaten path
Europe is known for its many markets, for example, Paris’ Puces de Paris Saint-Ouen or Clignancourt, but Santos ventures off the beaten path. Avoiding famous markets where prices have climbed, she travels to local dealers who source the objects themselves.
“I basically go to France and Belgium,” she says. “I go to little towns to find all these pieces.”
One can say that her early years studying in England, Switzerland, and Italy also cultivated her eye, surrounded by culture and also spaces with period furniture.
Although in the Makati showroom, Santos doesn’t create a stiff sort of period-room vignette—instead juxtaposing the old beside the new, the ornate beside the minimal. She arranges blue-and-white china next to ecru clay vases with an unglazed finish, which looks more like a contemporary art piece. Nearby, bright cobalt-blue candelabras sit atop a gorgeous mahogany cabinet with a Pierre Lardin sideboard from the 1940s. A handsome Art Deco dresser with brass trimming and distinctive V-shaped legs looks as though it stepped straight out of a design history book.
Nearby, sculptural coral pieces glow in soft pink next to reupholstered Minotti chairs.
Santos’ appreciation extends to tropical designs as well, gesturing to a bench upholstered in fresh fabric, featuring a gilded faux bamboo frame. “Bamboo’s so timeless, right? In any form,” she comments.
Perhaps some of the most eye-catching pieces hang overhead. Santos seems to have a particular affection for antique chandeliers, often rewiring and restoring the crystals before they leave the showroom. “I like chandeliers with a patina,” she shares.
Kassa celebrates character
Walking through the showroom feels much like wandering through someone’s beautifully assembled home, grounded with antique furniture but definitely refreshed with contemporary life.
“I wanted to bring something different, something unique,” she reflects. “Even if you have a totally modern home, you’ll find something… that feels like you inherited it from your mother or your grandmother. Your house has a bit of semblance of history.”
With so much mass-produced furniture nowadays, Kassa invites history back into living spaces, and beautifully so. Whether by an antique chandelier or a playful parrot ceramic vase, the objects bring in a sense of character that can’t be replicated, transforming houses into homes.
Kassa’s container unloading runs from Aug. 6 to 8 at 3322 Harvard St., Pinagkaisahan, Makati City
