Kenneth began his passage to design in 1987 studying Industrial Design at Pratt Institute in New York. While completing his degree, he apprenticed for a leather and wood workshop near Florence, Italy. In 1994, he studied Furniture Marketing and Production at the Export Akademie Baden-Württemberg in Reutlingen, Germany under a private and state scholarship program, and subsequently worked in Bielefeld and Munich.
He returned home to Cebu, Philippines in 1996, to manage Interior Crafts of the Islands, Inc. (ICI). ICI is a furniture design and manufacturing company founded in 1972 by Kenneth's mother Betty Cobonpue, a designer famous for creating new techniques in working with rattan. Discovering that modern design could have a new face using natural fibers and materials as the medium, he slowly created the pieces, which form the collection today. Integrating locally sourced organic materials with innovative hand-made production techniques offered an alternative to the Western definition of modern design.
Kenneth Cobonpue's creations have earned him recognition at home and abroad. Awards to his credit include 12 Mugna and 4 Katha Awards for design excellence at the annual Philippine International Furniture Exhibition. The Japan Good Design Award was presented for 5 of his designs. In 2004, he won first prize at the Singapore International Design Competition for the Croissant Sofa. Kenneth also won a Golden Shell Award in 2002, a citation given by Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, for embodying the ideals of Asian design. In 2003, he was chosen as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines for his achievement in the field of Arts & Design. In 2005, Kenneth won the Design for Asia Award of Hong Kong, Asia’s highest award, for the Lolah Chair. “Wallpaper” magazine also nominated him as one of the icons of contemporary design along with such world luminaries as Philippe Starck and Antonio Citterio.
Recent works have produced critical acclaim within the design community. Several of his designs were selected for the prestigious International Design Yearbook (Laurence King Publishing) 2002 edition, curated by Ross Lovegrove, the 2004 edition, curated by Tom Dixon and the 2005 edition curated by Marcel Wanders. Phaidon’s new 2007 book & FORK underscores Kenneth's position as a leader of a new movement incorporating new technologies with crafts. He has appeared on European television including Deutsche Welle and Dutch TV, countless international magazines such as Wallpaper, Newsweek and TIME Magazine, and respected newspapers including The Washington Post and the Shanghai Daily News. Various Cobonpue designs have also appeared in full-length feature films and television such as Oceans 13 and CSI.
Kenneth reveals new work each year in design shows from Paris to New York. He also speaks regularly about Southeast Asian design all over the world.
