When the Chiye Mori Design Library opened last May of this year, it was just the perfect venue to hold the Cebu Design Education Foundation (CDEF) Design Lecture last June 17. Advertising students, design-related courses students from San Carlos, design enthusiasts, media people, and friends of the organizers all congregated at the library de jour. I came to listen to two of the speakers of that evening: Butch Carungay and Oj Hofer.

Multi-awarded Gil “Butch” Carungay is a Cebu-based Filipino designer for Avatar Accessories and the company’s Managing Director. Almost a decade of designing custom and fashion jewelry, Butch Carungay has managed to level the playing field in the fashion business by exporting crafted costume jewelry all over the world. Oj Hofer is a Cebu-based fashion designer known to the fashionsphere for his draping and tailoring style.

Butch explained the business of designing and making your product’s design and launching timely with the current season. “If it is summer in two months, you would have shipped your accessories two months before already.” At the end of the lecture, Avatar Accessories were laid out in the open for everybody to ogle.

Cebu Design Education Foundation (CDEF) is a non-stock, non-profit organization founded by a core of local design professionals and educators. CDEF is committed to a vision to provide sustainable development through design education and a mission of providing a support system for the design community via a series of initiatives.

CDEF aims to invite design educators to teach and do design outreach. It also hopes to unit the design communities in Cebu and soon worldwide. Evin Oshima is the Chairman. Kenneth Cobonpue is the 1^st Chairman while Estela Ocampo is the 2^nd. Annie Chen is the Treasurer while Jacinto Ramos is the publicist. Lastly, Christina Manguerra is their Library Director.

I am flanked with black. Oj Hofer left, Yves Camingue, right.

For inquiries and schedule of free visits, contact GENEVIEVE FERRATER at telephone no. +6332 2552341 or e-mail to genevieve.designlibrary@gmail.com. Butch Carungay for Avatar at gil@avatar-style.com. Oj hofer at hoferoj@yahoo.com.