MANILA, Philippines – Books and Italian furniture come together in a collaboration between top Italian lifestyle and interior store Novamobili and Fully Booked managing director Jaime Daez.

Customers of Fully Booked pass through a new wing of the bookstore devoted to architecture, interior design, and art books before entering the Novamobili showroom located on the bookstore’s 2^nd floor on Bonifacio High Street.

The showroom showcases modern Italian furniture for every room in the house. Prices are in the high-end range with the lowest priced items, the Lanterna series of lamps, costing P15,000 each.

Sofa sets, the most expensive items, range from P300,000 to P699,000. 

Books to furniture

This twist to the furniture showroom experience is what Novamobili Director for Asia Pacific Dario Reicherl was after when he and his team decided to partner with Jaime among other competitors in Manila.

During the Novamobili launch last Feb 27, 2013, Dari said, “The reason why we selected to work with Jaime is because I like to make something different every time. The idea is beautiful. When you go inside a bookstore, that by itself is always a pleasure because immediately you relax, you chill, you slow down, you take your time. You have an area where you can see beautiful design books and some art books and from there you go inside an Italian lifestyle interior store. You start from the books and then, from the fantasy, you go to the reality.”

As for Jaime, collaborating with a high-quality Italian furniture brand is a dream come true. The Fully Booked founder had studied to be an architect as an undergraduate at the University of Santo Tomas and in Spain.

In fact, architecture and design was what got Jaime in the book business in the first place.

He said, “I started the business selling architecture books and interior design books and going door to door to all of these architectural firms.”

Affordable luxury

According to Jaime, Novamobili’s competitive edge is that it is a furniture brand “that can be considered affordable luxury.”

The products are 100% made in Italy yet are in the same price range as foreign furniture brands that outsource their manufacturing process in Asia.

Novamobili, which means “new furniture,” is a source for very modern, sleek furniture in both mute and eye-popping colors.  

Another dealmaker for Novamobili’s future patrons could be its highly customizable pieces and furniture systems, which, according to Dario, is not common in European furniture brands.

“If others work by centimeters, we work by millimeters,” emphasized Dario.

This high degree of customizability is perfect for Filipino homemakers who have set themselves up in the many condominiums rising all over the capital.

“Green” furniture

Only last year, Novamobili was certified by Greenguard, the strictest international certification on chemical emissions.

Dario told Rappler about the other green practices implemented by Novamobili in manufacturing, administration and even marketing.

“We’re the first in Italy to use water-based paint in our products, making them safer,” he said.

They ride only bicycles within their company compound and use recycled paper for their furniture catalogues.

“Inside our company, we don’t print paper we just use email. If we need to print paper by law, like some invoices, we will use recycled paper also to print that,” said Dario.

Instead of throwing away excess wood from cutting furniture panels, they store them in giant cylinders then pay another company to recycle the wood.

Even the dust from shaving wood is not spared.

“We recycle the dust so the dust doesn’t go into the air. There is a vacuum. The dust, we give to a [recycling] company. They burn it. With the heat, they make electricity. So everything, we don’t waste, we don’t throw it away. It’s been like that for more than 15 years,” said Dario.

But it doesn’t stop there.

The charcoal and deposits from the burning of the dust is turned into fertilizer for their grapes which they turn into wine.

Two passions, one roof

The Novamobili showroom in Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street is the first in the Philippines but the 7^th in Asia. Stores have opened in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taipei, Bangkok, Hanoi and Seoul. Novamobili has more 1,000 showrooms all over the world, mostly in Europe.

Housing Novamobili within Fully Booked is Jaime’s way of creating “an ambiance that will make our customers feel more at home.”

“I have always seen Fully Booked not just as a bookstore but a lifestyle. Hopefully, the experience of our customers becomes more complete as they realize that we offer them a full lifestyle concept.”

Finally, Jaime can enjoy his passion for books and design under the same roof. – Rappler.com

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