Grace Libero

Metro Exclusive: Peewee Benitez, Mark Wilson of Caro Wilson, and Daniel & Jenn of Golden Monstera for Artefino Lounge Offbeat

Article (news)

<p><strong>ArteFino</strong> has always championed Filipino artisans by giving them a platform to showcase products that honor and uplift Philippine heritage. In their constant efforts to lead the movement of promoting a proudly Filipino lifestyle, the people behind the prestigious artisan fair have embraced the challenge of keeping things exciting for this purpose-driven event. </p><p>To offer a unique experience, this time, ArteFino shakes things up with the inaugural 9-day concept of &quot;<strong>The ArteFino Lounge</strong>,&quot; where shopping and dining merge seamlessly, ultimately highlighting Filipino craftsmanship, whether in the kitchen, dining area, or workshops. This fusion of fashion and food takes over <strong>The Balmori Suites Chef&#x27;s Table</strong> in Power Plant Mall, in collaboration with chefs<strong> Angelo Comsti </strong>a<strong></strong>nd <strong>Don Baldosano</strong> of <strong>Offbeat Bistro</strong>. </p><p>At &quot;The ArteFino Lounge,&quot; which is happening until August 3, culinary arts and wearable art meet in an inspired and curated environment, where creativity is seen and felt not only on racks and glass displays but also on plates and tablescapes. The big idea is that handpicked finds in jewelry and home are paired with a heritage-inspired menu that celebrates the richness of Filipino flavor and craft.</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DMXjiZezlXj/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=810&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A3361471.799999997%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-2" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DMXoDRqTGRV/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=810&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A2%2C%22os%22%3A3397273.900000006%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-2" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>With visual direction by <strong>The Forewoman’s Jet Acuzar</strong>, the lounge will also feature fine jewelry and accessories brands like <strong>ARAO</strong>,<strong> Caro Wilson</strong>, <strong>Golden Monstera</strong>, <strong>Katha Pilipinas</strong>, and <strong>Peewee Benitez</strong><strong></strong>, with special participation of Azcor Lighting, Seleco Enterprises by Buddy Lagdameo, The Art House, and the Lopez Museum &amp; Library. <strong></strong><br/></p><p>In an exclusive interview with <strong>Metro.Style</strong>, accessory designers Mark Wilson of Caro Wilson, Daniel &amp; Jenn of Golden Monstera, and Peewee Benitez detailed the collections they&#x27;re showcasing for the fair and shared their excitement for this concept, which features a longer format that will allow them to get to know their customers better. </p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1753887952674522726572_18372024631179618_7050850047585589238_n.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Caro Wilson</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align:center"><br/></div><div><strong>MARK WILSON OF CARO WILSON</strong></div><div><strong></strong><strong>How do you strike a balance between honoring the past and designing for a contemporary audience? </strong></div><p>&quot;I was a collector of Filipino furniture before I was a designer. And then, I became a designer and looked at Filipino jewelry with the eyes of a collector and a designer. And I think Filipino women really love the jewelry of <em>unang panahon</em>, you know, of their <em>Lola</em>&#x27;s time. A tambourine. But they bring it out only when asked to dress in Filipiniana.</p><p>&quot;So, I started taking tambourines, removing the cross, and just, the beads are very beautiful. The beads actually, some are early, earlier than others. Because you will get beads from the 1500s, 1600s, 1700s, and 1800s. And those are something that the family will string together... I would not make the same form, but I would work with old forms to make them contemporary. And women are very much responding to the bracelet and the necklace of the Cordillera line. That&#x27;s something that feels to them rooted in a Filipino handicraft, but also feels contemporary.&quot;</p><div><strong></strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><strong></strong></div><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1753888409976518444029_18300700222301012_1128958323965841912_n.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Caro Wilson&#x27;s Cordillera bracelets | Photo from @carowilson.shop</span></span></span></div><div> </div><div><strong>With a Cordillera collection, what was it about Baguio that stirred something new in you creatively?</strong></div><p>&quot;Baguio has been in my life since I was a child because my parents would always go there. At first, we stayed in the Country Club. Then my parents bought their own apartment. And so it was a place. And normally it was nine hours to get there. So when you go there, you stay for a month. And so once a year, we stay for a month in the summer, usually, where we ride horses. And everything is different. The air is different. And now that I&#x27;m a designer, I realize that the culture is different. They have a culture that is a maker culture. Because they come from places where you made your own <em>silya</em>. You made your own <em>bahay</em>. You made your own basket. You know, the hand looming is still alive. They still make their fabrics. They are really a very artistic culture. So, Baguio is very inspirational from that point of view.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>What kind of emotional or visual light do you hope to leave behind in your interiors, your jewelry, and your art?</strong></div><p>&quot;I hope to leave behind a sense of style that is coming from Manila today, that will feel global and can be worn anywhere. And tomorrow still feels good and stylish. And this feels like this brand captured what it means to be a Filipino with sensitivity about being Filipino in 2025.&quot; </p><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1753888931790522784887_18372024640179618_2550643169884598526_n.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Golden Monstera</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>DANIEL &amp; JENN OF GOLDEN MONSTERA</strong></div><div><strong>Tell us about your booth for ArteFino this year. What are your key items?</strong></div><div><strong></strong></div><p>Jenn: &quot;We made a specific collection for ArteFino. So, we did a collection around Mother of Pearl.&quot;</p><p>Daniel: &quot;Every time we get invited to this event, we create a specific collection for it. And this year, we decided to go for a collection centered on a natural element, like the Mother of Pearl.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>This year&#x27;s theme is &quot;Champions for Change,&quot; so what does change mean for you and your organization?</strong></div><p>Jenn: &quot;Well, for us, we have been adapting also to work with the Philippine craftsmanship. So, I think for us, it&#x27;s to learn, relearn, and then try to adapt. But not in a way of changing something, but you know, to make it Filipino.&quot;</p><p>Daniel: &quot;What we experience is that we learn from the artisans we work with. And we see the skills they have that maybe were unknown to us. And then, we learn what they can do, and then we apply it to new collections.&quot;</p><div><strong></strong></div><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1753889543776526186853_18399229450141703_4552735381728265816_n.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo from @goldenmonstera</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align:center"><br/></div><div style="text-align:left"><strong>Personally, what are you looking forward to seeing in ArteFino this year?</strong></div><p>Jenn: &quot;I think with the new setup, I think we want to be more reachable.&quot;</p><p>Daniel: &quot;Or intimate, or get to know more about our crowd and the customers.&quot;</p><p>Jenn: &quot;To get to meet new customers.&quot;</p><p>Daniel: &quot;As well as the other vendors and colleagues.&quot;</p><p>Jenn: &quot;You also get the time to interact with your partners. Today, for example, we have this event. We got to meet so many artists. Because we have the time to interact, they were able to tell us their story. And actually, we have very similar stories—people like Daniel, who was working in the corporate world and then, he left his job, and now, he&#x27;s a designer. Then, we also met Katha Pilipinas, and the husband also left his banking job to be an artist. So, we share all that story in common. This time has given us the opportunity to get a deeper connection with the exhibitors.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1753889924617522694381_18372024661179618_4906885891326590851_n.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Peewee Benitez</span></span></span></div><div><strong></strong></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>PEEWEE BENITEZ</strong></div><div><strong></strong><strong>Tell us about your booth for ArteFino this year. What are your key items?</strong></div><p><strong></strong>&quot;My theme is &#x27;Secret Garden.&#x27; It&#x27;s from my mom&#x27;s bedtime stories. So, it&#x27;s all flowers, but not the typical flower—it&#x27;s actually a magical flower... My favorite piece is &#x27;Bayabas.&#x27; It&#x27;s from my childhood memory. I remember<em> &#x27;pag</em> summer <em>sa probinsy</em><em>a</em>,<em> &#x27;yun lagi &#x27;yung</em> food or <em>libangan ng mga</em> kids. Sa guava tree.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>This year&#x27;s theme is &quot;Champions for Change,&quot; so what does change mean for you and your collection?<br/></strong></div><p>&quot;It&#x27;s actually about sharing stories, my stories... These are made by fisherfolk. If <em>habagat </em>season, they make jewelry.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1753890859164522829247_18514738282024494_9075010877411868105_n.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo from @peeweebenitez</span></span></span></div><div><em></em></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>Personally, what are you looking forward to seeing in ArteFino this year?<br/></strong></div><p>&quot;New designers, new inspirations, and new, supportive people. ArteFino is like a family in Metro Manila, because I&#x27;m from Bicol. Whenever I join ArteFino, I feel like I have a family here. This is my third time at ArteFino.&quot; </p><div><br/></div><div><strong><em><br/></em></strong></div><div><em><strong>Shop and dine at The ArteFino Lounge now until August 3,  11 AM to 10 PM, at The Balmori Suites Chef’s Table located on the Ground Floor beside the Zara entrance of Power Plant Mall.</strong></em></div><div><br/></div><p><em></em>Interviews by <strong>Troy Barrios</strong><em><strong></strong></em><br/></p>

<p>We chatted with the designers behind three accessory brands who have joined ArteFino's movement of championing Filipino craftsmanship, this time through an event that fuses fashion and food.</p>

We chatted with the designers behind three accessory brands who have joined ArteFino's movement of championing Filipino craftsmanship, this time through an event that fuses fashion and food.

These Accessory Designers Get a Platform for Their Wearable Art at The ArteFino Lounge

People

Fashion

Beauty

Wellness

Travel

Culture

Living

Food

Weddings

People

These Accessory Designers Get a Platform for Their Wearable Art at The ArteFino Lounge

Metro.Style

Published July 30, 2025 11:30 PM PHT

|

Updated July 31, 2025 08:06 AM PHT

Read More:

People

Artefino

Peewee Benitez

Mark Wilson

Caro Wilson

Golden Monstera

Jewelry

Metro.Style is your go-to destination for all things chic and stylish—featuring the latest in fashion, beauty, lifestyle, celebrity news, and inspiring stories. It's your curated guide to living your best life.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.