Popcelain expands Lladro’s universe
Lladro, the global Spanish porcelain brand, has kept its relevance by expanding its universe of designs through the decades. Ever since the Lladro brothers Juan, Jose and Vicente set themselves to create ceramics in the Fifties, their range of styles has constantly broadened and evolved.
In the Sixties, they developed a single-firing method that produced the pastel shades of a great part of its work. In the Seventies, Lladro began to be recognized worldwide. The 2000s introduced high porcelain, pieces of highly artistic and technical qualities, and there were also designs made in matte white porcelain or in vivid colors. The 2010s brought the beginning of collaborations with well-known artists like Paul Smith, Rolito and Gary Baseman.
“We started with the classic pieces, using the skills and the techniques of many years ago. That tradition and evolution we now use to create the most innovative pieces in the market,” says Roberto Marco, Lladro sales director for South Asia and Europe. “We are all very different people so Lladro has a huge catalogue according to your taste. We try to offer what you are looking for, whether for decoration, feelings, something that will remind you of the love, the couple, family.”
Whether you go for classic sculptures with a religious bent, beautiful animals, florals, romantic figures or what they call the more contemporary classic, there is something that will delight everyone.
At the launch of Lladro’s Popcelain figures at the fourth floor of Rustan’s Home, guests had a chance to watch Lladro floral designer Silvia Perez Nebot at work molding flowers out of porcelain. They were also able to paint their own porcelain rabbits to take home.
“This is important for us because it’s the first time that we are doing a flower demonstration in the Philippines,” explained Roberto. “Lladro has its own formula for porcelain, we have two hundred kinds depending on its intended use—white porcelain, black porcelain, the one for flowers is different from the one for lampshades.”
Lladro’s diversity of design includes functional lines in Light and Scent, for home scents, lighting and tableware and jewelry. Other big names in design that they collaborate with include Marcel Wanders, Nichetto Studio and Naoto Fukasawa.
Outstanding pieces include The Guest by Jaime Hayon, characters from the Star Wars movies, Batman and classic Disney figures like Mickey Mouse, Tweety Bird and cartoon characters like Snoopy and Charlie Brown.
Today, Lladro celebrates the arrival of what can be called “Popcelain,” pop art in porcelain which includes Pokemon figure Pikachu and manga’s robot cat Doraemon.
Says Anton Huang, president and CEO of SSI and Rustan Commercial Corporation, “Lladro as a brand has really reinvented itself with all the collaborations and licensing agreements that they’ve done They’ve managed to attract an entirely new set of customers or collectors, even of a young age. We are super happy to continuously have Lladro in the store and likewise they are benefitting from the new customer base which we’ve managed to attract in the recent past.”
Michael Huang, VP for store development and expansions of Rustan Commercial Corporation, adds: “It’s always been a part of our heritage to bring the best of the world here to the Philippines and Lladro is one of those brands that we’d like to always have because it’s known for its quality, craftsmanship and art works.
“There are a lot of people for whom it’s all about anime, Pokemom and pop art and I think that it’s great that Lladro’s not just about traditional pieces but also about modern pieces. There is that customer or collector who are looking for that and it adds a lot of flair to the home.”
Anton adds, “We’re celebrating Rustan’s 75th anniversary next year, and we’re seeing what we could do between Lladro and Rustans to come out with a limited-edition item.” That would be truly a collectible, between Rustan’s which brings the best of the world to the Philippines, and global porcelain innovator Lladro.
