Hidden Treasures

Tucked away in a most unlikely location is Kassa, designer Karen Santos’ most recent endeavour—one that adds an eclectic nuance to the modern home, writes Marga Manlapig

- Marga Manlapig

The urban landscape has changed a great deal in barely a decade with many people deciding to move into the growing number of condominiums and apartments for the sake of convenience and comfort. But changing times also mean changing tastes which, in the case of most modern city dwellers, means that people want something more than the usual furniture and accents available in many department stores. This led to a light bulb moment for designer Karen Santos.

“I thought that, with a lot of apartments and condos coming up, there really is a need for more things for the home,” she says. “What I decided to do was to bring a lot of brand new things [into the market]: accessories, tables, and others. But, at the same time, I thought about making a one-stop-shop where people can buy everything from brand new items, to vintage objects, and even antiques.”

That one-stop-shop is hidden away in an unlikely neighbourhood, a small jewel-box of a place in Pinagkaisahan, Makati, its façade sporting lush ivy and an intriguing selection of chairs in the windows. Its name—Kassa—can be read from the brown and gold awning over the entrance. It’s an appropriate name for a shop specialising in furniture and home accents, being a play on the Spanish word casa [house], but the way it is spelled is a bit of a throwback to another brand that begins with the capital K: Kashieca, the knitwear and apparel business that Santos founded and later sold to the Bench Group of Companies.