Destonos pieces feel like restrained echoes of destruction, now reclaimed as sculptural memento mori: reminders of loss, resilience, and beauty.
Destonos makes a striking debut in the world of sculptural furniture with a collection forged from the remnants of a devastating natural disaster. Each piece is forged using volcanic ash collected from the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, the second-largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, surpassed only by the 1912 Novarupta eruption in Alaska. The cataclysm left 847 dead and caused an estimated $374 million in damages—equivalent to over $700 million today.
In Concepcion, Tarlac—one of the towns hardest hit by the eruption—Destonos was born. A town quietly shaped and reshaped by history (Ninoy Aquino served as mayor here at just 23), Concepcion is no stranger to upheaval or reinvention. Destonos transforms the very ash that once blanketed the town into minimalist furniture—pieces that feel like restrained echoes of destruction, now reclaimed as sculptural memento mori: reminders of loss, resilience, and the beauty that can emerge from ruin.
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“In every fragment of ash, there’s a trace of story, of land reshaped, of people who rebuilt, and of spirit that endured,” says Shirley Dy, co-founder of Destonos, a former financial analyst who left the banking world less than a year into her career. “We saw an opportunity not just to create furniture, but to crystallize these lived experiences into lasting, tactile memory.”
The collection reads like a quiet homage to disaster—stone-like surfaces, textured finishes, muted palettes. Yet there’s softness too: rounded corners, subtle silhouettes, a sense of peace distilled from catastrophe.
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“Every shape we cast, every texture we preserve is a quiet homage to time itself,” says Douglas Dy, co-founder of Destonos. “The hands of our craftsmen carry the gestures of those who came before, merging generations of regional knowledge and contemporary vision into timeless pieces.
The pieces are surprisingly lightweight and a deliberate design choice, according to Douglas. The pieces are hollow so they can be moved around without damaging floors. The weight also allows for easy transport if one decides to move to another place of residence.
Destonos isn’t just making furniture. It’s building permanence out of impermanence. It’s giving shape to something that once symbolized loss—and turning it into a vessel for daily life.
Each piece is a fusion of ancient materials and modern vision—a collaboration not just between designers and artisans, but between past and present, ruin and reconstruction.
From ash to artifact, Destonos reminds us that even the most destructive forces can leave behind the raw ingredients for beauty.
