Let The Walls Do The Talking

Jonathan Matti, the fi rst Filipino designer tapped for a collaboration by esteemed wallpaper company de Gournay through its Philippinerepresentative, shares the story of how the Latina Manila collection came to be

- MJ Jose

Very few understand wallpaper the way in-demand interior designer Jonathan Matti does. He has been ordering wall coverings from the English brand de Gournay for years, but uses them in many creative ways. For Matti, it was never about purchasing the image and merely mounting it somewhere, but about marrying the design (sometimes even tweaking it to an extent as de Gournay is bespoke, after all) and his vision to produce the ideal settings for his projects.

It did not take long for de Gournay to take notice of Matti’s work. It reached out to Elements Fine Furnishing Fabrics Inc, its official representative and exclusive distributor in the Philippines, to find a way to thank Matti for his continued patronage.

“They voiced out an idea of asking Jonathan to design a wallpaper that showcases his aesthetics, alongside the culture and heritage of the community where he works,” says Patti Liang, director and co-founder of Elements.