Industrial designer Selena Placino turns the simple yet evocative image of a taho carrier into a bench that elicits both the spirit of everyday Filipino culture and the nostalgia of childhood memories.
Taho is a sweet treat many Filipinos associate with slow, peaceful mornings. The smooth arnibal, silken tofu, and chewy tapioca pearls make for a combination that’s hard to resist. Beyond its nostalgic appeal, however, part of what makes taho so iconic is the way it’s sold: the familiar metal carrier balanced across the shoulders of magtataho vendors, who walk through neighborhoods calling out for customers. It’s a fixture of Filipino everyday life, one that most of us would never imagine seeing outside the streets. Industrial designer Selena Placino, however, saw something more in this humble piece of local cultureCultureshared traditions, beliefs, values, customs, arts, and social practices that define the identity and way of life of a community, society, or nation.Go to Culture Glossary. With a little creativity, she found a way to transform the familiar taho carrier into a captivating piece of home decor— what she refers to as the “Taho! Bench.”
In an exclusive interview with Lifestyle Asia, Placino shared how she turned the functional object used for storing and selling food into a noteworthy home fixture.
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Get To Know Selena Placino
Before diving deeper into the creative process behind the Taho! Bench, it helps to get to know the creative behind it. “I’m an independent industrial designer working across furniture, lighting, and everyday objects,” Placino shares. Much of her work draws inspiration from the mundane and ordinary experiences we encounter every day. “I like looking at familiar things from a different perspective and exploring how they can be reinterpreted through design, using local materials and available processes,” she adds.
This approach is evident throughout all her projects and collaborations, including those that draw inspiration from experiences outside of Filipino culture. With VENZON, she developed Seasons, a lighting collection inspired by the changing seasons of trees and their parallels to the different cycles of life, as well as the practice of adding supports to help growing saplings. She also collaborated with Sgt. Mags on “Recess Lamp,” a playful lighting piece inspired by the tic-tac-toe games found on jungle gyms. Its acrylic components can be spun and played with, bringing an interactive element to an otherwise everyday object.
How The “Taho! Bench” Came To Be
The story behind the Taho! Bench goes back several years before the industrial designer had the opportunity to present it at Emerge, an exhibition in Singapore featuring Southeast Asian designers. The idea first came to her while watching magtataho vendors make their rounds in the early hours of the morning, carrying heavy canisters balanced across their shoulders. She often wondered if there was a way to make their daily routine easier. “As an industrial designer, I’m trained to look at everyday situations and think about how design can help solve problems,” she explains.
That initial curiosity eventually took a different direction. Rather than focusing on the vendors’ equipment, Placino began imagining what she could create for them during their brief pauses between rounds. “Over time, the question I asked myself evolved—from ‘How might we help taho vendors carry the canisters more easily?’ to ‘How might we give them a place to rest during their short breaks?’” she explains. That change in perspective became the starting point for the Taho! Bench, meant to mimic these vendors’ yoke and buckets.
The project also carries a personal connection for Placino. A confessed taho lover, she has always admired the vendors who bring the beloved morning treat to different barangays. The bench serves as her way of paying tribute to the people behind a comforting, well-loved aspect of Filipino life. Even its material choices carry a little piece of that story. Its bases are finished in capiz laminate, chosen for its resemblance to the texture of soy as it’s scooped into a cup. It’s a thoughtful detail that takes the inspiration beyond the bench’s recognizable silhouette.
The Creative Process
Translating the familiar image of a magtataho into furniture called for a closer look at the details that make up the vendor’s setup. Placino approached the design by drawing from the three main ingredients of taho, represented by the incorporation of three contrasting materials: solid wood, stainless steel, and capiz shells. Each one serves as a reference to a different part of the morning ritual. The wooden seat takes inspiration from the yoke, traditionally made of wood or bamboo; meanwhile, the stainless steel bases echo the metal canisters used to carry the soy pudding. She even retained the containers’ asymmetrical shape, making sure the bench stayed true to its original reference. The stainless steel brackets connecting the seat to the bases were also designed to mirror the construction of the vendor’s equipment. It’s a series of well-wrought details that make the connection to taho apparent without taking away from the bench’s function.
Placino enjoys looking more closely at familiar objects and discovering possibilities that might otherwise go unnoticed. “I’ve also come to realize the importance of finding beauty in everyday things, which is something I try to practice, not just in my design work, but in life in general,” she shares. This philosophy informs how she approaches the meaning and longevity of an object. She believes that when people form a personal connection with something, they’re more likely to hold on to it. “I see meaningful design as one way to create more sustainable products, things that people grow attached to rather than easily discard,” she states.
Of course, a good-looking piece of furniture still has to do its job. While the Taho! Bench has often been described as a statement piece or conversation starter, Placino is quick to point out that it remains a functional bench, with enough room for one to two people. She originally envisioned it in an entryway or against a wall, where someone could sit while putting on their shoes. Interestingly, some owners found another way to style it, placing it beneath a painting or artwork. The designer enjoys this interpretation, likening the arrangement to how a magtataho carries his buckets. It’s a playful connection that gives the piece another purpose within the home.
The bench has also evolved in response to how people want to use it. After receiving questions about whether it could be placed outdoors, Placino developed a version suited to outdoor settings. Since the original capiz laminate wasn’t ideal for exposure to the elements, she opted for teak wood, marine-grade stainless steel, and powder-coated brackets. The updated materials allow the bench to retain its familiar form while making it more practical for outdoor use. It’s a good example of how a design can continue to adapt while staying true to the story that inspired it.
More Filipino, More Cultural, Originally by Selena Placino
One of the most rewarding parts of seeing the Taho! Bench out in the world has been hearing how people connect with it. Placino shares that many have reached out to tell her how the piece reminds them of home and childhood, particularly Filipinos living abroad. For a designer, knowing that something you created can bring back such personal memories is something special. “Hearing these stories has made me realize that design can have an impact beyond its function. It can spark joy, bring back memories, and create connections with people I may never even meet,” she says.
That interest in finding stories through familiar experiences continues in Placino’s other projects. Earlier this year, she drew inspiration from the Filipino tradition of ihawan for Ihawi, a room divider developed in collaboration with Hiblatech, which went on to receive Good Design Award Philippines 2026 recognition. Its adjustable panels feature rods that users can rotate to change how open or enclosed they want their space to be.
She also recently completed a wind-activated installation at Preziosa Farms, featuring pinwheels inspired by santan flowers. The reference calls to mind a familiar memory of youth for many Filipinos: making bracelets from the flowers and sipping the sweet nectar from their stems. Reimagined as a kinetic sculpture among the farm’s crops, it turns a childhood pastime into something visitors can experience in a new way.
Looking ahead, Placino hopes to keep finding inspiration in the ordinary, whether it comes from Filipino experiences or more universal moments that people from different backgrounds can recognize. Her work serves as a reminder that some of the most interesting design ideas come from simply paying closer attention to the things around us. In the case of the Taho! Bench, a familiar sight on an ordinary Filipino morning has found a rather unexpected place in the home.
All photos courtesy of Selena Placino
Frequently Asked Questions
Selena Placino is an independent Filipino industrial designer whose work spans furniture, lighting, and everyday objects. She draws inspiration from familiar experiences and explores how they can be reinterpreted through design using local materials and available processes.
The Taho! Bench is a furniture piece inspired by the traditional carrier used by Filipino magtataho vendors. Designed by industrial designer Selena Placino, it reinterprets the vendor’s wooden yoke and metal containers into a functional bench that can seat one to two people.
Selena Placino was inspired by the magtataho vendors she would see carrying heavy canisters through neighborhoods early in the morning. She initially wondered how design could make their daily routines easier before developing the idea of creating a place where they could rest during short breaks.
The original Taho Bench combines solid wood, stainless steel, and capiz laminate. The wooden seat references the vendor’s traditional yoke, while the stainless steel bases resemble the metal canisters used to carry taho. The capiz laminate adds a detail inspired by the texture of soy.
Selena Placino has worked on several projects, including Seasons, a lighting collection with VENZON inspired by the changing seasons of trees; Recess Lamp, created with Sgt. Mags and inspired by tic-tac-toe games on jungle gyms; and Ihawi, a room divider developed with Hiblatech and inspired by the Filipino tradition of ihawan. She also created a wind-activated pinwheel installation at Preziosa Farms inspired by santan flowers.
