NAGA CITY?When cheap imported furniture became the fad in 2000, Nitz Furniture and Piano Center, a homegrown company along Peñafrancia and Magsaysay Avenues here, was threatened.

But far from folding up, it strove to make its products more durable and presentable as its competitive edge to the low-cost but less sturdy items from abroad.

Then, came the government?s imposition of a total log ban that consequently affected the supply of wood. But Nitz Furniture turned to marine plywood and indigenous materials to keep its business afloat.

The materials included the dagiwdiw (sea grasses), which are plenty in the marshlands of Bicol; cogon stalks; water hyacinth; bamboo and flat rocks.

?In turn, we are promoting the handicrafts of small-scale producers in Camarines Sur,? says Nestor L. Flores, a civil engineer and proprietor of Nitz Furniture.

?Our business philosophy is moving forward and growing together, that?s why our shop has always worked to use products that small-scale producers in Camarines Sur are earning their living while making sure that each customer is satisfied,? Flores says.

Through the years, the company has turned plywood and indigenous materials into elegant and uniquely designed pieces of furniture. ?We make sure that each piece is very durable and has a unique touch despite the use of light and indigenous materials,? Flores says.

Going places

Today, the shop?s furniture items reach places Manila and some places abroad. Several condominium owners in Manila have asked the shop to furnish and even design the interior of their units.

Flores? mother, after whom the shop was named, started the business in 1978 as a piano repair shop.

?One time, a customer asked us why we don?t go into furniture making since repairing a piano employs the same skills needed for it,? Flores says.

It happened that his mother also had a fascination with furniture, while his father was into the lumber business in his younger years. The combination was both right and ripe.

Nitz Furniture had been supplying the furniture and piano repair needs of people and establishments in Naga City until political woes in the late ?80s caused it to slow down.

New lease on life

In the mid-?90s, Flores revived the business with a P20, 000 capital. The shop, however, lacked the equipment to carve designs on plywood and polish it.

Sometimes, a bolo knife was used as carving tool, but the craftsman made sure that the outcome was clean despite its relative crudeness.

To cope with the high demand but low supply of wood, the shop started using locally available materials for many purposes, like lining for chair rests. Water lily stalks have been used to cover couches and stools while providing the intricate design for the finished products.

Waste trimmings from bamboo furniture manufacturers have also been used for designs. Rings formed by bamboo stems cut crosswise were turned into very detailed artworks embedded within the pieces of furniture, especially on sofa rests.

Nitz Furniture?s biggest innovation is producing items that can easily be delivered by a small vehicle and reinstalled in the houses of customers.

?Before, we sometimes need to destroy and reinstall walls and windows just so a new bed could be put inside a room. We do not do it now. The bulky pieces of furniture that we produce are very portable and reassembling of the parts is very easy,? Flores says.

Customer satisfaction

He says he was always happy whenever customers gave him positive feedback. They would always say they like the shop?s products because all of them have undergone ?piano-finish,? meaning the pieces of furniture are very intricately prepared and neatly polished, he says.

Customer satisfaction is what Flores values more. ?That?s why we accept payment only after finishing our services or delivering our product,? he says.

The shop still accepts piano repair and tutorial. To further widen its reach, it takes on interior designing and renovation projects, although not on a large scale.

With his business earnings, Flores acquired the building and lot that the shop now occupies.

Flores says his success could be partly attributed to his employment of the less fortunate.

The shop has hired unskilled people who quickly learned the craft up to its most intricate details through persistent coaching.

Nitz Furniture is now producing pieces as unique as a Ferrari-inspired bed and laundry bins coated with water lily stalks.