“Passion project” is how Jinky Tobiano-Sy describes Opulence Design Concept, the retail business she and her husband Gerry Sy have set up to distribute premium European homeware brands through their shop of the same name.

“We love interior design, anything to do with the house,” she tells DAILY TRIBUNE at the unveiling of the limited edition of Fornasetti fine porcelain held at Opulence shop’s branch in The Podium mall in Mandaluyong City. Opulence, along with its brand ambassador, the actress and visual artist Heart Evangelista, has collaborated with the iconic Italian brand to come up with the specially designed wall plates and teacup sets.

Jinky, in fact, had wanted to take up interior design in college, but she gave in to her parents’ advice to take up a business course instead. She was already expected to help run the family’s business, Progressive Poultry Supply Corporation, which manufactures and sells chicken feeds.

“You know, the typical Chinese setup,” says the obedient and “very diligent” daughter who eventually earned a degree in Business Administration. Since then, she has been working for her family’s company, even after she married Gerry and they started their own businesses.

The couple own Intellismart, a supply and business solutions company that trades primarily technology-driven devices and appliances from global brands, such as Samsung. They are also part of the group that runs the Supersam restaurant. Then there’s Opulence, which, she remarks, is “really like our baby.”

Jinky recalls starting Opulence with lighting switches and electrical outlets. One day, the supplier of the Italian switch brand Vimar suggested to her and Gerry, “Why don’t you go into, like, kitchen since you’re already into the home so why don’t you complete the line?” The Sys soon added kitchen solutions, luxury European furniture and home accents in their showroom on Connecticut Street in San Juan that eventually became Opulence Design Concept’s first shop.

Overcoming challenges

“If it’s really your passion, it will come out naturally,” Jinky says on finally fulfilling her dream of doing something in line with interior design. She’s filled with joy and pride as she mentions some of the luxury brands Opulence carries in its two shops, plus a popup at the Newport World Resorts hotel in Pasay City.

These brands are foremost Italian, such as Fornasetti, Versace Home, MisuraEmme, Stosa Cucine, Versace by Rosenthal, Swarovski by Rosenthal and most recently, Dolce & Gabbana Casa. Why Italian? The discerning entrepreneur reasons that the Italian brands are really known for their topnotch quality, especially in furniture and homeware.

 The road to success hasn’t always been smooth, as she and her husband, in running Opulence, encountered a major bump along the way. Just four months into operations, they had to close shop when the Covid-19 pandemic hit and a series of lockdown was imposed particularly in Metro Manila.

“We were not allowed to operate for, like, six months,” she says. “So, it was really a challenge. Imagine we were just starting and then suddenly, we were not allowed to do anything. Good thing, there’s social media. People were bored at that time. What they did, they just ordered online. Gerry and I took all the orders, made the deliveries, everything. It was really a challenge.”

Opulence got a lot of clients through its Instagram account and attracted more when those clients, including Heart, posted “for free” about their purchases on their own accounts. Such “nice” gestures, Jinky now looks back with gratitude, “really helped the sales, especially during that time when business was down.”

By early 2021, while pandemic protocols started easing, the Sy couple got offered a space from The Podium mall’s management “at a fairly low rate.” Jinky remembers telling Gerry, “Why don’t we give this a try?” Thus, they opened another shop as Opulence’s flagship store. They now plan on expanding operations, that’s why they’re “constantly looking for locations because location is always the key.”

Lessons in entrepreneurship

Jinky shares what she’s learned so far in running Opulence: “First, you have to love what you do. Because both Gerry and I, we love designing. We love interiors, anything to do with the house. You have to love what you’re doing. It will come out naturally. It won’t be like a business. If you love what you’re doing, it will show.

“Secondly, you have to diversify. You can’t have just, like, a limited [selection], especially after the pandemic. We have to think of ways to innovate, to bring in [more products]. It’s not just the kitchen or the living, you have to think of more things to bring to the market because it’s also a big market.”

As for running a business with a spouse, she explains, “There’s always a give-and-take. We have different strengths and those strengths, when combined, is, I believe, what makes us click. At home, as much as possible, we try to shut away from the business side when we’re with the kids because we want to enjoy them.

“But, siyempre (of course), hindi mo rin maiiwasan (you can’t avoid it). When there’s something going on concerning the business, we talk about it. But I think, it’s all about right timing in everything that we do. You just have to trust each other’s decisions.”

Speaking of home, Jinky admits the one she shares with Gerry and their four children is far from the picture-perfect layout in Opulence’s shops. “I also wish that I have a very beautiful home, but with four very young children, I think I’m not yet ready to display my Fornasetti. My eldest is only 12 and I have a three-year-old. Maybe when they’re old enough to appreciate such beauty.”