From farm life to 'Gideonized': Gideon Hermosa details humble beginnings
MANILA, Philippines — Event stylist Gideon Hermosa just celebrated the 15th anniversary of his company, the House of Hermosa, which has earned global recognition for for designing and staging events.
Gideon's events have always been marked as extravagant, grand, and lavish — words that have become synonymous with "Gideonized" — all of them leaving lasting impressions on attendees.
But the road to achieving such acclaim was a long one, as Gideon recounted to members of the media including Philstar.com before his anniversay gala night held last July 2 in a Parañaque hotel.
Gideon grew up on his family's farm in Tarlac but he admitted he always had high aspirations for himself, initially wanting to become an architect.
However, times were rough while in high school and an architecture degree would take five years to complete, so a practical choice for him and his parents was to pursue a ladderized hotel and restaurant management course for two years.
"In case kinapos ng pera, itutuloy ko siya in other time. But kung nagkaroon ng money after two years, after I graduated two years, itutuloy ko siya into a degree course," Gideon shared, although he didn't study further and started working at 18.
Gideon took an On-the-Job Training position at the Baguio Country Club after the course, a time he considered himself "really independent," and being in Baguio meant seeing a lot of weddings even if he was just assigned to the kitchen.
"Every time na may wedding, excited ako, nakikita ko yung concept, design, like everything," Gideon continued. "So parang sobra akong natutuwa with weddings."
His fascination with weddings date back to high school days where he'd help make trinkets and souvenirs for provincial weddings.
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Being in Baguio only blossomed that fascination more, literally, as Gideon was exposed to the city's flowers — a theme very prominent in his event designs today.
After Baguio Country Club Gideon worked in coffee shops and other hotels, seeing himself as a person who doesn't grow if he stays in one place.
Gideon did admit it was difficult to start a business in Baguio given the competition, but luckily, a catering business based in Pangasinan he crossed paths with during a bridal fair invited him to join the company.
"Pinag-isipan ko mabuti yun. But like, suntok sa buwan, go. Sige. Hindi alam ng parents ko, lumipat ako ng Pangasinan," Gideon said.
He worked as a catering manager and the successful collaboration saw Gideon offer clients elevated designs despite a basic set-up.
"Natutuwa sila lahat. Parang kasi mas madami na yung weddings namin na ini-style namin than the catering business," Gideon added.
Three years after working on such weddings, Gideon made the plunge to start his very own business, and that was the birth of the House of Hermosa.
Rather than saying it was innate talent that grew out of no formal training, Gideon ended by crediting his growth to all the experiences he went through leading up to his company's 15 years in the events industry.
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