Mehitabel was established in 1947 in Cebu, Philippines by Maria Montenegro de Aboitiz. Maria Montenegro was the daughter of a sugar planter from Negros, Philippines.  At the age of 19, Maria met and married Luis Aboitiz, the youngest brother of the Aboitiz clan engaged in commerce and shipping in Cebu.  After their wedding, the couple settled happily in Cebu where Luis Aboitiz was in charge of the stevedores who worked for the family shipping company.  In 1941 the Japanese invaded the Philippines, placing Maria and Luis and their four children in jeopardy. Luis Aboitiz became ill during the war, leaving Maria to shepherd her ailing husband and family through the occupation.

After the war, Major Clarence Gushurst, a U.S. Army Major stationed in Cebu, convinced Maria to start a business making rattan and buri furniture.  With little experience, Maria set up a workshop behind her home and supervised the weavers and craftsmen making the furniture.  She sold her furniture to local families who were recovering their homes and possessions after the war, and to American military and civil personnel setting up homes to help with the reconstruction of the country. Eventually her partnership with Major Gushurst ended, and Maria continued running the now established business.  The furniture attracted the attention of another American stationed in Cebu after the war, John Calhoun McGuire. John was captivated by the strength, versatility, and beauty of a vine, called “rattan”, used by the locals to make furniture.  The rattan vine, often confused with wicker, grew abundantly in the rainforests of Asia.  John noticed that rattan had unique properties.  When heated, the vine could be bent and molded into a multitude of shapes.  When cooled, the vine retained the shape and structural integrity of the original design.