Design Your Christmas 2018 - Episode 3
The #DesignYourChristmas series continues with a third part specifically focused on design creation from the Middle East.
Funquetry vase
The Funquetry collection explore a playful, contemporary interpretation of the traditional handcraft technique of marquetry. Here is a vase with strips of different coloured wood that are inlaid to produce what’s known as a “mother”. In some pieces these are then sliced and shifted to create a break in the geometric pattern. In others, they are applied to what Nada Debs calls pleated wood: a triangulated cut into the solid wood. It is made of French oak, American walnut with a removable plexiglas insert.
Nada Debs is a Lebanese designer living and working in Beirut. Her work spans scale and discipline: from product and furniture design to one-off commissions across craft, art, fashion and interiors. What ties her work together is her ability to distil culture and craftsmanship to create pieces of emotional resonance. Nada grew up in Japan, studied design at the Rhode Island School of Design in the United States and has spent significant periods of time living and travelling the world, finding connections between different cultures. There is something of each of her experiences in all of her work. In essence, she captures the power of the human hand to tell stories that touch the heart. She calls her approach: handmade and heart-made.
Price: USD 1,500*
Ramel
Inspired by the ever shifting dunes, The Foundry.ltd by Tinkah set out to develop a material that tames the characteristics of desert sand into a mouldable medium. “Ramel” (sand in Arabic) has the ability to shift shape into functional and aesthetic products that emerge from their environment rather than adopting their surroundings. As homage to a global culture, The Foundry has designed and produced the humble coffee cup using sand.
Tinkah is a multidisciplinary design firm (Dubai, London) with artists, designers and artisans working towards culturally relevant solutions.
Prince: USD 180*
The Counterbalance Series
Lebanese designer and architect, Tarek ElKassouf, has explored counterbalancing forms on their points. Through the design process he ended up creating four objects for a daily use.
Soap Tray: Mix of prime European Marble. Cubes delicately counterbalance each other to bring the tray to stand on its points.
Nothing Tray: or vide-poches in French, a simple tray that will make you want to empty your pockets onto it when you walk through the door.
Candle Holders: Three candle holders fused together to counterbalance on their points - Available in Marble and Stone.
Incense Burner: Reflect is a contemporary take on the incense burner that yet alludes to the historical use of the instrument in the region.
The collection is available at Whitewalls, Beirut.
Prices: USD 75* (soap tray); USD 200* (nothing tray); USD 330* (stone)/ USD 440* (marble) (candle holders); USD 1,500* (incense burner).
Takya
Inspired by traditional Emirati seating, a rectangular cushion which was used as a back rest in the majlis, Aljoud Lootah launched it together with Khous, a sofa mixing fabric and camel leather.
Aljoud Lootah is a multidisciplinary designer based in Dubai. She composes her creations by mixing traditional silhouettes & concepts with modern elements. As a product designer, she has been involved in projects that distinctly interprets the Emirati culture, traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design. Two products from her Oru Series (2015) were acquired by the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, making her the first Emirati designer to have her work acquired by an international gallery.
Price: USD 955*
Dual Bowls
Dual Bowls by Saffar, are irreplaceable, one-of-a-kind castings made with an unexpected combination of two metals. They are affordable art pieces, as well as functional objects, using unique sand-casting methods developed with Alwafi Foundry in Kuwait.
Sand-casting is a reproducible process with untapped potential. Working with this method, Dual Bowls can be customized in a variety of metals and finishes — giving you lots of choices, while still being easy for us to produce. The dual bowls are available in copper and nickel; brass and nickel and brass and copper. Three techniques are used: Pouring (Both metals are poured while molten into a single form); Cutting (The solid metal is cut and key'ed. The molten metal is poured on) and Plating (The base metal is half dipped in a liquid coating metal)
Kuwaiti product designer, Kawther Alsaffar attained her BFA. in Industrial Design from Rhode Island School of Design, and her MA. in Design Products from the Royal College of Art in London. Her work is multi-disciplinary and uses storytelling and craft to traverse the fictional lines between art and design.
Price list: small (USD 120*); medium brass (USD 120*); medium copper (USD 275*); large brass (USD 340*); large copper (USD 410*)
*all prices are exclusive of local taxes and shipping.
