Every time the Dubai Shopping Festival is here, I am asked by friends, clients and, recently, even some tabloid! readers about where to find unique design pieces. To be perfectly honest, I would love to be able to buy a design investment piece at the upcoming Design Days Dubai (March 2015) — but that is more for an emotional connection to a certain pedigree of design icons. Other than that I am pretty easy and always one for a great deal (DSF does make shopping for big design pieces a tad easier on the wallet); I’ve found myself as happy in London’s vintage furniture markets as in IKEA and warehouses in Al Quoz.
What I am really enjoying is the next-gen design brands that are popping up in Dubai and, between them, offer promise for new regional and international design vocabularies and surprise, even the virtue of eco-sensitivity! Here is my pick of the local brands that have my heart.
The Urban Yogi
At the fore-front of re-defining the Indian aesthetic for the global citizen, The Urban Yogi was established by Dubai-based mum of two, Nisha Shetty, in 2012. Since then, the brand has enjoyed a sustained growth thanks to successful retail pop-up stands, collaborations with weekly markets such as “Ripe” and a strong social media following. This limited edition, luxury home décor label offers an eclectic mix of re-purposed antique furniture, unique fabrics, art and tableware with a contemporary India slant that has found favour with UAE residents from the world over. www.theurbanyogi.me
Kaleidoscope by Mimi
Mimi Shakhashir delivers authentic, stylish statement pieces courtesy her collaboration with a range of artisans and craftspeople from around the world. None of the pieces are created in factories, but designed, sourced and detailed from communities in the Middle East, India, Thailand, Morocco and beyond to deliver an authentic, one-off universal appeal. Shakhashir sees her label as a multicultural souk; the result is an ever-evolving collection curated through exchange with charities, vintage, and travel finds that range from bohemian fashion, jewels and accent pieces for the home. Browse through her collection at the DST Market OTB in Downtown. www.kaleidoscopebymimi.com
D.tales
Bringing the very best of Scandinavian furniture brands such as Muuto, Design House Stockholm, One Nordic, Källemo and designers such as Arne Jacobsen, Lisa Hilland and Verner Panton to the region, the brain child of Lars Narfeldt has elevated the regional understanding and appreciation of the pared back Scandinavian aesthetic. Each design piece at D.tales has a story to share — be it from the designer’s point of view or a statement on our times. Offering furniture, lamps, carpets and one-off accessories such as vases, tabletop, art, watches and jewellery, the environs of the lifestyle brand’s store in Jumeirah Beach Road in Dubai and the Tourist Club area of Abu Dhabi are decidedly Sandinavian, thanks to the use of materials and craftsmen from Sweden. From the colour tones, the choice of materials such as the solid pine floor and the scaled back wall tiling, it does feel as though you have left the Middle East and stepped into a shop in Copenhagen or Stockholm. www.design-tales.com
Cities
True to its name, this lifestyle store offers the very best of creative lifestyle, art and modern design products from the world over. Catering to the wide cross-section of clients — from the discerning design and arts collector searching for exquisite modern furniture and art pieces to lovers of design looking for a quirky accent piece — Cities handpicks works from a variety of international and Middle Eastern talents sourced from around the world and at some of the leading design shows and exhibitions. Alain Solomon (France), Nada Debs (Lebanon), Villa Home (Italy), Bokja (Lebanon), and Menina Design (Portugal) among others take you on a design trail across the globe through works, allowing the client to travel the world, within one space. www.citiesdubai.com
s*uce Gifts
The award-winning concept store is regional fashion designer Zayan Ghandour’s labour of love. An all-white, industrial-luxe setting acts as a proverbial light box, as Ghandour and her team curate a collection of quirky lifestyle pieces and home interior accessories as well as limited-edition design works born from one-off collaborations. Very recently, s*uce Gifts participated in the 65th anniversary celebrations of Kartell, hosting top-notch regional designers’ interpretation of a Kartell classic. If that is not a stamp of approval I don’t know what is. www.shopatsauce.com
Pratyush Sarup edits the design site www.designcarrot.net. You can follow the site on twitter @DesignCarrot.
