ABOUT HoT
STUDENTS
ACTIVITIES
SHOWCASE
SUPPORT US
NEWS
CONTACT US
SHOWCASE
DESIGNERS
OBJECTS
THE SHOP
All
Aspen 2020
Elevate 2018
Design Miami 2017
Jungle Protocol 2016
Naked 2014
Confessions 2012
Khaled El Mays
Khaled el mays was born in Lebanon, earned a degree in architecture from the American university of Beirut and an MFA in digital arts from Pratt institute in new york.
His work tackles multiplicity and repetition, it is always process based mutations, and the outcome is always an instance of purity and balance extracted from pools of visual data.
In 2013, khaled launched his debut collection, RHIZOMES, which was published by major design publications in the MENA, since then his work has been exhibited in influential cities around the world.
He is the founder of Atelier Khaled El Mays, which is a Mutli-‐disciplinary design studio that focuses on Furniture Design, Interior Architecture and Graphics in Space.
The studio splits effort between two worlds of manufacturing, One, is community conscious, khaled’s designs get produced with an array of local craftsman in the bekaa valley, the process is very organic and the pieces moves between local artisans ;owners of their workshops; in order to get the job done. This allows these businesses to grow or maintain their structures, also learn new tricks within the process.
The second one is luxury conscious process, where the designs are manufactured with the best suppliers available in the market; the pieces go through a formal production process using the noblest materials.
Khaled is also a lecturer and design instructor in the Lebanese university as of 2014
Rumi Dalle
Rumi Dalle, winner of the 2016 Boghossian Foundation Prize, is difficult to categorize – a collector, a designer, an artist – her installations show a craftsman’s skill and a fascination with material. Graduating with a Ba in Graphic design at the Lebanese American University, Dalle’s earliest experimentations began at home, creating fantasy worlds staged in her mother’s closet. An obsessive collector of old Photographs, she became a regular at antique shops and flea markets. Her collection of eccentric objects can be found around her workshop, including crafts from the 18
th
and the 19
th
centuries.
Rumi Dalle has travelled to different countries to learn first-hand about disappearing crafts from the people still practicing them. In Ireland, she did workshops with a felt-maker; her experiments with the material formed the basis for this first commercial installation in 2012, a window display for an Eyewear Boutique, The Counter.
As an installation artist, with a number of projects in the works, Dalle is currently revisiting materials in new ways, though he’s planning research trips to discover more folk crafts to integrate into his work.
Where of many of these traditional crafts are on the edge of dying out, Dalle’s path of curiosity is also one of preservation. She’s an archivist of sorts, drawing attention to distant crafts traditions and translating them to new cultures and generations.
In the peculiar space of Rumi Dalle, we discover a deep-rooted infatuation in soft arts and crafts from the 1800s.
Fine intricate articles – toys and memory jugs for the young, memorial wreaths for those long gone – are part of her personal collection.
Passed on from one generation to another, these objects were made in prisons, schools, convents, homes. Each tells the story of people who immersed themselves everyday in making, pouring their souls into what has become a relic, and what will inspire new works.
The outcome speaks to the senses: a certain feel, a certain light, a certain emotion.
This is a whirlwind journey of curiosity, one that has led Rumi to artisans to learn and preserve crafts that are being abandoned and disappearing.
Here, take a look into Rumi’s world: a parallel dimension that revolves around a worktable where everything is laid bare and finessed into living, breathing works.
Sayar & Garibeh
Stephanie Sayar and Charbel Gharibeh are Lebanese based designers.
Living between Beirut and Germany, they both had the chance to assist in several workshops and to work and experiment with local and German craftsmen.
Selected to be Part of Starch team 2016.
They work together as a team where each one has his/her own touch and thoughts combined together to create nostalgic and dreamy pieces.
Their approach to design encompasses their personal vision of experimental designs with a dash of humor using new materials and forms.
They recently opened their studio Sayar & Garibeh, in Beirut, after developing their product design skills and exhibiting their work at a number of international fairs such as Milan, Paris, Beirut and Dubai.
Their work had been selected in 2015 and 2016 as best of Milan design week and highlighted as best of Maison et Objet Paris 2015.
After having met over 12 years ago in college, the two later went on to complete Master’s degrees in Interior Architecture from the Lebanese University. It was only three years after graduation that they realized the necessity of designing together to produce the best work.
"Working together is always fun, and while communication is one of the main elements in our method, we can't hide the fact that it sometimes gets messy, but it's all part of the ride... We tried to work separately a few times [in the beginning] but we always ended up realizing that there was something missing."
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
CAPTCHA
Press Enter to submit