FairThis Newly Unveiled Beirut Concept Store Is a Trove of Lebanese Design TalentsCurated by Mariana Wehbe, Beirut Concept Store at Dubai Design Week spotlights Lebanon-based creatives

By Pratyush Sarup

November 12, 2021

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This article originally appeared on AD Middle East.

There are a multitude of examples of support and ingenuity in the aftermath of Beirut's catastrophe last year, consistently proving the resilient spirit of Lebanon and its people. Now, yet another example emerges with the Beirut Concept Store, now on view during Dubai Design Week.  Featuring over 25 designers and collectives who still live and work in the country, the showcase is in many ways a physical manifestation of that resilient, creative spirit.

Highlighting a range of craft disciplines and creative processes, this showcase is a snapshot of Lebanon’s diverse creative culture, brimming with potential and hope.

Sculpture by Nathalie Khayat.

Photography courtesy Beirut Concept Store

Nathalie Khayat

Oscillating between the poetic and the functional, Khayat creates sculptural pieces that range from decorative to utilitarian objects. Her deconstructed vessels come from an intimate dialogue with clay that transforms the earthly material into a contemplation, a projection of inner silence to exterior landscapes, from stillness to movement. “The images I seek, be they narrative or experimental, try to gather an emotional power born of an intimate search into light and landscape,” she says. “Within a poetic framework, reality is stretched, folded, and punctured.” nathaliekhayat.com

Adrian Pérez in studio.

Photography courtesy Beirut Concept Store

Adrian Pérez

An artist and designer, Pérez’s work focuses on craftsmanship from socio-cultural, aesthetic, ecological, and methodological perspectives. His integrated approach interweaves culture, history, and performance with design, fashion, and interiors. Crafting experiences—as much as objects—and imbuing a sense of place and people through materiality within them, he seeks to create a discourse on our present condition and experiences. adrianpepe.com

Chair by Guillaume Crédoz.

Photography courtesy Beirut Concept Store

Guillaume Crédoz

Following an education in architecture and environment design, Crédoz established an entirely virtual practice, working solely on 3D visualizations for over 50 studios around the world. As a direct and material extension of his experience, his practice, dubbed Bits to Atoms, explores the potential of digital manufacturing to extend the capacity of crafts in both architecture and design. With new brand Post Industrial Crafts, the designer is now bringing digitally fabricated furniture to a wider, global audience. postindustrialcrafts.xyz

‘Untitled’ table by Samer Bou Rjeily.

Photography courtesy Beirut Concept Store

Samer Bou Rjeily

Known for his beautifully nuanced, sculptural work, Bou Rjeily works extensively with natural materials and local crafts to create statement-making pieces. His monolithic ‘Untitled’ table features segments from a 200-year-old pine tree that was uprooted by natural causes. As a metaphorical statement on the devastation caused by forest fires in the recent years, Bou Rjeily torched the wood using the Shou Sugi Ban technique, an 18th century Japanese method of preserving wood by charring it with fire.

Simplicity drives the work of Paola Sakr.

Photography courtesy Beirut Concept Store

Paola Sakr

Inspired by photography and art, Sakr graduated from l’Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts with a degree in product design. Following a stint at PsLab, she decided to focus solely on her projects and has never looked back. Her faith in constant innovation and simplicity is reflected in her recurrent approach to material experimentation and manipulation, often turning something very humble into a potent symbol of creativity and ingenuity. paolasakr.design

Tatiana Akl and members of the Exil collective.

Photography courtesy Beirut Concept Store

Tatiana Akl

With a bachelor’s degree in product design from l’Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts and a master’s degree in fashion studies from Parsons the New School for Design, Akl cofounded the collective Exil with a vision to offer a new generation of Lebanon-based designers and creatives a platform for experimentation, learning, and putting new work out in the world. Driven by social innovation and a passion for the artistic scene, Akl juggles creative projects around Beirut and social initiatives for different NGOs. exilcollective.com

Youssef Bassil's collection of ultra-rational objects.

Photography courtesy Beirut Concept Store

Youssef Bassil

Following a multitude of small freelance projects post university, Bassil joined the team of a well-established furniture designer in the Lebanese scene. Now, his adoration for minimalism has led to the opening of studiojuice, his own creative platform to develop radical, ultra-rational, and affordable objects that are locally made in Lebanon.