As March rolls in with much gusto, another year seems to be raging forward. Bringing in this new year camping by the ocean, the mountains, under the stars & by the bonfire was a first for me & it sure warmed my marshmallow heart like nothing else. To celebrate & remember the hope and spirit with which we brought in the new year, I put together this lil’ film - a memento for my loved ones & reminder to myself - hoping it will keep us moving forward & push us to check off all those things we dream of doing this year. Bring it on March!

You walk into artist Lama Khatib's home and you are immediately in awe. The painfully melancholic eyes of the woman she so carefully etches into  her drawings, hangs effortlessly on the wall facing the front door, piercing through your soul, drawing you in to the home, like an industrial-strength magnet. This sense of immediacy of emotion flows through the rest of her Dubai home that she shares with her husband, as much as it does in her artworks. As we talked about her art, her home & her story, I realized quickly that this was no ordinary morning. And although I wasn't really prepared to be so jolted by emotion or inspiration as I sipped tea with her, I am now richer for it. Here are excerpts from our conversation, that in so many ways, continues on beyond this interview.

What was the moment you knew you wanted to be an artist? How do you sustain yourself as an artist? It was natural because I’ve been drawing ever since I can remember. I knew that I would be an artist somehow or another. But the thing is, I didn’t know I would take it as a career. Growing up I worked as a graphic designer & illustrator in advertising agencies. That was how I made my income. Until this day, although I left advertising in 2008, the act of “putting the butter on the proverbial bread on my table” is still mainly done through projects in collaboration with advertising agencies. I do choose the projects I want to work on, so I get to keep things fun and interesting for myself, that represent me as an artist. I create artworks for exhibitions, commissions & for myself.

There's a strong female energy in your work & the characters almost always tend to be female. Was this a conscious choice or did it just happen? It actually just happened and it’s also a conscious thing. I’m a woman, at the end of the day. When I was a girl, I was drawing young girls with big dresses and as I grew up, the characters grew up with me. They are autobiographical in some way. I felt like I needed to create a style that was mine alone. If you look at my work, I would want people to know that it’s a good craftsman creating a portrait but at the same time there has to be a bit of Lama in there, my personality & my point of view which sets it apart & makes it like a signature.

Every artist seems to go through their journey with self-doubt during the creative process. Do you have any & what does self-doubt look like for you? There’s always self-doubt for an artist; an artist is never sure. For me authenticity is the main thing. Whether a piece is perceived as good or bad, that doesn’t concern me, because that is the viewer’s journey with the art. That is not my journey. As long as I know I’ve been honest in making whatever it is that I’m making, then I’m sure. I do have self-doubt even in the form of asking myself if this is my best work, how I can push the limit a little bit more, am I done with this circle of work or shall I keep going – that is an ongoing thing. I’m also very moody, so I tend to move from piece to piece depending on how I’m feeling.

What are the stories in your work? The stories, come from what I’m feeling at that moment. Lately, my work is about longing for something, a deep sense of nostalgia. Longing, wishing to be somewhere else, exploring the themes of wanting to be in another dimension but not being able to because I’m a human being living in the physical world & the conflicted nature of that. So it really is a representation of where I am in my life. Five years down the line, of course my art will be very different, because I’ll be in a different stage of my life. So the themes & stories are always changing along with me. But I do have a love affair with nostalgia, it’s such a charming thing to look back. It’s magic. So it definitely will run through my artworks.

As an artist how important is your space? Have you curated it to feel a certain way or do you bring that energy? I bring the energy and the space brings the energy and reflects it back to me. It is important to make it mine. When we moved in here & I had my own studio, at the beginning I couldn’t relate with it. I just sat there. And after a while I started to do some sketches to try and connect with this new space. You kind of feel like you’re in a strange country & you have to acclimate and figure out how you can belong. So it’s definitely a give and take process.

What do you love most about your home? Any favourite pieces? I love everything. The coffee table is one of my favourite pieces in the house. It’s a bark of an actual tree and I love it because I have a piece of nature in my home. I’m a plant killer, so it’s nice to have something natural that I can’t kill. Although I’m not the type of person who gets attached to material things, I do have to surround myself with things that I love. I do believe in renewal, bringing in new things & energy, but when I live in a space, I make sure to love everything. I love every corner.

For more on Lama & her beautiful work:

When the wonderfully eccentric founders of the UAE's coolest online handmade market place, ideyna, ask you to be a part of their '12 days of Handmade Christmas' campaign, you just can't say no! So I didn't!

The task at hand: Styling a festive Christmas table with loads of personality, quirk & character. So here goes!

This campaign is such a delightful lead up to Christmas. Every morning, after bear-hugging my cat & making my tea, I click open the ideyna website to see what treats they have in store for the day, and so far, it's been one heart-warming thing after the other. For entire recap on the campaign & the christmassy goodness that is to follow - check out: http://www.ideyna.com/blog/

Sincerest thanks to Ekta & Nafisa for involving me in this campaign & not judging me for devouring abnormal amounts of raspberries & peanut brittle while we filmed!

What do you do when you realize that you've met your dream client? Squeal, obviously! I'm supremely excited to be designing the home of artist, maker, thinker & straight-up trailblazer - Diya Ajit. Commercial Director of Savoir Flair Magazine, and one of the most stylish women I've ever met, the inspiration to translate the essence of her life into her home was as effortless as she is. 

                        Ok now that we're done swooning, let's get down to it! So after a delightful design diagnostic, we came up with three words to describe her home when we'll be done with it - Monochrome - Minimalistic - Sophisticated. Being a thorough-bred child of the ocean (she surfs and standup-paddle boards - talk about making the rest of us look bad) & combining that with influences from New York, which she pegged as her dream city to live in, there was no dearth of inspiration for the moodboards & research. (moodboards & before/afters coming up next - stay tuned)

The heart of the idea: I took cue from the masters of minimalism - the japanese whose Wabi Sabi philosophy of seeing beauty in the natural patina of old materials perfectly complimented the bold & solid shapes and structures of New York Industrialism, contrasted by light & tactile accents inspired by the ocean & it's movement, bringing surprise to the room, all tied together by monochrome tones. I know that sounds dizzyingly ambitious, but I will be breaking it all down in the upcoming posts. 

A darling little preview of what we've been working on: When asked what her first memory of home was, she said "Sitting on the pile carpet in the living room playing with a plastic bag while my parents cooed and took photos." (How sweet!) When we were faced with the all-important question of what shall hang over the headboard in her bedroom, I took cue from this memory. The idea of being able to bring in something playful, yet calming; that you could run your hands through and possessed oodles of fiddle-factor & movement; was really exciting. It was important to keep it light & airy because I wanted the whole bedroom to mimic the calm, graceful movements of ocean waves. What's calmer, lighter & more fun to play with than strings of wool? Couple that with monochrome tones, the perfectly imperfect twig, a few hours of knotting & combing and boom, we have TWIGGY MARLEY (yes, she had to be named!) 

      We bought the string, I found the twig on one of my scavenger hunts in my neighbourhood, we made some hot tea and got to work. Best part about having an artist for a client... you get to make one-of-a-kind unique pieces for the home that tell a story. Assisting Diya in making this beauty is one of many exciting DIY projects in this home. Will do a more detailed post very soon (Can't wait to share the rest.) For now, we found twiggy it's perfect spot in the bedroom, and somehow it feels like she's always belonged there! Disclaimer: This string creation is not suitable for homes with cats for obvious reasons. 

The amazing Lucy Feagins, Editor of The Design Files  put out this gem that I am giddy over and absolutely have to share. Incredible Australian artist & collector Greg Irvine's South Melbourne home is a masterpiece in itself. A carefully curated collection of antiques, art, fabrics & objects, his home is as riotous, intricate & breathtaking as his art. 

Here's the trailer for the 'Make & Give' book -  Erin Jang and Steph Hung's new opus.  So excited to hold this in my hands & make a bunch of handmade goodies for my loved ones. All hail handmade! 

Founder of Lakshya Yoga, Elouise, is a vibrant character with a big dose of zen & a love of all things organic! So when DLGH was called upon to redesign her studio apartment in Dubai, we wanted to make sure that her space captures her personality and is the perfect vessel for who she is & everything she loves.

So we came up with a moodboard: Cozy tufted pieces, distressed wood, with Indian & Moroccan influences combined with vintage Indian prints, typographical posters & art. We kept the walls white and let the colour in with the furniture & accessories.

THE LIVING ROOM - BEFORE: This was just after we moved some of the furniture around so we work out a new space plan and divide up the living & bedroom areas. 

AFTER: THE LIVING ROOM

When asked what now makes her say "darling, let's go home", Elouise said: "My home is a cozy yet sacred sanctuary, imbibing all the important things in my life into one space. It brings me peace, inspiration & allows me to be me."

We kick off our #AMAZINGSPACES segment with the gorgeous offices of KINFOLK magazine. Sight for eyes - be they sore or otherwise. We'll just let the pictures do the talking. Here you go!