“I believe in the handmade and the heart-made,” says Nada Debs. It’s more than just lip service – the Lebanese creative was one of the first to incorporate traditional Middle Eastern crafts and motifs into contemporary furniture design. Her most famous pieces feature arabesque patterns carved into rich maple and ash woods; mother-of-pearl inlay sweeping across the front of cabinets, or juxtaposed with resin to stunning effect; and buttons shaped like traditional Ma’amoul pastries adorning headboards and sofas.
Given her support of “makers”, her most recent collaboration, with the Fatima Bint Mohamed Bin Zayed Initiative (FBMI), is a perfect pairing. FBMI was launched in 2010 and employs local Afghani women to hand-weave carpets using age-old techniques that might otherwise cease to exist. Since its launch, FBMI has hired more than 3,000 Afghani artisans, 70 per cent of whom are women, and 35 per cent of whom are widows, and thus the sole breadwinners in their families.
Carpets are crafted using vegan dyes and materials sourced from within Afghanistan – either fine hand-spun cotton sourced from the northern regions, or wool sheared from free-range and hormone-free sheep that live in the country's mountains and plains.
"Nada Debs's essence resonates with that of FBMI," notes Maywand Jabarkhyl, the executive director of the initiative. "Her interest in producing and working closely with artisans and authentic craftsmen made it an obvious choice for us to enlist her," he adds.
FBMI commissioned Debs to create a series of contemporary rugs titled You & I, and the fruits of their collaboration were unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art. They will go on to be shown at Dubai Design Week from November 13 to 18.
Debs visited FBMI’s production site in Kabul on various occasions, where she met with the weavers. “It is impossible for me to design in a vacuum,” she says. “I draw much of my inspiration from sitting with the craftspeople, feeling the material and feeding off the energy emanating from the process.”
The resultant series of carpets seeks to strike a balance between the old and the new – and to highlight how design can act as a bridge between different cultures. The carpets are defined by their atypical shapes, consisting of overlapping circles, squares and rectangles. What starts as a plain colour scheme gradually darkens as it moves from one end of the rug to the other, and ends in a crescendo of pattern. According to Debs, the effect is representative of a line from Rumi's poem A Moment of Happiness: "Apparently two, but one in soul".
The designs are in keeping with FBMI's efforts to reinstate carpets as prized items, rather than mere accessories. As Debs explains: "It is with this mandate in mind that we have designed the rugs; the different approach to patterns, the varying levels of wool and, most importantly, the unconventional shape focuses the attention and establishes the rug as an anchor around which the space is set up."
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Read more:
Vacheron Constantin creates a watch just for the Middle East
The style list: making of a Bulgari handbag, by Nicholas Kirkwood
Small-scale philanthropic initiatives do make a world of difference
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UAE%20ILT20
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Married Malala
Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.
Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
Director: Romany Saad
Starring: Mirfat Amin, Boumi Fouad and Tariq Al Ibyari
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The Lowdown
Kesari
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Anubhav Singh
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MATCH INFO
Argentina 47 (Tries: Sanchez, Tuculet (2), Mallia (2), De La Fuente, Bertranou; Cons: Sanchez 5, Urdapilleta)
United States 17 (Tries: Scully (2), Lasike; Cons: MacGinty)
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Red Sparrow
Dir: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Egerton, Charlotte Rampling, Jeremy Irons
Three stars
Without Remorse
Directed by: Stefano Sollima
Starring: Michael B Jordan
4/5
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more from Janine di Giovanni
How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now
Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.
The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.
1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):
a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33
b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.
2. For those who have worked more than five years
c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.
Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.
