But in the midst of the multitasking she’s still an exceptional host, serving up yet another espresso while filling me in on, The Artisan, an Italian restaurant that she says I simply must try. We sit together around her coffee table and I take a moment to process the colourful ceramics, adult colouring books and other artefacts she’s gathered from her travels. “It started with the Arabic letter, ‘N’ for Nadine,” she recalls. And 10 years later Bil Arabi continues to surprise and delight, with Kanso’s signature spin on Arabic text coveted by the cool.
Kanso describes both herself and her work as a collage, but her style has, of course, evolved greatly since her first commissions for crafted initials. Today Kanso counts Gucci, Louis Vuitton and the V&A among her collaborators. “I created a very special piece for Christies that was auctioned back in 2010,” she says with a sense of pride that’s palpable. Her cuff, ‘Fdeytak’, celebrates colloquial Arabic, in particular the dialect of the UAE. “It means I will sacrifice my life to you,” she smiles. “It salutes the gesture of love.” The cuff features diamonds, rubies, emeralds and black diamonds - the colours referencing Middle Eastern flags.
I look to the topaz ring on her finger, “It says WOW in Arabic,” Kanso informs me. The stone is huge and amazingly clear, with scriptive gold text shining through. “Lots of people want to buy it, but it’s not for sale,” she laughs as if reading my mind. In fact Kanso likes to try out all of her designs as part of her creative process. “The collections often go back and forth dependant on how I feel about them.” But despite these standout pieces, that appeal to my kaleidoscopic tendencies it’s the gold that really commands Kanso’s attentions. “Shaping gold is a sculptural process. When it comes to the letters it’s about typography and how you place the letters together to make a composition or form.” This relationship is perfectly apparent in her anniversary collection, Ashra, which means 10 in Arabic. Kanso shows me her ring, pointing out that the digits have been reworked to form a repetitive pattern; she reveals the back to show me the hidden letter inside formed with diamonds. “It’s circular which is a new direction for me. I don’t usually use closed forms,” she admits. But after 10 years, Kanso maintains that change is not only good it’s also vital for progression. “It’s good to try out new directions and go beyond what you usually do,” she muses. “All designers need to do that – don’t get stuck in one place, try to evolve, try to use new materials, new techniques.”
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I imagine Kanso’s fans to be equally open-minded; her collections err on the side of eccentricity, with words like ‘love’, ‘light’ and ‘willpower’ Arabised to humourous effect. Admittedly I can’t read Arabic though I’m still drawn to the designs. “Non-Arabs wearing my pieces still relate to them,” she says encouragingly. “They are well travelled, open minded, they have a cultured background.” Indeed, for Kanso, a sense of pride is instilled into all her pieces. For those outside the Arab culture it’s about appreciation of their typography, language and heritage and for Arabs it’s a celebration of their essence.
Kanso’s workspace is more than just a museum for her 10 years of creation, she’s surrounded by her own photography and a myriad of items from carpets aptly covered in Arabic calligraphy to old typewriters, and of course the awards she’s won. “I didn’t win the Nobel prize yet,” she jokes. “For me the awards are nice but I get a bigger sense of achievement from the work I’ve done, it’s the continuous challenges, and bursts of creativity that keep me going.” And that’s the thing with Kanso, after 10 years in the business you can still tell she’s completely enamoured by what she does, because she keeps on going. “Make decisions,” she says as her parting advice. “You always have to move forward in whatever you do, in life, in business in everything you do.”
Bil Arabi celebrates 10-year milestone exhibition will take place October 24-29 as part of Dubai Design Week. Building 7, Retail Unit 07, Dubai Design District (d3)
