Haya Jarrar
Founder of Romani Home
Haya Jarrar was walking down a street in Mallorca one night when she passed an art gallery with a painting in the window that made her stop in her tracks. The large female profile, raw and evocative, was bordered by hues of red and orange, and she knew she had to have it in her home. The next day she returned to the gallery and met the artist behind the painting, Ian Ratowsky. His work now hangs in her living room, surrounded by furniture pieces she designed herself.
Haya grew up in Amman and studied fashion design at London College of Fashion and interior design at Inchbald School of Design. After moving to Dubai she worked at Chalhoub Group, before starting her own fashion label, Romani. Earlier this year, she birthed a new business — Romani Home, a journey that was eight years in the making. “I’ve always known I wanted to start my own furniture line,” says Haya, whose initial attraction towards interior design stemmed from her family home in Jordan. “My dad collects antiques, and we had some really beautiful pieces around the house. I used to move them around and restyle them without my parents knowing,” she recalls. “I’ve been obsessed with furniture and interiors for as long as I can remember, but I had to wait for the right moment — I experimented a lot, designing much of the furniture in my own home, and that’s when I knew I was ready to launch Romani Home.” The transition from fashion to interiors, says Haya, felt natural and organic. “I’ve always been passionate about both. For me, it’s all about creativity and personal expression, whether it’s through clothing or interiors.”
Haya’s own personal style is mid-century modern, with a twist. “I love a zen vibe, but I always like to add something unexpected, like a dark painting or a piece of dark art,” she tells MOJEH. The entrance of her home is decorated with two magnificent framed pieces by Kuwaiti artist Alymamah Rashed — one figure represents guardian angels, while the other, crafted from fabric, symbolises evil forces at play. A few steps later, a pencil drawing by Palestinian artist Samah Shihadi depicts a woman appearing to be levitating. Much of the artwork on display in Haya’s home portrays themes of light versus dark, and many of the paintings and sketches were commissioned pieces, making them one-of-a-kind collectibles. “I always appreciate how diverse and innovative the creative scene is in the region,” says Haya. And while her home could double as a gallery showcasing the work of some of these Middle Eastern artists, Haya says that her Arab heritage doesn’t really factor into her own design aesthetic for Romani Home. “I’m more driven by experimentation, personal taste and the creative process itself rather than cultural references,” she explains.
A home, believes Haya, can be a safe space for those of us who are privileged to have one, shielding its inhabitants from external tension, anxiety and adversity. “It’s a place that reflects who I am, regardless of what’s happening outside,” she says. “A home really is about having everything you love around you — it’s about the pieces you collect over time; the things that reflect your taste and personality.”
Sculptural furniture and figures she has designed herself, as well as mementos collected over various travels, are situated around Haya’s home, giving depth and drama to her thoughtfully-curated rooms. Taschen books about art, architecture and design are in abundance, covering coffee tables and countertops along with abstract ceramics and candle holders from Haya’s own line. These geometric candle holders; towers of spheres, cubes and cones, are her favourite new pieces by Romani Home. “They really stand out and add something special to the space,” she says. Haya is also proud of her coffee tables, which similarly combine geometric shapes to striking effect. The interiors pieces she will be showcasing at Dubai Design Week this month have been crafted in both Dubai and Italy, and are limited- edition creations. “This adds an extra layer of exclusivity,” says Haya, who is also launching her next ready-to-wear collection soon. She shows a sneak peak of what to expect — a pinstriped blazer-and- shorts set featuring a tie at the waist; an impeccable balance of power, precision and playfulness. Romani Home will be exhibiting at Dubai Design Week’s new art fair, Editions, at Dubai Design District from November 6-9.
Arghavan Sheibani
Founder and Lead Architect of Elements of Architecture
Shelves of jars reaching extraordinary heights are filled with rich red saffron, while other glass bottles, carved boxes and decorative vessels contain nuts and stuffed dates sourced from Iran. Gold fringing hangs in a curved, spiral-like formation from the ceiling of Shaygan Nuts and Café in Al Wasl’s Galleria Mall, which was designed by architect Arghavan Sheibani.
It was the first Dubai project for the Iranian founder of Elements of Architecture, who brought her business to the UAE three years ago. She was born in Tehran to a design powerhouse duo — her father is an architect, and her mother an animation director. “We’re a family of architecture and cinema,” says Arghavan, who was exposed to her parents’ fields from an early age. “My childhood was filled with creative tools — at that time there was no digital technology. My parents both had home offices, and I grew up in those spaces.” She recalls making her own animation movies as a child by creating cut-out figures and recording them through a big camera that would capture the images frame by frame. “I used to paint my bedroom and make the models of buildings, and was learning the basics of architecture from childhood,” she adds. Even today, when she returns to her family home in Tehran, the family creates together, bonding over artistic projects and mediums such as papier-mâché.
In the field of set design. Arghavan found her passion at the intersection of her parents’ specialties, and her company has designed sets for close to 100 prominent Iranian television shows over the past decade and a half. “We believe that architecture provides a scenic platform for human beings to play their role in their theatrical lives,” says Arghavan, who is also currently completing her PhD thesis in relaying the fundamentals of Iranian architecture through television for children.
At the Asia Architecture Design Awards in 2023, Arghavan was awarded ‘Best Residential Interior Design’ for a Tehran penthouse, and in Dubai, her projects have been mainly commercial — from designing cafés like Friends Avenue and Uzbek restaurant Chinor, to the new premium Bayara boutique in Dubai Mall, as well as an aerial yoga studio. Her dream project, however, would be designing a wellbeing centre. “It would be for anyone who wants to feel better — mentally, spiritually or just physically,” she says.
Expanding from a background in architecture to the world of interior design, Arghavan is a multitasker with an eye for the myriad components that come together to complete a space. “I’m always interested in all of the elements of design — from the flooring, wall claddings and false ceilings, to the proportions which can help define the space,” she tells MOJEH. “I picked the word ‘elements’ for my business name, because this is the pixel that connects them all — architecture, curation, art and education.
“As an architect and as a designer, you think about all the boundaries and limitations which you are not able to fully fulfil in your design,” continues Arghavan, who points to furniture as the missing link in her previous approach to holistic design, and a current focus for this stage of her career. At Dubai Design Week, Arghavan will be presenting limited-edition artistic furniture pieces that have been produced in Iran, introducing artists from her home country to the UAE market. “Some are one-of-a-kind, high-end collectibles,” she says. While instability in the region makes it difficult to predict flight situations, she hopes some of the artists will be physically present with her, at Design Week.
From her apartment in Dubai’s new Creek Harbour development, as the sun sets on the skyline of skyscrapers, she says the city is now starting to feel like home, and muses over the rudimentary meaning of the term. “For me, ‘home’ is ground — and while I’m enjoying the view, my dream home is touching the ground; the most basic, classical definition of home. Size doesn’t matter.” And while those working in design may often vocalise their own aesthetic or creative preferences, Arghavan’s perspective is more fluid. “I don’t believe in having a style, to be honest, I believe in flexibility,” she says. “For me, every single project is a question which the artist, the architect, or the designer has to find the perfect answer for. So it isn’t about the style; it’s about the right solution.”
Elements of Architecture will be exhibiting at Dubai Design Week’s new art fair, Editions, at Dubai Design District from November 6-9.
Christiane Nasr
Founder of The Bowery Company
Christiane Nasr is turning 40 this year, and while some women’s birthday wish lists boast diamond jewellery or designer bags, Christiane has her eyes on a new chair. “I’m obsessed with chairs — and lights,” says the Lebanese-Canadian founder of The Bowery Company, who is also celebrating a decade of her homegrown business this year. Christiane’s aesthetic is decidedly Scandinavian, but she tells MOJEH that a passion for design runs in her blood, as she describes her father’s fondness for art deco antiques and art pieces rooted in the 1920s and 30s. “Our house looked like a grenier,” she says, using the French term for ‘attic’. Christiane and her siblings grew up in Beirut in the 1980s, when Lebanon was invaded by Israel and embroiled in civil war. “We spent a lot of the time in shelters,” says Christiane, whose parents remain in Beirut — a city being bombed by Israel yet again, two decades later.
Her parents were doctors, and encouraged her to leave Lebanon to pursue finance in Switzerland. She worked in investment advisory for ultra-high net worth individuals for 13 years in Geneva, before relocating to the UAE to focus on investments in the Middle East. The idea for her own business was sparked by the sight of interesting lighting fixtures in New York’s Bowery Avenue in 2015, and upon returning to Dubai, she started planning how to create an online concept store centred on home decor. “It was a tribute to New York, but I decided to focus on Scandinavian brands,” says Christiane, who admires clean, minimalist lines and functionality merged with design. “Nothing is a coincidence; everything is a thought-out plan between utilitarian purposes and the design,” she says, pointing to an emerald-toned spherical light on a coffee table in her home, which features a series of rotating layers. “It’s by Gubi; it’s such an iconic piece from the 1970s.” The brand’s playful fringed lamp, which was first released in 1961, sits on a table nearby. Her living room is anchored by two Italian-made contoured Jagger sofas — one featuring seating on either side. Neutral tones are juxtaposed with a lively pop of colour: a doughnut-shaped, cotton candy-hued Boa Pouf by Dutch designer Sabine Marcelis which, naturally, is Christiane’s children’s favourite piece in the room.
Christiane doesn’t see her role as one limited to bringing new brands and objects to the region, but also as one of knowledge-building, as she educates clients about the heritage and legacy fuelling Danish design companies. “You might see something and think it isn’t worth the price, but it’s an iconic piece with a story behind it — you could have the grandsons of the designer taking care to re-issue these pieces in modern times, with contemporary aesthetics mixed with the heritage story,” she explains.
“When you go to Copenhagen you feel design is everywhere; there is this Danish design legacy that you feel in every corner of the city,” continues Christiane, who launched The Bowery Company as an online business, selling home accessories and quirky pieces from Denmark. Over the years it expanded, growing larger to sell lighting and furniture too. Three years after launching, Christiane left her finance career, dedicating herself to bringing Danish design to Dubai full-time.
The Bowery Company debuted at Dubai Design Week in 2023, and returns this year with a showcase of two Danish brands: Audo Copenhagen and Ferm Living. “Our booth will have a very curvy look and feel, with a lot of earthy tones and organic shapes and materials,” says Christiane. The installation will invite visitors to get better acquainted with these aesthetics for their homes, and also for larger projects and businesses.
Over the past decade, Christiane has witnessed an increase in appetite for Scandi design in interiors, and she reveals that more than half of her business is B2B, catering to government, hotel, restaurant and offices. Next on her agenda is establishing her first store in Saudi, where she will be targeting both B2C and B2B clients. “I feel there’s so much demand in Saudi,” she says. “We’re kicking off at the beginning of 2025, and I’m going to be there every couple of weeks to launch the operations.”
And while she carries a deep emotional attachment to Lebanon, for Christiane, Dubai has become home. “My heart will always be in Beirut,” she tells MOJEH. “But I left Lebanon 20 years ago, looking for better opportunities. I’ve been here almost 13 years, my business is here, I feel safe here and it’s where I met my husband and had kids.” What makes a home ‘home’ after all, believes Christiane, is the people you share it with. The Bowery Company will be showcasing at Dubai Design Week’s main event, Downtown Design, at Dubai Design District from November 6-9.
