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“I love being around creative people and their positive energy. It’s great to see what comes from them,” says the Qatari-based Alia Rachid of the talent at her design platform FROMM., which she established in 2021. fromm – the extra “m” refers to its headquarters located in the newly developed Msheireb district of Doha – is what Rachid describes as a “talent incubator” as well as a burgeoning luxury design brand. Its aim is to work collaboratively with a curated group of designers who are offered a mentoring experience that takes them from concept to completed product, resulting in a collection of contemporary furniture, lighting and accessories sold under the brand. Each product is workshopped and developed in Doha, then prototyped and produced with the assistance of the team at Fromm Lab – its studio and showroom in Milan. It is a portal that connects the creativity of the Middle East to the design capital of the world.
A new collection will launch this November: an eight-piece Ottoman Dream Collection designed exclusively for the Turkish retailer Beymen by Italian artist Antonio Aricò, in collaboration with Rüya Akyol and Abdulrahman Al Muftah. The ensemble includes an armchair, bench, coffee table, rugs and lamps but the standout piece is the cotton and velvet Pavo sofa, inspired by the gardens beside the Bosphorus in Istanbul. “I was reminiscing about my childhood memories, where the captivating beauty and vibrant colours of peacocks symbolised the timeless connection between eastern and western cultures,” Aricò says. Further designs will launch next April in Milan – and Rachid has the US market in her sights. “There’s a lot on our list but it’s a matter of pacing ourselves,” she says of her global aspirations. “We’re looking to expand the pottery collection, accessories and pieces for the dining room. Our focus is on Milan and Doha for now, but we feel this will open the gates for us,” she concludes. “I hope someday we will be the leading platform for the world – and it’ll be coming out of Msheireb, out of Qatar. This is what I would feel really proud of.”
