> Link to MM Corporate website

The planet is on hold, so are our events...

However, we are actively working in content creation and online video production! If you'd like to know more, click on MM-corporate.com !

> Launching MM corporate for flawless events!

I've been working in #ArtDirection for many years and it does feature a lot of things, but my favorite have always been EVENTS, CONFERENCES, TRADE FAIRS... SO here am I specializing into it! Watch this video to know more & follow MM corporate on facebook & insta !

>JAUNE fall winter behind the scenes

You've been wondering what happened since the last time I was here? Well... Fall happened! And with it the busy schedules, winter campaigns, shop windows... But it gives me nice things to share, like what we shot for JAUNE. 
Aviation and jet travel was the theme and we were lucky to shoot in two great locations: MEA training center & conference center, as well as Cedar Jet.
Watch the full video for more:

> Plastic is NOT Fantastic

It's that time of the year when we are almost always outdoors, in picnics, barbecues, parties... and the last thing we want is dishwashing! So what do we do? We use disposable plates and cups :-(
I am just saying that instead of plastic that lasts thousand of years in our environment, simply use paper... 
One thing i forgot to mention in the vlog: you can also use wooden cutlery instead of plastic as well.

Brands featured: Rana Salam

Disclaimer: All names and brands i feature in my vlog are my own favorites, when the post is sponsored, it will be mentioned.

> Aperitivo tips: how to mix your perfect summer drink!

When June hits, Aperitivo becomes the highlight of the day: finding the perfect spot to meet with friends around the best spritz & cocktails!
To get the best mixology tips for my go-to drinks, I met with Souhad, Campari/Aperol Ambassador at The Malt Gallery. Watch the video for more: 

> Al Musiqa at the Paris Philharmonie

Music has always been at the heart of my life since the very beginning: as a toddler dancing with my dad to the sound of his vinyls, as a teenager fascinated by indie rock & new wave, and then as an inspiration for photo shoots, slogans, captions... I truly believe Music has saved the planet from going totally mad...till now ;-)
Let's celebrate it together with my review of the wonderful exhibition currently held at the Philharmonie de Paris.
Watch for more!

> ALWAYS ROCK ON!

As part of my collaboration with Kerkor Jewelry and Imad Elkhoury this year, i worked on two projects:
The Spirit of Seasons launched at the Malt Gallery during Beirut Design Week, of which I will reveal to you a piece each month of the coming year...

And Rock On! Which was their annual Christmas celebration:

For this, inspired by Heavy Metal concerts and Rock festivals, we actually shot Elissar's hands many times with front and back lights;
front like a music stage and back to shine on the jewelry pieces... And we layered them altogether as you can see.

The best part of all this was the active participation of every guest in the event, from the youngest to the oldest, and from the most traditional to the craziest one (me?) (!) So cheers to the Lebanese people, you surely know how to party!!!

Our annual Christmas event

A post shared by Kerkor Jewelry (@kerkorjewelry) on Dec 15, 2017 at 4:23am PST

> Behind the scenes of #Samoa40andFAB

This campaign has been so overwhelming, and with so many highlights that I don't know where to start!!

Samoa Cosmetics has been on the Lebanese market for 40 years! 

I discovered it when i was a kid in my mom's vanity, and was always amused by the image of the samoa woman, confident and cheeky at the same time... Then the years passed and somehow it was always part of the scenery, but in a more demure way.

Therefore i was more than excited when Samoa reached out to me for the #Samoa40andFAB campaign!

So i unleashed my glitter and sparkles and had fun all the way!!

Creating the image of the campaign and the whole set of packaging...

Collaborating with Joe for the online strategy, we sent 40 countdown gifts with a daily personalized message to beauty and fashion bloggers across the country, and i loved playing Mr Darcy !

We also added a Style page to the Samoa Website, where you can check the latest trends and how to match them with your makeup:

And the official campaign launch happened at Memory Lane, where we had even more fun than our guests:

The next surprise is a blogger collab for the holiday season, but I will not reveal it now: keep following Samoa's insta and fb for more. Also, make sure to share your favorite product with the #Samoa40andFAB hashtag for a chance to win the fabulous collector box or even the FAB PARIS TRIP!!

> BERGERAC: a book, restaurant, a lifestyle...

As an art director, I rarely take book projects unless they really are different, and require more communication & art direction skills than actual editing and publishing expertise.
For example, a few years back I worked on a room service menu that looked like a ride through Beirut's street food spots.

And this year, I also took on an exciting project for Bergerac.

Now if you're a foodie, you probably know this little Sud-Ouest restaurant located in the heart of Achrafieh.
Serving mainly duck specialties and cuisine from the South West of France, Bergerac is more than a restaurant. It's a convivial place that you can enjoy with a laid back bunch of friends, and discover what they call the french paradox (yes french people don't get fat eating foie gras with wine! :)

And since we Beirutis need a lot of convincing to get out of our food patterns, I answered Marc's call and worked on the design of this cute menu-booklet, that is actually much more than that:

It is a full-fledge book that talks about the South-West region and traditions and why these appealed to Marc, how he met the Chef. The Chef's recipes and tips, along with a nutritionist explanation around the benefits of duck fat (yes!), a user-friendly wine guide, fun illustrations by Andrea Turvey whom I discovered from Jamie Oliver's magazine...

The project went beyond our initial ideas, and so, Antoine found it interesting and you can now get it from there as well!

But what i truly advise you to do, is go try Bergerac if you haven't already and don't miss their flamed canelé with rhum...

...Their hilarious karaoke mondays, and their friendly family who will make you feel home in no time!

/ˈblōbak/ by Ayman Baalbaki caught me by the throat

 
Despite the political and economical status quo, every night you can attend at least 10 happenings in Lebanon that can actually blow your mind, and it is this energy that I try to convey, the energy that keeps us going...

I was left breathless yesterday by Ayman Baalbaki's /ˈblōbak/ at Saleh Barakat Gallery and I cannot not keep it to myself.
Only two artists of our generation made me feel this way: Marwan Sahmarani, and Ayman.
Why? Personal impression that involves no one but me: they are the most sincere and the most genuine on canvas.
We do have lots of talent, but to me it either falls in brainy conceptualizations or into the decorative category. Again my own opinion, and that's why I don't share it a lot. But Sahmarani and Baalbaki put their guts in their work and that, is indeed priceless.

When you arrive to Ayman's "Beirut Concrete" wall in the oh-so-perfect space of Barakat's gallery, your jaw drops. Our own collective memory, our history and chronic turmoil are on that one wall, depicted simply with painted concrete blocks!

The exhibition explores the irony of the blowback theme in general, "denoting the unintended, harmful consequences—to friendly populations and military forces—when a given weapon is used beyond its purpose as intended by the party supplying it". And so every piece depicts one particular event in History, the 1983 explosion of the American Embassy in Beirut, the flag burning incident in Quetta, Mea's bombing in 1968, the 1559 resolution... Those events that were a boomerang to those who provoked them, and still causing ripples today. 

But really I'd rather say no more, because I want you to get off your seat today and go see for yourselves.

/ˈblōbak/

Saleh Barakat Gallery
Clemenceau, Justinian Street, where the old Masrah el Madina was.
Monday-Friday 12pm-7pm | Saturdays 12pm-7pm

> Why Titanium SIA sang only 1 hour in BYBLOS

SIA is a millennial artist: being an introvert, she still managed to reach massive stardom at 40, hidden behind her wigs! And contrary to most of you might think, yesterday's show was not a concert or a simple live gig! SIA's show was a LIVE ART PERFORMANCE with sensational actors and dancers on stage moving their EVERY MUSCLE, FACIAL EXPRESSION and EMOTION!

SIA was telling us, throughout this #NostalgicForThePresent one hour show, the universal story of our anxious generation, paranoid about our puppet masters, with our fear of rejection and our fear of commitment.. And when we finally find the one, how our relationships morph into monstrous connections.

 

Now the answer to your question: Because SIA knows how much we the viewers value our live streaming, our addiction to video and everything visual, instead of simply putting live cams to transmit what was happening on stage to the LED screens left and right, SHE ACTUALLY FILMED THE WHOLE SHOW PRIOR to the real one. This way, you can have many cameras, traveling smoothly, showing you every bit of Ryan Heffington's choreography, every move, every tear, so you DO NOT MISS anything. 
Now can you imagine how difficult it is to synchronize a one hour video art with everything happening on stage, right up to the nano second?
It is practically almost impossible for more than a few minutes. Artists do it in 3-4 minute chunks like Pet Shop Boys or Stromae at Byblos before, but what SIA, the amazing 14 years old Maddie Ziegler and their fellow artists have done here is PURE ART my friends, the kind that should be in Museums...


Last but not least, I think that SIA might have had prepared an "encore", but because we the Lebanese audience are so lazy, she did not understand that we really appreciate her... For God's sake, what happened to APPLAUDING? This is how you show your respect in a concert! Is it too much physical trouble? The nanny is not here to do it for you? Ok shouting is cool too, but applause is contagious and it should be, like SIA, UNSTOPPABLE!


 

> Old is the New Gold!

Some things simmer quietly here and there, with no particular connection, until one day they perfectly merge together into a blog post that says: write me now, write me now!! Have you ever had that feeling?
Allow me to tell you more:
A few days ago, Rana,  my designer friend, delighted me with beautiful collector gifts from the Iris Apfel x Le Bon Marché exhibition in Paris. 

Iris Apfel is a 94 years old fashionista, who refurbished the White House for 5 different presidents, and wandered around the planet for eclectic deco items and glorious personal accessories. She has a unique sense of style and a unique sense of humor. She calls herself the "Geriatric Starlet" and says that she'd rather be happy than well dressed...

Second simmering story: I am really eager for Season 2 of my favorite Netflix show to start: Grace and Frankie.
Jane Fonda & Lily Tomlin are in their sixties when they find out both their husbands are sleeping together, and have been doing so for years... They have to reinvent their life at 60! Show is hilarious, actors are amazing, and writing is exceptional: Highly recommended!

Third simmering story:
Yesterday, I was lounging and browsing, enjoying my last vacay day, and I stumbled upon a post by my stylish elder friend Rebi, showing these pictures:

 

After some digging, I discovered they were from a blog and book named "Advanced Style" by Ari Seth Cohen, an ode to the confidence and beauty of fashionable ladies and gents who are enjoying their later years with grace and panache...

And coincidence of coincidences, Ari just published (Saturday!) his new book: "Older & Wiser", and is currently on the launching tour.

Connecting these dots together, it seems that 70 is definitely the new 40! And according to this article in my fourth casserole, we are all gonna live more than a hundred years: so if you're going to flaunt it, do it with style, or many different styles.

I leave you with this thought from Iris again: "More is More and Less is a Bore" which is the direct antithesis of my last campaign ;-D but it only applies to the over 60 !!

> Subdued: Soon in Beirut!

If you know Subdued, you'll be thrilled to find out it's opening in very few days in Beirut!!!

And if you don't know it, here's the pitch : Subdued is a brand for teenage and 20 something girls but since we are all young at heart ;-D we're rushing to the boutiques (2 locations in Beirut) to get our hands on the accessories, backpacks, funky sweaters, lovely jewelry....

The Subdued girl has a playful and effortless style, she is a free spirit and is not afraid to speak her mind spontaneously...

With 30 to 50 new arrivals each month of bodysuits, bikinis, funny socks, ripped jeans, tons of shorts, flower dresses, (and i'm not even getting started!), AND mostly cool affordable prices, we now have a new reason to go shopping!!

Now i don't know who's most glad about this, my 2 teenage girls or me...

Oh and you should like their page now, cause there's a contest and a chance to win lots of outfits :-)

WASTE x Maya Metni limited edition bag collection

Just in time for the holidays! 
I am so proud to share the big news: 
I, along with 3 other designers, just finished a HAND-DRAWN capsule collection,  for one of my favorite brands: waste !






The other talented designers are MJ Ayoub, Souad Eid & Mirella Salamé. The bag itself is completely hand-sewn with used flex material & rubber. Slim and sleek, it can also fit a laptop. 



My collection of 20 unique bags will be launched Wednesday Dec 16 at the waste Pop Up shop in Saifi, here is the event page.

Now isn't that the coolest gift idea? 

> Firenze Success Story: Mercato Centrale

Last month we visited Pitti Uomo in Firenze, and I wrote a post about the brands that caught our attention. However the visual and gastronomic explosion that marked us forever was ~ DRUM ROLL~... IL MERCATO CENTRALE!

(logo and identity by Almagreal, representing the central location of the mercato)

This Iron and Glass building was created in 1874 by Giuseppe Mengoni, who designed as well the famous Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in Milano. For its 140th birthday, Umberto Montano and Claudio Cardini gave this San Lorenzo Covered Market its glory, bringing people back to this vibrant city landmark, with traditional shops that give the artisans the center stage.

Following this idea, every booth is hosted by its star artisan, with his name and caricature illustration by Jonathan Calugi, who caught the character of each person so perfectly.

Here is a small animation by Simone Brillaleri of one artisan for example:

Amazing isn't it?

The food of course compeets by far with the most famous restaurants in Florence, not to mention that it's for a bargain! I had the best pasta and arancina tradizionale with a delicious Aperol Spritz, for around 20 euro...

I leave you now with a few pictures of the identity in the website, magazine, place etc...

Ecollo qua! Bravo a tutti, direttore, architetto, designer, animator, illustrator...good job!

Don't miss it if you're on a trip to Italy and i know a lot of you are planning to this summer...

UPDATE!!! Thanks to this post I've just discovered that the talented Lebanese Stephanie Richa worked with Jonathan Calugi on the identity during her internship in Firenze! BRAVISSIMI!