> Art Direction Behind the Scenes

You always ask what I do for a living; well, I create moods and stories for publications, events, fashion editorials and video shoots. Here's the latest one I directed for Kerkor Jewelry inspired by the Far East. Press play and enjoy!



My earrings are by Elsa O
My necklace is by Rouge Pasteque

> 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.

> Accessories that rock !

One question I'm often asked: "Where did you get that necklace?" 
I really never go over budget with my accessories, but i simply love a piece that tells a story.
Each time I find a piece that's bold, wherever that might be, even on a street stall, I buy it and wear it with a simple outfit so that it shines on its own... 

Watch the video to discover some of my favorites like Karma, Issorya, Elsa O and Riwaya...

> Lisbon Stories

Ever since I saw Lisbon Story by Wim Wenders I fell in love with this beautiful city! And each time I revisit, i find new places and spaces... Here are my favorite spots since I know a lot of you are choosing Portugal as a destination this summer!

As you see, we were lately for a JAUNE shooting so I'm happy to share part of the work here, done in Caparica:



Last but not least you can still win a trip to Lisbon with Jaune: Check out the details here.

> Unusual Gifts from Beirut with Love!

Here it comes! Tourism season! But what should you take back from Beirut other than the usual trio artisan-arak-nuts...? Follow me through the streets of Mar Mkhayel to discover the addresses mentioned in this vlog: Maria Halios MHD: https://www.mariahalios.com Mellow: https://www.facebook.com/MellowHomeCo... Plan Bey: https://www.facebook.com/PlanBEY/

> Composing a picture gallery wall

 If you look around you these days, many homes, restaurants and fancy boutiques feature a beautiful wall of pictures in their deco. 

This vintage trend is not so difficult to recreate, and gives a personal and cozy touch to your home.

Here are a few ideas to inspire you...

You can keep it simple and sleek for a fancy symmetrical look, all frames are alike of course in this case:

Or draw an imaginary line in the middle of your wall and compose over and under, still fancy but a bit more dynamic. 

Frames are alike but of different sizes:

My absolute favorites are however eclectic & whimsical walls with all sorts of frames and objects:

If you like the whimsical option but are afraid to compose, here is a pattern for example:

Let your inspiration flow, and don’t be afraid as there is no wrong or right in this. It’s all about your own taste.

Look at this last fun example, beautiful ceramic plates scattered unevenly, giving a huge effect:

Simple yet with bold character!

You can check all those picture sources and much more ideas in a pinterest board I created especially for you right here. Enjoy, and start creating...

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? 

> HORECA 2015: the winners are...

For the 4th year in a row I took part in the Horeca Beirut Best Stand Jury, along with Rana Nasr, Malek Salamé and Alain Hochar, invited by the fabulous Randa Dammous!

The Categories for this year were: Best Stand, Best Branding, Best Mood & the famous Coup de Coeur. The Winners:

For Coup de Coeur: Delphine Gebran who designs F&B spaces, who demonstrated that emotion can be created simply with an idea, basic materials, lighting & passion!

For Best Branding: the refreshing Juice Up:

For Best Stand: Ksara, linear, classic and modern at the same time...

And finally, the best mood and ambiance were at Prunelle who invited 8eme Art for a jazzy jam session...

And a peek at the Jury (without Alain unfortunately) and the winners:

And the Trophee & Certificate courtesy of Juice Up :-)

Good luck and Bravo to all, see you next year...

> New Christmas Wrapping : Rooly Booly

Just a cute project I just finished for Rooly Booly, the new design of the wrapping papers:

Thank you Joe for the beautiful photos!

> Having fun with Bleu Objet

Being the visual communication consultant of Bleu, allows me to do lots of fun stuff, from Beirut to Bollywood, but that's another story that I will tell once finished. What I want to talk about today is their capsule collection of unique deco items, to which I create an emailer each tuesday and that we call "Les Mardis Bleus".
Here are my favorite ones, hand-picked.

> Postcard Christmas Tree

Every year since this beautiful paper tree, this BD tree and phone line tree, we challenge ourselves with the girls to find a funky Christmas Tree idea... Last year they wanted a more traditional tree (hence the white branches) but cool decorations.
So we decided to decorate it with all our postcard collection: from our travels, our painting exhibitions, drawings etc.. So we had Tuscany, Lisbon, Alsace, GB, Hopper, Kertesz etc mixed and shuffled altogether.
More mainstream than the others but full of emotion... right?

> Unleash your inner artist!

This funky place was born because of Aline's passion for arts and crafts, and her dynamic quest for inspiring leisure time for herself, her friends and kids... She couldn’t find what she was looking for, so she created it, the perfect haven for art lovers.
A hobby for starters and now a chain of art lounges & cafés, "L'Atelier Art Lounge" has a strong visual identity (that's where i came along), which you can spot not only on the prints but also on the wall coverings and architecture. Have a look:

A quiet moment for you to paint, an evening with friends, a fun birthday celebration or even art classes? All there: like their page for more.

>New funky packaging!

I've been sharing art direction and print posts for quite a long time, so I thought why not show you some other stuff as well...
From time to time i am asked to create a new packaging for a product, and this I tell you is really fun work! Of course it should follow the brand guidelines and target but even when it's a casual chic brand like RJ you can have a blast!

Take this for example, it's the latest cylinder box we did for the swimwear collection:

Or this: It's the birthday lunch box of L'Atelier Art Lounge, which is a café and workshop that celebrates arts for all ages...

And last but not least, a project which has not yet seen the light, but I certainly hope it will one day, 'cause it's my favorite: The Champagne bottles of Point Bulles restaurant of chef Karim Haïdar...

Voilà! 

Now I know the three projects are very different, but do you recognize my touch in all three? 

>New Tree Design !

And talking about trees, here's a tree I designed this year with recycled phone cables (Thx to the design team for execution!), for RJ shop windows in synergy with the Hitchcock campaign below...

>Home Made Halloween

One of my favorite holidays is arriving soon and all the more reasons to get creative!
Here are a few inspirational pics from last year's Halloween...