> 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.

> Pool Beauty Essentials

Summer heat, beach parties, inflatable donuts (!)... here we are again!
As much as I love the SSF trinity (Sea, Sun, Fun not Sacred Saint Family;-), my skin though tanned, dries quickly, my hair looks awful with chlorine and mostly I can never put anything to enhance my look except waterproof mascara... Right? WRONG!
I had the chance to work on the latest issue of Samoa Tendances and now I'm the Pool Yodaaaaaa:

 Well yes Samoa have lots of pool friendly makeup and a huge palette of colors!

So here's what you do: 

1- You read the mag online here

2- You shop the looks online on Feel22 and you get them straight to your door in 24 hours

3- You get a super discount, simply by adding my code MAYAMETNIFEEL22 !

This Velvet Lips page above is actually my favorite; It really embodies what I always say about Art Direction: be it a huge conference, a fun event, or simply art direction on a photo shoot followed by a neatly designed page, if you're doing it right you get the same adrenaline rush...

Summer 17 Tendances marks our last collaboration this year with Samoa. You must have heard of the #Samoa40andFAB campaign, the blogger collabs, the fun online management with JoesBox... We really enjoyed this opportunity and look forward to new adventures.
Till then, stay cool while you're twisting' by the pool!
SaveSave

> 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!

> 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 :-)

> 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? 

> 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!

> 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!

> 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?