What is it about furniture that interests you?

Furniture and interior objects are very challenging to design. It doesn’t only evolve around how creative the aesthetic sides of the object are.

Have you ever played around with other object designs – lighting or interiors, for example?

As part of my new collection to be launched in October, I have two lines of lighting, one of which is an injected moulded line, along with interior and homeware objects. I will also have new furniture lines.

You are from the United Arab Emirates, and now split your time between there and New Zealand. Do those two very different cultures both influence your work?

Absolutely. A good description of my pieces is to say they are a fusion of east and west. It interests me to explore more the Arabian culture in contemporary pieces and introduce them to this part of the world. 

How do you design?

I am from the old school of hand drawing. My imagination is my computer where I shape and colour my design. It always starts with an idea, concept or sometime a full tale. It helps sometimes to make a small model, but a full-size mock-up of the design is the best way to test its functionality. 

Timber seems to be your material of choice. What is it about wood that you enjoy?

It is true to say that I feel like I have an affinity with timber, even if I do come from a place with more desert sand than trees! As a medium, it has a reaction from the moment you cut it. When I finish the piece and oil it, it is not the end. It is alive, it moves. It reacts towards heat, humidity and cool weather. It’s something to take care of. Yet, in my new collection there are surprising materials which I have used for the first time.

Who do you admire?

From the design cluster, the courageous Campana brothers, the emperors Philippe Starck and Karim Rashid, and Nika Zupanc. I have to mention that from the business model side, I have admiration for the marketing genius Tom Ford.