fashionambition

That is a wrap

2011-12-23T22:22:00.004Z

I haven't blogged in 7 months. I am appalled, shocked at my lack of discipline but I must say that the last 7 months have been insane. With trying to double up my clients and landing the Organic Food and Cafe account my life has just been dedicated to my agency. I have had to take 100 steps back and away from sketchbook magazine, the love of my life project to focus on financing my business and making sure my clients were satisfied and happy with the quality of work that we provided for them. On the other hand I also recently lectured at the University of Bahrain, which was such an awesome experience. If you have been to any of my lectures or workshops I say over and over that the best part of my job is talking about my journey as an entrepreneur and sharing my insight about jump starting my business. I get a real buzz from inspiring a young crowd and wish I could do it more often, or full time. To be a paid public speaker would be a dream job, even better than the one I have given myself now.

Which brings me to the end of 2011, usually a busy time for me when the rest of the world is in Holiday mode. I get given a small chance to reflect on the year, as chaotic as it was, and visualize the upcoming year . This year like everyone that I can remember has been a rollercoaster. One I wouldn't be able to get through without the support of some key members in my life. My mother, my best friend Elham, my new bestie and family member Husain Qaseer, and also my work colleagues and mentor Zeid.

Looking ahead I am looking forward to a few key projects, expanding my business further and taking it to the next level and hopefully opening another branch of Obai and Hill. Launching my book or at least finishing the first draft of my book that I will be co -writing with a good friend of mine. and also relaunching Sketchbook Live. It pains me to have had to take a year off the magazine to establish my other business, now it is time for me to go back and finish what I started. I also hope to travel to India, Brazil, China, South America. Fingers crossed.

Need focus, energy, positivity and motivation.

Excited for 2012, a new book, a new relaunch, a new business expansion, travels, and eternal happiness.

Which girl am I?

2011-05-03T13:34:00.020+01:00

One of my fave movies was on yesterday, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, title on it's own is delecious. A story about two girlfriends on a summer holiday in Spain become enamored with the same painter, unaware that his ex-wife, with whom he has a tempestuous relationship, is about to re-enter the picture.

A stunning movie set in Barcelona, about relatable characters that fall in and out of love. This movie really makes me question my approach to love. Am I Vicky with her cautious, safe, committed approach, or am I Cristina, more spontaneous, lacking boundary, craving suffering love? Or am I bit of both? It seems at this point in my life, love is an everyday topic. Everyone sees it differently, all of us can't live without it, and most are constantly at battle with it. We are either shaping it or molding it so it suits our needs or escaping it when it becomes too hard or complicated to handle. Whatever it is, every day some are on a constant quest to find and maintain it and others are too wounded to try.

So I guess love to me, is everything. Really. It is my reason to go to work, and my reason to do well, it is my reason to do good and it is my reason to be happy. To live without it is a habit all must learn to master and to have everyday it is a gift. All I know is from my experience once you have been in love.. and I am talking the good kind of love, you can never never ever go back to living without it.

Woody Allen brings out the love in me. Really.
Really.

Simple Times

2011-04-16T11:42:00.008+01:00

There was a point in my life when things were somewhat simpler. In more ways than the other, I remember when I first started this blog and my biggest issue was which sector of the fashion industry I wanted to work with. Now I am overwhelmed with work, feels like I have taken on more work that I can handle. And the smallest task puts me a strain on me. Recently the biggest project of my career's deadline has changed, has to be ready in 2 months and along with it came a string of press events, a press launch, and an indepth interview with mbc 1. Yeah you heard me... MBC1! It was a dream come true, very exciting! Despite for the fact that Ghaswan the TV producer gave me an earful on why I should develop my Arabic and learn to speak it fluently.

Anyways blah blah, I can't sit still even though it's a weekend... I have work to do, gotta run to the museum, have a 'meeting' I cannot get out of, and see a friend before she bounces off to dubai!I just wanted to be a lame cliche and reminisce over Sex and City times, back in uni, when all I hated was uni, and all I really wanted was to make it big in the real world. I don't want to go back for long, just to Baker street, having a turkey bagel, (back space)...

Craving Lolipop Pants

2011-04-14T11:48:00.005+01:00

Co-Eds Feature is Out Now

2011-04-12T09:19:00.007+01:00

Yours truly has been featured in a 6 page spread including the cover of March's Issue of Co-Eds. If you have been following my blog you will know that I have 1. Never made it to a magazine cover. 2. I love getting local recognition, there is no better feeling.

This is by far the most in depth interview I have conducted, it covered all aspects of my work and my business but it also mentioned my personal activities, especially my relationship with footie. The editor Yasmine was very well informed about my extracurricular activities and quizzed me about Arsenal and the all girls tournaments I plan during the week. I have to admit it was refreshing getting asked non-sketchbook related questions!

I will copy paste the interview below when I get a hold of the JPGS-until then I hope you all grab a copy and leave your comments!

In the new Grazia!

2011-04-04T09:42:00.007+01:00

Grazia
spent a morning at the
Al Areen Wildlife Park
with three local fashion
bloggers to see how
their sites have been
received in Bahrain

MARA MOSTAFA, 32, CREATOR
OF WWW.MARAMOSTAFA.
WORDPRESS.COM
WHEN AND WHY DID YOU
START UP YOUR BLOG?
A couple of months ago! It was
something I had been meaning to do
for a few years but kept postponing.
I wanted an outlet for all my crazy
passions – fashion, art, health, vintage
and a lot more, so it’s quite eclectic.
My brother’s film City of Life had been
released and I also wanted to jump on
the blogging scene to get his movie
out there.

HOW HAS IT BEEN RECEIVED?
Really well! I try to get my posts up
as often as I can, but with having two
kids it can be a bit tough to keep them
rolling. I aim to get at least five posts
up a week.
Ladies seem to be inspired by what
they read and I feel the excitement in
their tweets when I spread the word
about a new designer or blogger. I was
on a radio show with nutritionist Alia
Almoayed about my health blogging.

WHY DO YOU BLOG ABOUT
FASHION THAT IS WEARABLE
TO VEILED WOMEN?
Women who wear the hijab and abaya
love fashion just as much as anyone
else. The niche I was looking to focus
on was fashion that I would wear as
a mutahajiba (hijab-veil). I wanted
to highlight trends and show how it
could be modified to suit our needs as
modest Muslim women, or women in
general who prefer to dress modestly.
You can love fashion, be
fashionable, and be covered. There
are two types of veiled women; one
who wears the veil with the abaya and
is stylish under her abaya, which is
usually covered and not exposed. Other
types wear the veil and dress modestly
but like to wear clothes that express
their style, are trendy and speak their
personality, which I hope to highlight.

HOW DO YOU DIFFERENTIATE
YOUR BLOG FROM THE REST?
I try to blog about what interests and
inspires me. My love for ‘true ‘ vintage
is obvious and I highlight fairs and
where to find vintage pieces globally,
or blog about a particular vintage
designer. I’m a mum so I really push
to get natural remedies and methods
out there.

WHICH CELEBS GET YOUR VOTE
IN TERMS OF STYLE?
Nicole Richie. I love her boho-chic
style, and Jameela Jamil knows how to
work high street with designer. Blake
Lively almost always looks stunning,
she knows what her best assets are and
how to work it, and of course Sheikha
Moza always looks so sophisticated
and elegant.

WHICH LOCAL BAHRAINI
DESIGNER DO YOU ADMIRE?
Hebah Al Hassan – I love her floaty,
boho, ethnic, and Middle Easterninspired
pieces that work well with
jeans, as a dress, or even good ol’
leggings.

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO
SEE BLOGGING PROGRESS
IN BAHRAIN?
It’s picking up in the Middle East and
gives us a voice to reach out to people
with similar interests. There is a
market out there and so many talented
Bahrainis who individualise their blogs
to cater to different tastes.

WAFA ALOBAIDAT, 24, CREATOR
OF WWW.FASHIONAMBITIONS.
BLOGSPOT.COM

WHY DID YOU START THE BLOG
AND HOW HAS IT BEEN RECEIVED?
I started it in 2007 when I was wrapping up
my studies at Chelsea College of Art and
Design as a way to document my work in
fashion. I was working with fashion designer
extraordinaire Liza Bruce and her interior
designer husband Nicholas Alvis Vega,
and meeting some of the coolest people in
the industry. London exposed me to a wide
audience and I felt the need to share what I
learnt through blogging.
The blog started as a personal journey
of my experiences, but I was so excited to
receive comments that I checked it daily and
it actually received one million visitors in
just two years! It was also recognized by the
Barbican Gallery after I wrote a review of the
Viktor & Rolf Exhibition and I was mentioned
alongside the Guardian and Vogue.com.

FOR YOU, WHAT’S THE SECRET OF
A GOOD BLOGGER?
Good content, a personal approach,
informative and exciting writing helps and
you have to join the blogging community to
speak to other bloggers and be up-to-date.
Give your readers an experience to make
them want to return.

WHICH DESIGNERS DO YOU ADMIRE
LOCALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY?
Locally I admire Sultan Darmaki, who is an
up and coming Emirati luxury shoe designer,
and Qasimi, who I met in London and have
attended some his shows.
Internationally, my loyalty goes to the
local designer talent supported by the
British Fashion Council. I am a huge fan
of Mary Katrantzou’s innovative sculptural
style, Emilio de la Morena’s shows, Basso
and Brooke, Ashish, and designers
represented by Blow PR, who have always
supported me.

WHO ARE YOUR THREE BEST
DRESSED LADIES IN BAHRAIN?
My mother, who puts a lot of effort into
choosing her outfits, and always travels
in style. I borrow most of her jewellery,
handbags, and high heels. Shaikha Mai,
who I am working with on with the first
shared studio space for artists in Bahrain
supported by the Ministry of Culture – I am
so impressed by her style.
Luma Bashmi mixes and matches vintage
and high street and has a great eye for
fashion, photography, and art which I think
inspires what she wears.

HAVE YOU HAD ANY INTEREST
FROM BRANDS OR THE MEDIA?
Glam.com are my advertisers and sponsors
and send me ad offers for my blog. I have
Wafa Alobaidat, above, began her blog
in 2007, and saw it receive over a million
hits in two years
reported for outlets such as High Life
Dubai, and write for publications like Prim
Magazine and Borderline in New York and
have met other bloggers and editors such
as Fashion156.com’s Guy Hipwell and street
style photographer Glam Canyon.
I was interviewed on Bahrain TV about
my career in fashion, and my design
agency Obai and Hill provides fashion PR
consultancy for clients in the Middle East.

WHO WOULD YOU LIKE A BLOG
CONVERSATION WITH?
Christopher Bailey of Burberry, Margarita
Missoni and Miuccia Prada.

AYSHA MATTAR, 28, CREATOR OF
WWW.PRETTYFASHIONFORWARD.
BLOGSPOT.COM

WHEN DID YOU START YOUR
BLOG AND WHY?
After a trip back from London in early
2009, I had just completed a few fashionrelated
courses and wanted to explore
the industry further. To carve a career in
fashion within the Middle East, a friend
of mine suggested combining my love of
fashion with blogging and it has now
progressed into a full-time passion.

WHAT FEEDBACK HAVE YOU HAD?
Fashion blogging in the Middle East
is still in its early stages of becoming a
fully functioning medium of information
exchange. There are regional fashion
bloggers that are well received and are an
inspiration to us all to keep the dream alive.
I recently started getting more attention
and support after a Kuwaiti newspaper
took my photo from my blog and printed it
without permission for an article on how to
maintain healthy hair during the month of
Ramadan. It led to a mini scandal!

HOW DO YOU DIFFERENTIATE YOUR
BLOG FROM THE REST?
I guess every blog is unique because each
person interprets and writes about fashion
in their own way. My blog depicts what I like,
whether it’s from the runway, red carpet,
random people walking down the street or
what I’m trying to achieve as a stylist. I
tend to write exactly how I speak which
personalises my posts!
I try to echo in my blog that fashion is
for everyone, regardless of your budget or
body type. Global perceptions dictate what
we should look like but in reality everyone is
special and beautiful in their own way. You
just need to know what works for you and
blogging is reiterating this.

WHICH CELEBS GET YOUR VOTE IN
TERMS OF STYLE?
It was Whitney Port, but lately I’ve been
hooked onto Alexa Chung’s style. I
appreciate her laid-back approach to
fashion and how she doesn’t follow trends
but twists and changes them to make them
her own. Grace Kelly inspires me too.

WHICH LOCAL DESIGNER DO YOU
RATE HIGHLY?
I have yet to find a local designer that I’ve
connected with but I’m looking! I love how
the fashion scene is growing in the Arab
world, ensuring that local designers create
an impressive and very talented scene here.
Local home-grown designers to keep an
eye out for are: Shaikha, Any + Addi and
Khaleda Rajab.

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE
BLOGGING PROGRESS HERE?
Blogging and bloggers in Bahrain are
growing in number but it’s still early for any
real effect on the fashion scene. Fashion
here is still a fairly new market finding
its identity, and blogging an even newer
medium that is still breaking away from its
perception as a personal online journal. So
many incredible brands have developed a
huge fan following through blogs and online
media; hopefully retailers and readers will
see how blogs can help them

5 fave blazer looks

2011-03-22T09:48:00.007Z

Top 5 - A month late

2011-03-14T09:48:00.005Z

The Archived 5

2011-02-12T19:20:00.006Z

I have accumulated a terrible habit of saving images of things I like or inspire me online. It's very much like my bad habit of highlighting passages of books I am reading. I think it kills the fun out of aimless online surfing and pleasure reading but I do it anyways. This week these images re-surfaced in a file I forgot I created. So instead of this awful habit going to waste I will start to share my 5 fave looks of the week, all from my archive of oh-about 13,276 images. Yup siree, I have enough material for a very long time!

LC and Grazia

2011-02-12T18:51:00.009Z

Lauren Conrad is back. And not just hit reality tv show-back. But back as in, she is still trying again with another clothing line! I do admire her strong will to succeed and her hard working lifestyle. I make no secret about guilty pleasures and the Hills, fake as it is, is def one of them. What I liked most about watching the show is how much it reminded me of my early years in fashion working with Liza and Nicholas and then during fashion week with on/off, and especially my time with Boutique 1. I was such a new-be, eager to learn everything, and really putting myself out there to get the job done.

I am also getting ready tonight for a Grazia Bahrain shoot happening tomorrow at 8.30 am at Alareen Park. It will be a piece about 3 fashion bloggers in Bahrain and I have been fashion surfing to get some ideas on what I should wear and how I should wear it. I snapped a few lovely pieces from Mimosa gallery at Al Aali Mall and will be wearing them tomorrow. Apparently I will be posing with an eagle instead of a laptop. Hmm.. will probably be tweeting about it tomorrow! Until then new LC photo shoot pics.

PS Not many people know this but Grazia was the first magazine I was exposed too in London back in 2005 when I started working with Liza Bruce. It was the first weekly glossy magazine to hit the city, and I had to go buy it every week for the office. Ever since then I just got used to buying it every week for as long as I graduated. I always ended up getting rid of it all when I moved from one apartment to another but still Grazia will always be my first.

Funny Footie

2011-02-12T18:38:00.007Z

I have always played football in school. And then a little bit after that in uni, but I guess you can say football is evident in my life, in my relationships, and in my family. It didn't help that I attended a million and one Arsenal football matches when I was still a student. So now that I am back in my island, I find myself wonderfully suprised to play 4 times a week. I am a proud member of the Arsenal Soccer School, where we train once a week and play a game once a week. I also co-organize an all girls football match every week 'soup a stars' right now we are up to 22 members, and now am planning my first mixed football game in honour of good friend Mohammed Barca Alawadi. I was searching for images online for the group event, and I came across such funny football images, thought they might be fun to share.

Some Good Ol Bahraini Press

2011-02-12T18:31:00.003Z

I was recently asked to speak as part of a panel discussion for AISEC @ the Polytechnic University in Bahrain. I have been lucky enough to give a string of lectures in London, Kuwait, Bahrain, and have conduced seminars and workshops, but I have never been part of a panel discussion. It was really exciting seated next to inspiring people like Ali Hassan and Khalid Qaoud and discussing the global mindset of Bahraini youth. It was an intense one hour and half discussion and I would gladly take up the opportunity again to share my view on the matter.

Pecha Kuch-ing

2011-01-05T20:06:00.011Z

Seeing as I am watching Arsenal vs Man City with my brothers and stationed on the couch, me being the multi-tasker I am, think it would be a super idea to share some images from my debut at Pecha Kucha Bahrain which was held in the Shaikh Ebrahim Center.

Ouuwwchh..almost a goal by Nasri.. jezuz..

Anyways so Pecha Kucha was a pretty cool experience and the first time I got to share my work with an audience in my town. Here are some pretty cool pics taken by Bader Kamal, design extraordinaire who's only 20 years old and is now part of the Obai and Hill family.

Feedback for my presentation was great seeing as I perfected my timing and rehearsed loads before I went! Obai and Hill also had the pleasure of designing the Pecha Kucha poster for the event. More info on it here on our site.

My new home

2010-12-25T19:16:00.007Z

Some great photos of our new stunning offices in the Bahrain Financial Harbour. We are very lucky to move into the H3Sixty space for our first office. It will be almost two months now since we moved in and it has been such a great experience so far. I love having breakfasts in the kitchen, and using all our conference spaces for our meetings. I am really looking forward to introduce the new H3sixty project which will be held in our office lounge, along with a new entrepreneurship program for budding businessmen. Watch this space folks!

The conference room, chillout areas

The reception area and golf putt

The lounge area

The kitchen

My TV first

2010-12-25T14:52:00.006Z

I finally have a few hours set aside to catch up with my blogging. My life has seemed to take off in such a rapid rate since I made the move back home. One of the most exciting developments of my career was to appear on live television for the very first time. Even though Hala Bahrain is a local morning show, it was still an incredible experience to be able to discuss my work and recent project developments on a live show for the very first time. I had to be on set at about 8 am where I got makeup and hair done. I was terrified and really nervous, it was insane. Everyone was a little worried including Duaa my PR director who was running around getting me water and trying to find me biscuits to calm me down. I had written all my potential answers in Arabic the night before and practiced all night with my mom and after that by myself in front of the mirror.

But as soon as they were ready for slot, I walked into the studio away from the chaos of hair and makeup into the complete silence of the studio. It was fantastic. Once on the large couch I relaxed and just tried to have a conversation with Noor , the presenter. My Arabic was not as good as I hoped, but I remember feeling so great afterwards and scheming how to get on TV again. I really want to thank everyone who saw the show from Kuwait, Saudi, Oman, and all my Bahraini buddies who showed support by texting/facebooking/emailing.

More to come on Obai and Hill projects!

2010-09-22T23:36:00.000+01:00

"I was … unmoored by that. I struggled with chronic depression. I was in bad shape. I knew I had to get back in school and back in some kind of structured environment and … continue.''
Jon Hamm

2010-09-21T02:31:00.003+01:00

I am lucky
to have mastered
the act
of turning anything
negative to positive

One Fine Day

2010-09-21T02:16:00.011+01:00

Probably the most awaited post of the history of this blog.
I really struggled to find great images for this movie.
I love this movie till death do us part.
Am listening to this track right now
Natalie Merchant's One Fine Day

Paul Vallely: Why poetry is as essential as air (via the Independent)

2010-09-15T01:24:00.003+01:00

One of the most amazing articles I have recently read in the The Independent by Paul Vallely. If this doesn't make you scramble for a pen and paper I don't know what will.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two thousand feet below ground the 33 trapped Chilean miners have developed a rhythm to their daily life as they wait for a rescue which may not come until Christmas. And they have allocated themselves jobs and roles. One, an electrician, has rigged up a lighting system to create a semblance of day and night. Another travels through the tunnels and caverns constantly monitoring the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Two are in charge of maintaining the fibre-optic phone lines for phone calls and daily video conferences. Two are first-aiders, administering medicines and vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus and pneumonia. The group has appointed a pastor to lead religious services, an official cameraman and a biographer to keep a daily log of their long ordeal underground.

They have also designated one of their number to be the group's official poet. A miner named Victor Zamora is regularly sending rhymed compositions on single pages to the surface. His missives have become the best-read of all the communications from the subterranean prison. His work has progressed from an early cry of despair that the men would never be found by the outside world to outbursts of hope and humour which have lifted spirits below and above the ground: "Under the earth there is a ray of light, my path, and faith is the last thing that is lost... I have been born again."

There is something about the human spirit which, it seems, can only find voice in poetry. Extremity underlines that. You only have to look at the Births & Deaths column in the local paper for evidence; at times of celebration and, most particularly, bereavement, people turn to poetry to express themselves. It is almost always bad poetry, it must be admitted, but it performs a function in which other language is deemed inadequate. Poetry is different and the form we turn to when intensity, exultation or grief at its most profound needs expression. It hints at the intangible, the transcendent, the inexpressible and all those deeper trawlings of the human psyche.

By coincidence, last week saw the publication of a masterclass in the poet's art. Human Chain is the 12th collection of poems from Seamus Heaney. It is the first since he suffered a stroke in 2006 and it explores connections not merely between the surface and the subterranean but between individuals, across generations and between the past and present. It is full of beautifully observed, vividly recollected and exquisitely turned poems which review Heaney's familiar themes through the lens of old age and the sense of life's fragility, which the great man's brush with death has amplified.

It tells us something else about how poetry works. Famous Seamus, as his compatriots affectionately dub him, has an extraordinary eye for the detail of Irish rural life. But it is not merely detail which speaks nostalgically of the past. It is detail which imbues the present with a new significance.

A good poet has an attentiveness to life, and a way of observing the world, which sees what we all see but sees them differently. It is as if the poet is seeing what is familiar for the first time and discovering new riches in the language of the every day. And when a great poet such as Heaney revisits the past – recalling his mother emptying ashes from the fire, his father herding cows, the fountain pen they gave him when he went to grammar school, or a bus route from his adolescence – he doesn't just shine a light into the darkness of memory but illuminates a path for the future. And he does it all with such mellifluous melancholy mouth-music.

It does not fall to many of us, thank God, to experience the kind of enforced reflection on our life that the 33 Chilean miners are now undergoing. But poetry can offer us a metaphorical equivalent of that, as one of the miners' compatriots, the fine Chilean poet Pablo Neruda suggests:

Leave me a place underground, a labyrinth,

where I can go, when I wish to turn,

without eyes, without touch,

in the void, to dumb stone,

or the finger of shadow.

Poetry can be our underground bunker, a refuge from the surface of everyday life in which the urgent crowds out the important. Poetry's ability to look at old things with fresh eyes is a key tool towards the examined life. It reconfigures the familiar – like Seamus Heaney's Conway Stewart fountain pen – and helps us look askance at the contours of our over-busy daily existence. In poetry we listen to ourselves, like a secular form of prayer. And the more we return to it the deeper we go, for we, like a good poem, do not deliver up all our secrets at a single reading.

Human Chain teaches us something about facing the advent of old age. It tells stories of friendship and inheritance. There is a beautiful scene of the poet as a ghost from the future at his parents' wedding. There are evocations of the seasons, and of the poet's deepening realisation that his participation in them is limited as he recalls an elderly painter friend who

...could bear no longer to watch

The sun going down

And asking please to be put

With his back to the window.

There is a poem in which Heaney appears to be rifling through the suits which hung "like waterweed disturbed" in his dead father's wardrobe – "stale smoke and oxter-sweat/came at you in a stirred-up brew/when you reached in" – only for the reader to discover that the old man is alive and in need of lifting and sponging. The poems tell stories of separation and loss, like the elegy for a dead friend which begins:

The door was open and the house was dark

Wherefore I called his name, although I knew

The answer this time would be silence

That kept me standing listening while it grew

Backwards and down and out into the street ...

And then there is the opening poem "Had I not been awake" which tells the story of Heaney's stroke as if it were a wild and sudden storm rattling the roof-tiles of the house. And another in which he remembers lying immobilised in the back of an ambulance, his wife holding his hand, as they sped to hospital. They are poems about Seamus Heaney, but they are poems about us too, for the elliptical power of the writing is such that the reader has to go out to meet it half-way. When we read poems we become their part-authors too.

That is what the 33 miners are doing amid the gold and copper seams of the San José mine. For them it will not be Heaney but Neruda, who in the 1940s championed the cause of striking Chilean miners against an oppressive government. They will, no doubt, see themselves in some other lines of their great national poet:

Arise to birth with me, my brother.

Give me your hand out of the depths ...

Bring to the cup of this new life

Your ancient buried sorrows.

And give me silence, give me water, hope.

Brick_ walling

2010-09-15T00:53:00.014+01:00

Somewhere along the lines of my dealing with advertisers and convincing my best friendy to start her own blog to deal with her boring non-working syndrome in Bahrain I missed my own blog. I don't know what it is. In between delegating all day long, dealing with family that are visiting in London, managing project after project, and train travel I find I have no where to note my thoughts. Twitter is not a strong enough medium to hold my 1 million uncorresponding thoughts. And there is no way in hell I could even think about condensing them all to 140 characters. so here I am, back from a wonderful break in Leeds, missing my stolen Nikon D-40, missing my friends, and craving Arabic food like a mad woman.

Like clock work its after midnight, I am restless, I have questions, I am packing boxes of clothes and shoes in my head and ready to move house.

Amongst all the wonderful things that are happening in my career I made time for a late movie and ordered room service with my brother on his last night with us in Leeds. Shakespeare in Love was playing. I never really liked the movie, and I will never truly get why/how Gwyneth Paltrow nailed that Oscar. But after not having seen it in so long I not-so-casually burst into tears towards the very end. Not because of the story but because of love. How could I have forgotten their story? How could I have forgotten the most famous love story of all time? It all came brick walling at me.

*For there is no greater love story than that of Romeo and his Juliet*

And yes I am blogging to Clair De Lune's Claude Debussy. What can I say ?I am a sucker for the piano and strange habits.

incoming

2010-08-25T16:54:00.003+01:00

I have been super lazy with my blogging, I apologize. It seems my life is about to embark on a yet another new chapter. I am currently working on two sites , ideas that I have wanted to launch for more than a year now. Wacudo.com is a personal project that I have schemed for a few years now. Created for my obsessive nature to travel and dream of exploring every square inch of the globe it is a personal online travel journal with content from locals on where visitors should eat/sleep/go/visit/buy etc

I have been laying the pages out with a duo team, Selina Lalli my art director and Rakhi our illustrator. The website already has a nice feel to it, unintimidating, clean, inviting, just how I like my sites. The first countries/cities we will be plugging in are LONDON, NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES, TAMPA, BAHRAIN, KUWAIT, OMAN, ABU DHABI, DUBAI, BEIRUT and my personal fave TOKYO. This does mean that I will be saving up to buy airplane tickets, if there is anything I would love to do for a living it's travel.

The other site I am launching is Sketchbook Live, an online magazine version of Sketchbook Magazine. As my readers/loyal fans know Sketchbook is available to buy as a print publication/pdf we also have Sketchbook TV and a blog but we DO NOT have a horizontal online archive of all our blog features so we are moving camp.

It is a slower process than I thought with a team of 3 working on moving all 600 articles to the new site. Laura Sam- content editor, Lauren - content editor's assistant, and Amy Edgar - project manager have been moving every credit and thumbnail over cups of coffee and cake.

I do try to take the necessary steps to be innovative. I don't ever seem to be satisfied with production levels and want things faster, sharper, easier. I am glad that I am constantly evolving Sketchbook. It is a mission of mine to be updated , to make things fresh and new and to never be out of date so Sketchbook and all my projects really will be a work in progress.

Send over your feedback on Wacudo and Sketchbooklive folks!

Hours before our Final Event @ Kingly

2010-08-05T11:55:00.023+01:00

Sneak Peak of my new Project

2010-07-31T14:15:00.002+01:00

The unveiling of the sign @ Kingly

2010-07-31T14:05:00.010+01:00

vada you're my best friend

2010-07-10T21:23:00.011+01:00

Old School. Classic. Whatever you want to call it. But My Girl (1991) is one of the most amazing movies I grew up with. Vada Sultenfuss is obsessed with death. Her mother is dead, and her father runs a funeral parlor. She is also in love with her English teacher, and joins a poetry class over the summer just to impress him. Thomas J., her best friend, is "allergic to everything", and sticks with Vada despite her hangups. *I love the bond between Thomas and Vada.

I've got sunshine
On a cloudy day.
When it's cold outside,
I've got the month of May.

Well, I guess you'll say
What can make me feel this way?
My girl.
Talkin' 'bout my girl.

Talkin' bout my girl.
I've got sushine on cloudy day
With my girl.
I've even got the month of May With my girl.

Delightful spreads from issue 2

2010-07-10T20:52:00.012+01:00

Along with creating my new design agency Obai and Hill I took a moment with Sketchbook's account director to look over numbers of issues sold in the first quarter since Issue 2 has taken off. And the result just made me marvel at how we were able to beat the numbers of sales of Issue 1. In celebration I am sharing my fave pages of Issue 2 - the London designers issue (part1) in my own personal blog to check out! Remember you can order the magazine here and view it here.

Your First Look Folks -----The Sketchbook i-app

2010-07-05T23:37:00.008+01:00

For the past few months I have been developing the ipad-iphone app for Sketchbook Magazine, and let me just saw it has not been easy liaising with graphic artists, web and digital designers to get our desired effect but we have managed to get it to the T. In a few months or so all you iphoners and ipaders will be able to download Sketchbook's app and flick through all the issues of our magazine (that's almost 400 pages of pure content) that you can zoom in on. We have great in-depth studio articles and exclusive interviews with all our favorite bloggers and designers.

But the best part you will be able to really hone in on our hand drawn illustrations. I hope you all enjoy reading through our pages just as much as we enjoyed putting it together.

We really pride ourselves on being on top of social media network and scene and that means being up to date and offering all our readers another option to interact with SB

BB moments @ Clothes Show Live

2010-07-04T23:54:00.006+01:00

Love Letters

2010-06-20T02:27:00.023+01:00

do people still write love letters?
do people still fall in love?
Burton wrote letters to Taylor.
They married twice and divorced.

When Burton first saw Taylor at a party he just started laughing.
She was so beautiful it was ridiculous.

His last letter to her arrived a few days after he passed away. He says he was happiest in life when he was with her, and wonders if they might have another shot together.

"I find it very difficult to allow my whole life to rest on the existence of another creature. I find it equally difficult, because of my innate arrogance, to believe in the idea of love. There is no such thing, I say to myself. There is lust, of course, and usage, and jealousy, and desire and spent powers, but no such thing as the idiocy of love. Who invented that concept? I have wracked my shabby brains and can find no answer."

"You must know, of course, how much I love you. You must know, of course, how badly I treat you. But the fundamental and most vicious, swinish, murderous, and unchangeable fact is that we totally misunderstand each other …

“I am forever punished by the gods for being given the fire and trying to put it out. The fire, of course, is you.”

"You are probably the best actress in the world, which, com bined with your extraordinary beauty, makes you unique. … When, as an actress, you want to be funny, you are funnier than W.C. Fields; when, as an actress, you are meant to be tragic, you are tragic."

"If you leave me I shall have to kill myself. There is no life without you."

2010-06-20T01:58:00.002+01:00

I thank whatever Gods may be
For my unconquerable soul
I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul

Into The Wild

2010-06-20T01:43:00.017+01:00

Some stories stay with you forever.
The true story of Christopher McCandless stays with me still.

The Story : A young man leaves his middle class existence in pursuit of freedom from relationships and obligation. Giving up his home, family, all possessions but the few he carried on his back and donating all his savings to charity Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch) embarks on a journey throughout America. His eventual aim is to travel into Alaska, into the wild, to spend time with nature, with 'real' existence, away from the trappings of the modern world.

When he reaches Alaska he finds he has been insufficiently prepared for the hardships to come. . With no means of sustaining himself he starves in his so sought after isolation.

Habit of the night

2010-06-08T01:18:00.010+01:00

nowplaying - Claire De Lune by Debussy
everyone is asleep
1:03 am
re-reading the email i got today
wish i could play the piano

movie of choice : the piano

'You had me at hello'

2010-06-07T00:40:00.021+01:00

Looking through my blog hits I am always surprised to see that people click on the movie posts the most. Some of my favorite movie posts are Candy, Motorcycle Diaries, The Edge of Love, and of course my personal favorite Painted Veil.

So this post is for the good times when my biggest concern was blogging everyday. For fun. I miss the 90s, when things were simpler. I know life only gets harder from here but I remind myself everyday that I will never lose faith in how good people can be. And I will never ever ever lose faith in love.

'we just have to be ridiculously positive in this life. its the only way'

Digi Cam Running

2010-06-05T22:50:00.011+01:00

When I went back home to Bahrain in December I got so bored and frustrated after only 3 weeks of being in the same place I round tripped to Qatar, Dubai, and Oman in 5 days. Oman was my fave city. I stayed at the Shangri La hotel and went for a run on the beach every morning. It was beautiful. Whenever I feel like my life is wonky or if work stress gets to me, a good run really gives me a back some control. These are some snaps I took with my digi camera. Not really the best of quality but they did the job.

Rackn Em Up

2010-06-05T22:31:00.007+01:00

Producing a weekly online issue of Dia Magazine has been such a challenging project. I manage more than 10 writers and carefully choose images to go along with our mix of stories on designers and artists in the Middle East. These are my some of my favorite issues! We are now on our 12th issue and they just keep getting better. Check out Issue 12 here.

Some images stay with you forever

2010-05-31T13:12:00.002+01:00

the prototype

2010-05-29T23:46:00.005+01:00

Project: Design Agency

Description: I have been working on this design agency for more than 6 months. This is the prototype website. Agency Obai & Bash is in the business of providing graphic, digital, and illustrative design services in the corporate and consumer brand industries.

I really get a kick from launching a new brand or project. I can't wait till this is live.

A Moment of Silence

2010-05-29T02:54:00.014+01:00

Now that the Sketchbook Pop Up shop is over and done with I can now take a moment and really take in the magnitutude of the project. With all the frenzy of setting up (32 artists working for 48 hours) and working for 64 days straight I still find myself in awe of how my team and I managed to pull this off with only two weeks of preparation to start off with and being able to mastermind more than 100 events, lectures, workshops. But at the end of the day when I flip through the Guest Book and look at our visit count (9000 visitors) I just can't help but be completely speechless. What a ride this has been.

And to think I have to re-fuel and do this all over again in a month or so.

Sketchbooky Diaries

2010-05-26T01:19:00.007+01:00

Some of my favorite images taken of the Sketchbook pop up shop were by Street Style photographer Jill of STREET STYLE:PICS BY POLKA DOT. She has a fantastic blog with more than 1000 followers and takes some of the most beautiful street style photos.

Jill was also invited to give a talk at the Pop Shop as part of our 'GETTING STARTED' lecture series. Read our review of the lecture here.

Lecturing @ Chelsea

2010-05-24T22:51:00.007+01:00

So I was asked to come lecture at the University of the Arts London and share my experience as a design student all the way to the launch of Sketchbook and becoming the editor for the Dia Magazine. It was a phenomenal expiernce and I was asked to lecture again next year. Really looking forward to it!

Sketchbook writer Elizabeth Pasquale attended my series of lectures and covered it for the SB blog. Read more of it below!

Our Editor was asked to be a guest lecturer at the University of the Arts, Chelsea College of Art and Design where she used to be a student. Asked by her tutor Emily Artinian, she was invited to discuss her experiences during her foundation year all the way through completing her Bachelors in Interior Design, as well as her experiences working with fashion and starting-up her own publication.

It was an intense turnout with over 400 students who attended her two part lecture. ‘What happened to students ditching or turning up late?’ she asked me as rows of foundation students showed up a half hour early.

Wafa started her lecture by discussing her home country of Bahrain and painting a picture of what the art and design scene was like there. She then went to discuss her culture shock going from an American style high school to a British Art school one and how shocking the crit system was to her as a student.

Moving on she described having a double life when starting her BA and working practically full time with designer extraordinaire Liza Bruce. ‘I never said no to Liza, I worked weekends/summer holidays at one point doing 6 days a week. Working with Liza and her husband Nicholas was my first experience working with designers that were passionate about what they were doing, and doing it for a living. I really felt like I was being mentored going from sales, to PR, to buying, to window display, to pricing and assisting with all parts of the running of the business.’
Having graduated Wafa then went on to create her own blog, Fashion Ambitions where she aimed to document her work experiences assisting Marko Matysik, interning with On/Off, working in fashion journalism and publishing her work with Prim and Borderline magazine.
Wafa then went into great detail on how she managed to start up Sketchbook, with no budget; and emailing more than 200 people a day to request contributions and illustrations. ‘Everyone told me that I would never be able to launch a print publication, at the recession, with print media dying. But I did and Sketchbook was born. I also never met anyone in the first 5 months because as soon as people saw I was a 22 year old girl fresh out of university they didn’t want to work with me. I had to really sell the concept via email.’

We spent a few minutes with Wafa after she was done with her lecture. Read the rest of the interview here..