Beirut-born Tarek Atrissi went against the expected cultural norm of studying medicine, engineering, law, or business and bravely ventured into graphic design, a field not typically taken seriously in the Arab world. Atrissi changed all that; not only did he create a name for himself on a worldwide level, but he has even branded a country, Qatar.
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After watching the Oscars tonight and especially after all the Slumdog Millionaire success, I could not help but secretly wish that one day a film from Lebanon would join the winners circle. That being said, I am very proud to say that my country is represented at this prestigious event in 2009 through three talented Lebanese couturiers that have become favorites on the Red Carpet. Hopefully this is an inspiration to all designers, artists and filmmakers from the Middle East; I know it certainly is to me.
Elie Saab dressed Angelina Jolie (left) and Evan Rachel Wood.
Georges Chakra dressed Queen Latifah (center).
Zuheir Murad dressed Miley Cyrus (right).
What you are looking at is real. This is the new proposed project off the coast of Lebanon in the shape of, well, a cedar tree! I do not know where to start talking about this. I do know that I stumbled across the proposal of Cedars Island a couple of weeks back and was flabbergasted. At that moment, I was stuck in disbelief; a surge of dumbfounded emotions flooded my mind – disgust, rage, skepticism and anger. Was this a joke? I could not believe what I was seeing.
Yes, it’s exactly what it looks like! This is a Mason jar lamp. I had no idea these things even existed until I saw one at a local thrift shop. I mean I was intrigued – who made these things and were people actually selling and buying them?
I started a bit of an information hunt around to discover the story behind this weird object. Turns out, there is a whole jar art craft community! There are many ideas for jar craft as suggested by Marie Browning in her book Really Jazzy Jars. Enthusiasts also can join the various blogger communities and get inspired from places like www.homecrafting.com. I guess if you have a lot of time on your hands and well, jars, this is a new hobby for you. On a more serious note, with the way things are going, we can expect to see a bigger do-it-yourself surge across various categories. Who knows what might just come out of your home next!