It's the dawn of a new era for Silsal Design House – and Samar Habayeb, the company's creative director and chief executive, can barely contain her excitement.
Founded in 1989 by Habayeb’s mother, Reem Atalla, and aunt, Rula Atalla, in the basement of the latter’s home in Amman, Jordan, Silsal started out as a small family business intent on preserving their country’s traditional ceramic crafts. It quickly gained a reputation as Amman’s go-to gift shop, selling its artfully crafted, Middle East-inspired tableware, vases, bowls, plates, teacups and coffee mugs to locals and tourists alike. The company’s collections, which are stocked in the UAE at O’de Rose and Galeries Lafayette, have also been exhibited at the British Museum and sold at the Louvre in Paris.
But 18 years after the company’s launch, the sisters announced they were ready to step away from the business. At the time, Habayeb was completing a degree in architectural design and economics, and had every intention of becoming an architect. But someone had to step up, and she decided to take on the challenge. She started by completing a master’s in ceramic design, then got to work with Silsal.
Her vision for the company is far broader than that of her predecessors. “Silsal used to be a design house that only did handmade ceramics; they were very beautiful, but not accessible to everyone,” she says. “The prices were quite high, and we didn’t have much inventory. So we thought let’s find a way to make our designs accessible to everyone. Let’s give people the opportunity to be surrounded by them, whether they are drinking a glass of water, having a coffee, sitting on a couch or whatever. We had all these beautiful designs, so why not translate them onto new media?”
Habayeb tells me about an article that she read – and kept – about Amancio Ortega, the founder of Zara, which described the opening of the brand’s first store in New York and how Ortega was so overwhelmed that he went and cried in the toilets.
It’s telling that this strikes a chord with Habayeb, and goes some way in revealing her grand plans for her own business. “I want it to become the go-to store for the home,” she says. “And I want us to set trends. Someone needs to be the trendsetter, so why not Silsal Design House?”
This has so far manifested itself in the launch of an online store offering the full gamut of Silsal’s products, along with worldwide express shipping. “We launched our online shop four months ago, and have been very happy with the results. Sales have definitely increased, but what is most exciting is that 50 per cent of our online sales are from Europe and the United States. This shows that there is this real interest in Middle Eastern design; it’s just a matter of how you express it.”
The brand has also moved its headquarters from Jordan to Dubai, and will be opening a fully fledged show space in the Dubai Design District as soon as it’s operational. “Dubai has the systems in place to help you grow a business, and while there is a lot of work involved, it is seamless,” Habayeb says.
But the most important development was the launch last month of Silsal’s first official furniture collection. While the company had dipped its toes into furniture waters before with smaller pieces, it’s now creating everything from dining tables, consoles and chairs to sofas, couches and side tables. Each piece displays the same geometric patterning, Islamic art and Arabic calligraphy that have proven so popular on Silsal’s smaller accessories, and while there are no beds or TV cabinets on offer as yet, the aim is to provide a full lifestyle solution for every room in the house.
“Silsal Design House pieces are loved for their innovative, forward-looking style and bring to life the beauty of Islamic art and calligraphy. Through creating 3-D tessellations, as well as applying parametric design to regular geometric patterns, we have been able to generate modernised Islamic patterns and create furniture pieces that are truly distinctive in design and premium in quality,” says Habayeb.
“Your furniture is supposed to make you feel good, every day. Entering the furniture business is a fantastic development for us, and we are very excited to be able to bring our designs to the world, designs that we believe will satisfy even the most imaginative minds.”
The company currently offers six collections: Bubbles, Ghida, Maghrebi, Odette, Scribbles and Tarateesh. Ghida, with its calligraphic motifs, is probably the most recognisable, featuring strong blocks of colour against stark backgrounds. Odette employs more nature-inspired graphics, while Tarateesh presents the calligraphy in a more modern, light-hearted way, with individual letters set in colourful patterns amid splashes of paint.
Calligraphy will always be a cornerstone of the brand’s designs, Habayeb says. “We specialise in calligraphy and geometric designs, but we try to keep it subtle – it’s there, but not overpowering. I see this always being a part of our product, because it is part of our identity; we are trying to revive art and traditions inherent to the culture and keep them present in our everyday lives. But how we utilise calligraphy is where we get creative.”
While the calligraphy has been a part of Silsal’s creations since Reem and Rula began creating them on a small potter’s wheel and kiln in the basement, this latest iteration of the Silsal brand is far more adventurous with the materials that it employs.
“In the past we focused on stoneware – but now we are working with glass, linen, embroidery, acrylic, copper, brass, nickel, wood, fabrics and porcelain, which I love because it is so light and easy to clean,” says Habayeb.
But what of Silsal’s roots as a social enterprise? “At the moment, the focus is to be completely consistent and then to be able to give back to the community. I always think about being able to take one of our products and go around villages that are less privileged and say: ‘This is a product, how can we utilise your skills and resources to make this?’ But there needs to be the ability to produce thousands of pieces, at a consistent quality.
“It’s like when you are on an airplane and the masks come down, and they say make sure yours is on and then help others. So we need to create a sustainable business, and then take certain SKUs [stock keeping units] and develop them in accordance with specific talents, skill sets and materials. Embroidery, for example. That’s a big thing in the Middle East and something we can definitely utilise. When I have a team that can focus on going in and maintaining the quality of that work on a mass scale, then it is something we will definitely be looking at.”
And how does Habayeb’s mum feel about all these changes?
“In the beginning, we were both unsure,” says Habayeb. “You have so many doubts in the back of your mind. But when she saw the outcome, she thought it was brilliant. We kept all of the old designs – they are ingrained in the product. But we are trying to make them more modern and develop a more upmarket, contemporary lifestyle brand for the Middle East.”
sdenman@thenational.ae
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