1. Where were you born and where are you from ?

I was born and raised in Lebanon.  I am Lebanese with Colombian descent.

2. What is your first memory connected to the art world ?

I think it would be related to my mother’s collection of Colombian craftsmanship items and pre-Colombian artefacts.

3. Have you always worked in the art/design field ?

Yes. Ever since I was a kid, I knew I wanted to do something around this field, creating and doing things for other to use or enjoy.

4. What led you to the design creation ?

I first started by learning architecture and I slowly shifted into a smaller and more human scale – interiors and finally products and furniture.  This came very naturally to me and today this course has allowed me to broaden my palette and be able to swing from one discipline to another with ease.

5. How would you describe your creative process and it influences ?

It always starts with a need. Whether it’s an architectural project or a product one. And often, with this need, there is a narrative, a story. I like combining them.

Sometimes I make an abstraction of everything. After sketching, I erase as many lines as I can, until I get the result I’m satisfied with.

6. Could you describe a typical day of your work ?

Morning is the most important time of the day for me. I try to keep it as calm as I can.

I usually wake up really early, never take meetings or calls before a certain hour. I enjoy this alone time in order to put things into perspective, create, solve issues, sketch. I sketch a lot.

Then comes the official working hours, with the team showing up, the mess, the calls, the client meetings, workshop and site visits. No particular order.

7. Why did you choose the specific materials you work with ?

It usually follows a desire to explore the limits of a material, or the desire to work with a specific craftsman.

8. What are the technical particularities of your creations ?

Each creation comes with a different particularity usually depending on the craftsman I am collaborating with.

9. What advices could you give to beginning artists who would like to create sculptural design works ?

Take your time, take a step back, don’t be shy and ask for advice, and work seriously without taking yourself too seriously.

10. If your works had to belong to a design movement, in which one would you define it ?

I wouldn’t be able to answer that. I’m still at an (never ending) exploring stage where I try different technics, narratives, styles, references. I don’t think I would like to be “labelable” yet as I’m still in my 30s.

11. What designers have influenced you ?

So many names come to mind! From the early to mid-century big names to more recent ones. And they all matter. It also depends on my mood. Nowadays, I would say Yovanovitch, Lehanneur or Toogood.

12. What contemporary designers do you appreciate ?

The ones listed above.

13. What contemporary artists (in any kind of art) have you been inspired by ?

Thomas Fersen, a french songwriter.

Yan Pei-Ming, Claire Tabouret.

Soulages!.

14. If you had to summarize your creations in one word or sentence, what would it be ?

Lighthearted?

Proust Questionnaire with very short answers (one or a few words) :
(The Proust Questionnaire is a set of questions answered by the French writer Marcel Proust. Other historical figures who have answered confession albums are Oscar Wilde, Karl Marx, Arthur Conan Doyle, Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Cézanne…)

1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Noise fading away as your earplugs take shape

2. What is your greatest fear?

The unknown

3. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

Procrastinator

4. What is the trait you most deplore in others?

Snowflake and politically correct

5. Which living person do you most admire?

The unconformist

6. What is your greatest extravagance?

Love the bird, a dildo lamp I designed

7. What is your current state of mind?

I am writing this from NYC

8. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Nice-ness

9. What is the quality you most like in a man ?

Humbleness

10. What is the quality you most like in a woman ?

Wittiness

11. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

10/10

12. Which talent would you most like to have?

Master a musical instrument

13. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

My organizational skills

14. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

The day I stopped worrying about the uncontrollable

15. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

Candle holder

16. Where would you most like to live?

NYC

17. What is your most treasured possession?

My art collection

18. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

Greed

19. What is your favorite occupation?

Clay modeling

20. What is your most marked characteristic?

“Aquoiboniste”

21. What do you most value in your friends?

Their presence

22. Who are your favorite writers?

Modiano and Garcia Marquez

23. Who is your hero of fiction?

Antoine Doinel

24. Which historical figure do you most identify with?

No one I can think of

25. Who are your heroes in real life?

The happy ones

26. What are your favorite names?

Cali

27. What is it that you most dislike?

My government

28. What is your greatest regret?

Not saying I love you enough when I still could

29. How would you like to die?

In a very annoying way that would piss my close ones one last time.

30. What is your motto?

If there is nothing you can do about it, don’t stress and move on.