So & Sew

Chocolate chip icecream punctuated with drops of rainbows, tea parties and dreamy photos; these are exactly what appeal to me this time of year. Quick, hearty and satisfying. So when I came across these images of local designer, Hind Abdulrazzaq's Spring 2010 collection of 'So & Sew', I was in winter heaven. Here is where both fashion and interior merge to create one powerful design collection... oh be still my beating heart <3 (Is it just me, or there seems to be an Alice in Wonderland vibe in the images below.. yes? no?)

one; there's a potion that can make you shrink

two; and a cake that can make you grow

three; animals that can talk

four; Alice, cats can disappear

five; there's a place called wonderland

{noella designs} Tea Before Noon identity

Wow, I can't believe it's been a year since I started this blog (as usual I missed my blog-birthday), of course I've pretty much slacked off in some months and mysteriously disappeared in others, however I love being part of this blogging world and being able to both share designs from my side of the world and equally get inspired by others, not to mention the wonderful and creative people I've met :)

Well, I just realised that I never showed you any of my design works, so what better way than to celebrate my 1 year with a little bit of me and my designs.

A month before travelling this summer, I was approached by a client to work on an identity for her. She came to me with a name, and it's product 'Tea Before Noon' 'Chai al Doha' - a bilingual (Arabic and English) magazine and directory for businesses by women to women in the United Arab Emirates. I got blessed with such a sweet client who was open to try out different methods and ideas and it was heaven working with her. Just from the name I loved it from the start, and my head was already overflowing with ideas, but what I loved more was the role this magazine would play; in acknowledging the importance of women in the UAE, be it business women, young entrepreneurs, sit-at-home mothers or students and aiming to promote their achievements through articles, interviews, notices and features in this quarterly magazine.

As I was saying it was a hectic month before summer, and there was so much to do in so little time. So with the name in hand, I pulled out my notebook and began sketching and drawing, noting down all the visual language I could get from the notion of tea; from the form of the arabic teacup (estikanah) that is present in every Emirati household to the color palette of tea.

Tea Before Noon {Chai al Doha} Logo

Created a system of icons from the teacup form for the different sections in the magazine

{ Kids | Health | Lifestyle | Fashion | Food | Culture | Art | Beauty }

 Pattern Designs for the divisions within the magazine - Beauty, Fashion, Art, Food sections

Going with the tea theme, related each section with a kind of tea, such as Beauty :: White Tea.

The identity translated into the website splash page and main pages

www.teabeforenoon.ae  

Ramadan Card

The Package Exchange

I'm home. My suitcase is unpacked. Sunshine rays are finding their way back into my small corridor-cum-studio, and the avalanche of series is stuffed in the harddrive waiting for nighttime for me to settle comfortably under my duvet and watch them. Travel time from Bangkok, Thailand to Dubai: 7 hours. Okay... so this isn't exactly today, this was my situation back in August, almost 3 months ago, coming back from my summer holiday with the family from Bangkok, Hua Hin and HongKong; the perfect getaway retreat... but oh how I miss it. It was three weeks of shopping, eating, relaxing, adventure and fun, fun, fun! But that's for another post.

Now I want to rewind back to those last hectic weeks before travelling, way back in June. (sorry for the time travelling here, you will have to get used to it in my blog :P) It was a constant battle between freelance work, family gatherings, last minute shopping, and The Package Exchange. I had read about it on Cupcake Couture's blog and immediately sent her an email to be a part of this exciting swap. I got paired up with the sweetest, funniest, and oh so lovely Australian, Sharni Valle of The Pieces . Now being a designer I like to brainstorm and be conceptual, so after plenty of emails back and forth I learnt that Sharni was in fact an adventurous girl, with a love of floral patterns, music (especially mixed-tapes), and the great outdoors. So I began doodling and scribbling in my little notebook trying to think of the perfect thing to package, and at the end, I came up with
{Sharni's Camp Kit ::  8 vital things a girl needs to have to survive in the outdoors }

CONTENT OF THE CAMP KIT:

{Mix-tape Book} for when a song, lyric, or thought pops into your head

{Sewing tools} for when a needle and thread might come in handy

{Pocket Mirror} for when no-one tells you that you have a piece of spinach stuck in your teeth

{Safety Matches} for when rubbing wood together doesn't do the trick

{Plaster} for when everything seems to be going wrong, & a plaster heels it all

{Mini Jelly Hamburger} for when all you need is a burger

{Wooden Cutlery set} for when using your hands just doesn't do it anymore

{Earrings} for when the tough gets tougher and a little bit of jewellery keeps you going

{Mix-tape Book} I handmade this tiny notebook using the cover of an actual tape

In the making of: Cover - painted and adorned with floral designs, the Inside Cover, and the Back Cover

All stitched up and ready to be sent

{Sewing kit} Buttons, needles, threads and various knick knacks

{Earrings} Fashioned this cute origami shirt packaging and tucked the earrings inside (going with the clothing theme here)

{Pocket Mirror} Leaf patterned mirror pocket with my scribbly hand-written note

Stardust September

September, you have come and gone in a blink of an eye. No wonder I keep on lagging behind blog posts, I close my eyes and a whole 2 months has gone by. But alas September, you did good - or better you were great for me, my own special month; we celebrated Ramadan, Eid, and my Birthday! It was a beautiful and blessed month, filled with lots of family gatherings, peace, religion, traditions, and laughs. The night literally was young, curfews were extended, tents were camped, lanterns aglow, cards were decked, and let me not start with the food. This was the time when all the girls worked out their chef hats to master each others delicacies... and of course the traditional sweets and food that has not been good to my waistline. Oh I'm already missing it. September do come back!

recycled candle-lit lanterns {fanoos}

Midnight tent

Second image: via ohhellofriend

Love me if you {dare}

A scene from the magical movie 'Love me if you dare'

Have you ever watched a movie that is truly brilliant and you feel genius for discovering it. Well last weekend, I went over to my cousins house to watch a movie, and little did I know that that night my dreams were going to be filled with the magical romance I witnessed between Sophie (Marion Cottilard) and Julian (Guillame Canet) in the wonderful romantic French movie 'Love me if you dare'. What a fantastic story and movie by Yann Samuel, that enchants, frustrates and ultimately dares you to love it. It has that little bit of French quirkiness that I adore in a contemporary fairy-tale style using such captivating visuals (if you've seen Amelie you'll know what I'm talking about)

I for one don't watch movie trailers, and hate it even more when people spoil parts of it on me. I love to go to a movie blindfolded and watch with no expectations at all, so as to not build up a film too much and then get disappointed afterwards. So all I will say is get your hands on this movie and watch it, meanwhile I will lose myself in the rich colors, romance and mood of these photos inspired by the movie, and fantasize I am the lead star in a French fairy-tale story. Oh Sophie and Julien.. you made my heart beat!

Vibrant hued shots from a recent photoshoot collaboration with Luis Vuitton and Emirati photographer Lamya Gargash

Aqua-toned shots from Forever 21 lookbook

Into the wild

A couple of days ago it was my younger sister's birthday, and as tradition, I conjured up a mini treasure hunt with clues hidden in various places around the house for her to find her presents. Each paper had a riddle for her to locate where the next clue was hidden, until it lead her to her treasure prize. I have no idea when and how it started, but every year I love to think up of crazy places to hide, more complex riddles, or even creating a crazy twist to the game. And the look and huge thrill in her face as she runs from one end of the garden/house to the other, reading out loud the clues to the family, with everyone joining in to help her find it. Or perhaps it's my lust for all things wild... I sometimes dream the possibility of being lost in the great outdoors, making my own treehouse from wooden scraps and findings, and spending my days swinging carelessly on my rope swing.

images via: Tea for Joy , Mimi Charmante , Flufflefritz , Liebemarlene vintage 

Floral Tea's

Nothing gets my heart beating than a lovely arrangement of pastel flowers in tea tins. I'm not a tea person, but pair some sweet florals with vintage cup-ware and I'm in love. Now where did my pruning shears go..

images:: heyzee , bijou kaleidoscope 

Art on wheels

I am a huge fan of skateboarders out there riding the rails and grinding their way over the city. Unfortunately, Dubai is still young and it's street culture of skateboarding is still in its initial stages, with very few skate-parks around the city. Which is why when Wafa Al Maktoum, director of FN Designs, took the next step by curating the first skateboard art exhibition in the region 'Fakie', I was more than thrilled to go and check it out. Too bad there were no skateboarders grinding their stuff during the launch .

{Khalid Mezaina} Bring the sword & axe

Of all the works, I loved his the most, those bold primary colors sure triggers something in me!
 His concept is based on a combination of the urban world of skating and traditional UAE folklore. 

{Janet Belleto} Mille-mare (a million seas)

Janet's designs are inspired by her continued exploration of underwater worlds as well as animal and sea creature illustrations.

{Mohammed Al Shaibani} 

Music doesn't lie. If there's something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music

Admiring the artistic illustration and composition that went into this design. Mohammed pays homage to the 'grooviest' dude out there,  a great man who once spoke through his music - Jimi Hendrix.

{Eyan Lomuntad} Right here. Right Now!

I love the description of this piece. Remember those Fruitella chewy candies? This is how it feels like! Word!

{Lateefa Bint Maktoum Al Maktoum} Lazer Flip

This was by far the most unique and conceptual skate design at the exhibition, the image engraved directly onto the original wooden surface. Of her design, Lateefa related a skater's tricks and movements as birds about to take flight. With that in mind, she wanted it to be playful, yet still referencing the roots of skateboarding, hence a surfer.

{Darwin Guevarra} Face to Face Basis

Drawing straight onto the board, Darwin's freehand quirky illustrations are just too cool.

{noella craves} arabic movie posters

Seeing that it's already the 13th of the month, here comes another {noella craves} post, featuring my latest obsession for this month. I don't know if it's the city girl in me living in modern Dubai lusting for some rustic and vintage-ness, but I have been preoccupied with drooling over these loverly old movie posters. Be it the hand illustrated titles, painted portraits or the bold primary colors, these posters are craving to be framed and hung on my bedroom wall, or in the below case, stuffed with tissues.

Saudi designer Ayman Daydaban creates a collage of tissue boxes adorned with classic Arabic film posters from the 1940s-50s. 

Classic Arabic posters found via thunder-lulled

Clutch me

Look at these lovely arm candies by Sarah's Bag found over on Dia Boutique too bad I'm not a clutch person or else I probably would have stocked my cupboard with one of each design. The graphics and  retro colors makes these clutches one fashionable art piece.. and me super envious.

Egyptian singer 'Umm Kalthoum'

Vintage arabic Pepsi bottles

Lebanese singer and actress 'Sabah' in rainbow

Collage of old Egyptian movie posters