Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Age: 45
Occupation: Artist/designer.
Instagram: @omarchakil
Hometown: Paris and Cairo.
Studio location: Cairo, Paris, Beyrouth, and where I am, really.
Describe what you make: I try to materialize feelings and build cultural bridges through the creation of objects.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: In terms of size, the Naughty Cleo bathtub. In terms of resonance, the Birth chair, which broke a sales record for contemporary Egyptian Alabaster at a Piasa auction. My Nubia bookshelf is my favorite.
Describe the problem your work solves: I’m not sure they solve any problems, but I like to believe they help inspire people and bring them closer to notions of global awareness, long-term vision, slower trade, and desire for objects that last and resonate throughout several generations and stand the test of time.
Describe the project you’re working on now: Several installations for restaurants in London and Cairo, a customized collection for a new Egyptian design brand, and special pieces for clients in Paris, Mexico, and Geneva. Organic sconces installations for the first gastronomic Egyptian restaurant by the Pyramids and trying to develop new furniture for a wood specialist that combines my signature Egyptian alabaster with a new material while trying to hold the extreme simplicity of the shapes I like but still engage an active bond with the user and open multiple story lines.
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: The KHUFU restaurant by the Pyramids just opened. Light installation will be ready early 2023.
What you absolutely must have in your studio: The only thing I absolutely must have is my health, then a clear mind, some light, mineral water, a pen, paper and an eraser. Otherwise if I have to get bougie about it, I’d say a washed, peeled and sliced seasonal fruit, a daybed, a good pillow, a variety of semi-precious stones, a Diptyque or Mizensir candle, music by Erik Satie, Madonna, or Jane Birkin depending on the mood, Apartamento magazines, and anything from Yvon Lambert’s library in Paris.
What you do when you’re not working: I try to sleep.
Sources of creative envy: Alfred Hitchcock, Joseph Mankiewicz, India Mahdavi, Rome, Paris, London, New York, Cairo, Jane Birkin, Catherine Deneuve, Woody Allen, Andrée Putman, François Catroux, Charlie Chaplin, Nada Debs, Najla El Zein… .
The distraction you want to eliminate: Insects.
Concrete or marble? Marble.
High-rise or townhouse? Townhouse.
Remember or forget? Remember.
Aliens or ghosts? Ghosts.
Dark or light? Light.
