< PreviousRADAR Inside Story 56 admiddleeast.comPhotography Xxxx Photography Aisha Al Shabrawy The family behind Egypt’s oldest carpet making company has bold plans for its future Floor Show AD_047_56-59_Radar_Inside Story_12650555.indd 5605/10/2022 12:33:57 PMABOVE FROM LEFT: Mohamed El Kahhal with a design from the Nazar collection by Aya & Mounaz Abdelraouf; Reform carpet by Engi Jaouda. OPPOSITE PAGE FROM LEFT: Bosaina, Abdallah and Mohamed El Kahhal. I f no one had innovated in this country, in 10 years this whole industry would have died,” says Mohamed El Kahhal. “There used to be 50 or 60, massive companies making handmade carpets in Egypt. Now there are two.” Both of them are connected to the El Kahaal name. Mohamed vividly recalls getting a call from his father Abdallah in 2016 about joining the family business, which was being divided: “He was in partnership with his brother and they were the fourth generation. Dad said ‘we’re going to split the factories and showrooms. I want you to come back and work with me’. So I came back. I really didn’t want to, but it changed my life.” Mohamed was just 21 years old and interning at an investment bank- ing fi rm in New York having recently gained a fi nance degree. During his American college years, the idea of living in Cairo again became increasingly less desirable. “I slowly started to detach from my roots and felt like I was changing as a person,” he explains. “When I got the call, it was a very big moment in my life, because I really didn’t want to do this but I felt like I had to because of the heritage. I couldn’t let our name disappear after 150 years. So, I got on a fl ight and came back.” A year of shadowing his father and visiting the factory to fully understand the business of traditionally dyeing and hand weaving rugs followed. At the time, the newly formed Kahhal 1871 only had 10 looms, which were producing safe, classic designs. Mohammed confesses that he wasn’t really into rugs or familiar with the design scene at the time, taking a dispassionate, practical approach to streamlining operations and researching how better to market the product. His ambition was to increase production and exports to historic highs: “In my grandfather’s era, before cheap, machine made rugs fl ooded the market, we had 1000 looms and were exporting all over the world. Kahhal was one of the biggest names in the Middle East and internationally.” He describes a visit to Domotex (the biggest fl ooring conference in Germany) as ‘the moment that changed everything’. It opened his eyes to possibilities of rebranding the busi- ness and exploring fresh products using tradi- tional techniques. “I realised that you could market it with a modern face,” he says. “I came back fi red up with a mission.” Confl ict arose when Mohamed began working on new designs. Creating stock is expensive and time consuming (it can take 6 months to weave a rug) so his father was reluctant to approve it. Instead, Mohamed was put to work on custom orders. “Gradually I had a database of new designs and I could clearly see a trend in what people were asking for: more minimal but still authentic designs in neutral tones. It was frustrating that people had to wait six months for them.” As an experiment, Mohamed produced 50 designs using his own money without his father knowing and sold them through a design gallery on a commission basis. They sold out within two weeks. “When my dad saw that it worked, he allowed me to buy fi ve more AD_047_56-59_Radar_Inside Story_12650555.indd 5705/10/2022 12:34:08 PMRADAR Inside Story 58 admiddleeast.com looms to start producing the designs,” he says. “Now, we have 150 working looms. I want to get to a point where the company has 1000 weavers again.” But growing Kahhal 1871 comes with the responsibility of ensuring the workfl ow and orders are sustainable to keep the weavers employed. “My father warned me that once we take them on, we can’t stop paying them if there isn’t enough demand.” Now, his part- ners in the business are his cousin, Dara Abdel Aziz, and his sister, the fashion stylist, Bosaina El Kahhal. “She’s the creative director,” he says of his sibling. “She helped me with choos- ing the right designers that could help not only with design innovation, but make the brand look sexy. That’s what we’re going for.” But they are also mindful of balancing inno- vation and attention-grabbing activations with respect for the decades of craftsmanship and there’s a certain element of pride once they are happy with a challenging rug. Now they have started coming to me with ideas, which is great.” Mohamed insists that Kahhal 1871 is much more than just a carpet brand and the incen- tive for growth isn’t just monetary. “It’s about being part of a family of artisans and preserv- ing something important. Craftsmanship in general is a huge thing in Egypt, but I feel like we don’t really get the opportunity to shine as much as others abroad – say in Dubai or London – because they have more accessible platforms.” To this end, he launched Outloud, a project involving 14 Middle Eastern designers who were invited to create carpets that celebrated the craft through novel designs. Unveiled at an exhibition in Cairo’s restored art deco Cinema Radio, the results were as diverse and impressive as the role call of collaborators, which included architect and designer Cherif Morsi, co-founders of fashion brand Okhtein, Mounaz and Aya Abdel Raouf, AD50 interior designer Yasmina Makram and celebrated architect Karim Mekhtigian. “We have amaz- ing designers and the whole design scene is blowing up in Cairo,” says Mohamed. “I can’t believe what’s happening in this country. Egypt is a beautiful place and I absolutely love it here after years of not being very comfort- able. I found myself in my work. Through that I was able to enjoy everything else.” kahhal1871.com – TALIB CHOUDHRY that have come before. The goal is to preserve the legacy of artisanal making while ensuring it remains vital and relevant to contemporary customers. Some of the weavers have been part of the company for 50 years with family ties that also go back fi ve generations. How did they react to him coming into the work- shop with his new-found American swagger? “My dad warned me when I fi rst joined that they’d give me a hard time. His advice was ‘speak to them with respect and try to work together – they don’t work for you’. The crafts- men are very, very invested in the company and obviously, they feel there’s a certain ‘right’ way of doing things, because that’s how it’s always been done. At fi rst, if I gave them a new design they’d make excuses and say they couldn’t do it. But I just kept pushing and encouraging and explaining to them why it was important. Eventually they fl ew with it TOP RIGHT: A design from the Nazar collection by Aya & Mounaz Abdelraouf. OPPOSITE PAGE: Pop Art rug by Mohammed Fares, architect and chief designer at Alchemy Design. AD_047_56-59_Radar_Inside Story_12650555.indd 5805/10/2022 12:34:26 PMAD_047_56-59_Radar_Inside Story_12650555.indd 5905/10/2022 12:34:52 PMAD X JUBAIL ISLAND 60 admiddleeast.com In Abu Dhabi’s magical mangroves, Jubail Island, a game-changing new residential enclave is taking shape Living Nature J ust a stone’s throw away from the Louvre and nestled within Abu Dhabi’s verdant mangroves, Jubail Island, an upcoming resi- dential development in the emirate, has achieved some- thing that is still a rarity when it comes to top- of-the-line real estate: a harmonious relation- ship with nature. A low impact, low density se lement with six distinct districts seam- lessly woven across natural landscapes and marine waterways, it is slated to become an invigorating and serene living environment that will bring people and nature together like never before. Jubail Island covers a staggering 5,000 hectares of mangrove forests and coastal estuaries, with more than 30km of waterfront. The mangrove and saltmarsh communities o er refuge to myriad wildlife: from rare migratory birds such as the Eurasian Oystercatcher and flamingos, to Ospreys with 180cm wingspans. Elsewhere, majestic Gazelles roam the land that’s been rejuvenat- ed with over 420,000 young plants. It is around this magical se ing that the developers have envisioned a haven of upscale living overlooking Abu Dhabi’s sky- line, and brimming with exclusive amenities. In AD_047_60-61_PROMO_Jubail_12620317.indd 6004/10/2022 10:20:40 PMaddition to private schools, mosques, clinics, retail and recreation, the district will be home to Marfa Al Jubail, a yacht club with a 66-berth marina and the Jubail Mangrove Park. A one- of-a-kind, self-contained educational, nature and leisure destination, the park has already received a slew of visitors including HRH Prince William, the Prince of Wales, whose commitment to ecological conservation has seen him spearheading many new initiatives. Inspired by this impressive, nature-bound location, an array of luxurious, elegantly designed villas, apartments and townhouses are bestowed with spacious rooms and open areas that allow life inside to seamlessly flow into the outdoors. Fine natural materials such as marble and wood complement the ele- gantly landscaped districts do ed with a series of scenic corridors that capitalize on the unique location. While the villas – that come in contempo- rary and Mediterranean styles – o er 4 to 6-bedroom options, the Souk Al Jubail town- house district caters to those looking for 2, 3 and 4-bedroom solutions. The walkable resi- dential neighbourhood will also feature an amphitheatre, plazas and green spaces with playgrounds. In le ing nature lead the way and by work- ing with it, rather than against it, Jubail Island has laid the blueprint for something truly spe- cial: a unique destination that when complete, will feel like a luxury getaway, but one that you never have to leave. jubailisland.ae THIS PAGE FROM TOP With their large windows, Jubail Island’s contemporary villas bring nature indoors; the light- lled, sleek interiors; the project's low rise, low density development puts nature rst. OPPOSITE PAGE FROM TOP The district is envisioned around Abu Dhabi’s mangroves; a Mediterranean villa from inside; soaring arches, pitched roofs and an ear hy palet e give it a unique identity. 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The brand scales new heights of quiet luxury – even details you can’t see are superbly craf ed and engineered. OPPOSITE PAGE: LINDBERG thintanium, 5507. Discreetly elegant designs of er high comfor due to individual t ing and exceptionally light-weight materials. AD_047_62-66_PROMO_Lindberg_12633623.indd 6504/10/2022 10:22:54 PMNext >