At just 28, Rami Farook has achieved a lot; he has his own business, is one of the UAE's most celebrated designers and was this month chosen to represent the Emirates at an international entrepreneur competition.
He is also married with two young children. But far from being content, the Emirati innovator has grand plans to go global in the not too distant future.
"My dad has been making stationary and paper products for the past 20 years and we're all proud when we go to New York and see 'made in UAE' on items," says Farook, who spent five years working with his father.
Although he still looks up to him for inspiration, the entrepreneur is walking his own path to success in the design industry and trying to put the UAE on the map as a reputable manufacturing country.
Farook will launch Local later this year – hopefully at Milan Design Week – which will produce furniture from regional and sustainable resources, while also increasing his work force from the current 50 employees spread across his already burgeoning design empire.
"Everything will be designed and manufactured locally but we also have plans to bring designers here from overseas," he says.
"As a designer I try to balance form with function but making use of homegrown resources is coming more into perspective. It's also important to make products affordable, especially at times like this," he says.
In the meantime, Farook has been concentrating on the British Council's International Young Design Entrepreneur (IYDE) Award, for which he will represent the UAE at the finals in England next month.
He was chosen from a shortlist of five to go on and compete against winners from eight other nations during the 10-day final during which they will visit retailers, manufacturers and institutes in the design industry before producing a presentation to win the £5,000 (Dh30,532) grant to develop business links in the United Kingdom.
"It's important to have local recognition and to be chosen as the UAE entry. Normally when there are competitions of this nature, 85 per cent of non-Nationals win so the fact I have makes it more special," he says.
It is something the designer, whose works range from a few hundred dirhams to hundreds of thousands of dirhams, has been building up for a number of years. Although he studied marketing, management and psychology at Boston University, Farook took a change of direction five years after working for his father when he opened Traffic almost two years ago.
As the Middle East's first design gallery, Traffic, in Al Barsha, combines a gallery with a studio, library and shop, providing a platform for emerging artists to display their work along side such established names as Karim Rashid and Frank Ghery. They also launched a competition two years ago to uncover hidden talent with entries coming from 16 cities, including Palestine.
"There's a lot of dialogue in Traffic and our new artists can learn from the established ones," he says, adding that some of their most prestigious branding projects have been that for the UAE's involvement on the Venice Biennial and Palestinian pavilion at Art Dubai.
And having seen his father's business go international, it must be an amazing feeling to now be having the same success.
"For sure. It's great to be in London and New York and we've sold to Washington, Amsterdam and Italy so it's catching on. When I started working with my dad, the idea was to work with stationary designers in the UAE and export some products throughout the region. I hope to do the same with my ventures, but realise we still have to import design because we are young," he says.
To that end, he is scouring the history books to see how Europe – and The Netherlands in particular – moved design into the modern era.
"I'm trying to find similarities in the design era in Holland in the 1950s and the UAE today. Holland used to look to the United States and United Kingdom for inspiration but now it's well established I can look there for it," he says.
"It started towards the beginning of the industrial era and companies created demand for education by moving design forward. It was about using philosophy and psychology to give design an all-rounded approach and that's what I'd like to see in the UAE."
Farook, who is also a member of the Sheikh Mohammed Establishment for Young Business Leaders, is returning home to Dubai from London this week and will be straight back to juggling his multiple businesses. Perhaps not surprisingly, given his work ethic, he is not yet content. On top of Traffic and Local, Farook has also run contracting company Camouflage since February last year. The workshop specialises in wood and metal work but also has an interiors arm, all of which, like Local, are sourced close to home.
But his story doesn't stop there. Although he has until recently concentrated on art, he is developing a flair for textiles while taking on more of a managerial role within the company.
"I've been making a lot of my own clothes; suits, shirts and trousers but still want to be hands-on in the business and enjoy designing spaces but then pass on the concept for the designers to put together," he explains.
As one of the country's leading designers, Farook is is also keen to impart some of his wisdom to the architects of tomorrow. On top of his design competition he has also been mentoring and critiquing students from various universities in Dubai and Sharjah and guiding them to become better artists. And when talking to him, it is obvious he is just as passionate about education as he is about his work.
"I'm very dedicated to education," he says.
"Dubai has done a good job of promoting its name. When you think of it it's on a superstar level but it's a bit vague and superficial with big buildings. Now we need to concentrate on the people and their creations. If you look at universities, they only started graduating people five years ago so you can't expect to see anything for another few years."
But in the meantime, he continues to take the UAE in a new direction aesthetically.
"We are changing the face of design. I'm lucky because I'm working from a clean slate but we won't know our true influence until other people come in and do what we're doing. I'm very proud of the team and the direction we have taken. We have people from different backgrounds and disciplines but when they come together it's like a jigsaw – they all fit together to create something unique."
Others changing the design landscape
Amna bin Hendi
Although not a designer herself, the CEO of Bin Hendi Enterprises is developing the fashion landscape by bringing some of the world's top labels and restaurants to the Emirates.
Sacha Jafri
The UAE-based painter has worked with the likes of Prince Charles and David Beckham and is now producing a set of 21 canvases that will be auctioned to support young Muslims around the world.
Rashid and Ahmed bin Shabib
The brothers have launched their own magazine, BrownBook, as well as Shelter, which provides office space designed to bring different creative entities together.
Hetel Pawani
The owner of The JamJar holds regular exhibits giving vital exposure to local talent.
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