David & Nicolas
We think that it’s time to meet the Beirut designers David and Nicolas, who are under the spotlight of anyone with an aesthetic eye with their timeless designs in a retro-futuristic attitude, and their undivided attention to detail and coherence.
You are both from Beirut, Lebanon. What was it like growing up for you in terms of job prospects and what was expected of you?
Beirut is a vibrant city that you love and hate about 10 times per day. The energy that surrounds you can either bring you down or eventually open up doors you didn’t even know existed; it depends on how you surf the wave. What is certain, in our point of view, is that growing up here does kind of wider your options as you grow up in a city that does not function by the same rules as other cities and in which there is always a plan B, C, D and so on.
Creativity is a very personal process, yet you made a job out of working with one another. How do you complement each other?
Weirdly enough, we complement each other in pretty much everything; from thinking process to execution, marketing to management. We believe that it’s the shared vision that is interesting; we have the same targets and goals and the same passion, the rest is only noise.
Would you say that your work is more about creativity or being a good observer?
Our work is more about being good listeners and being able to translate and filter what surrounds us. Creativity exists in all kinds of jobs, and you need to be a good observer to find a creative way of dealing with any kind of task in your life. What we do is basically show our clients things they wouldn’t expect but that fits all the criteria they had in mind.
From having exhibitions in art galleries to creating tableware collections, you are involved in multiple projects at a time. Is your creative process different when designing for art and designing for functionality?
Of course not, the process is the same we just work with other ingredients.
What do you most admire about one another?
David: Nicolas’ perfectionism.
Nicolas: David’s liberty of mind.
You also have interior design projects. What is most important for you when designing a space?
The final picture; we build the project as if it was a snapshot, making sure there is good light, coherence, contrasts, exposure and of course harmony.
Which project are you excited about these days?
Well, we are super excited about the restaurant we are doing in Beirut. It is our first public space and we had the chance to be able to draw every single piece that is in the project, from the tile to the lamps. It should be open to public end of January.