An illuminating collaboration for Lebanon
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Illuminating the darkness is the focus of not-for-profit House of Today’s new initiative, the latest in its mission to give Lebanese designers a global platform. The Candle Project matches 10 designers with artisans from the workshop of Beit Chabab Hospital, which teaches craft skills to patients with disabilities, to create candles (from $400) supporting Beit Chabab, the designers and House of Today.
“A candle is not only an object of decor, but an object that softens the atmosphere of a space,” say David Raffoul and Nicolas Moussallem, whose geometric candle STRAT references the country’s mountainous landscape and its brutalist architecture. “Once lit, it enhances the visual, as well as our emotional experience.”
The collection took a year to come to fruition, guided by Roukoz Moussallem, a war veteran in Beit Chabab. Other striking pieces include Aline Asmar d’Amman’s blush-pink Aspiration, an angular interpretation of the Our Lady of Lebanon statue in Harissa, and Sinking sun for another one by Richard Yasmine. “The project challenges the notion that endings are inherently melancholic,” says Yasmine. “It represents a profound exploration of regeneration and the understanding that transitions can be illuminated with hope and positivity.”
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