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Destinations · Asia · lebanon · Beirut · Where to shop · Design

Bokja

Author: Anothertravelguide.com0 COMMENTS

Bokja

The Bokja interior design store is a destination in itself. As you cross the establishment's threshold, you will get the impression that you have entered a display of Christian Lacroix high fashion, only the items being featured are not designer clothes, but designer furniture. Each item is like a painting, an awe-inspiring work of art. Each has its own story and patina.

Bokja was created by two Lebanese women, Maria Hibri and Hoda Baroudi. In truth, Bokja is not really a store, but rather a unique, design laboratory, where old and outdated objects acquire a completely new life. Bokja scours markets and antique stores for vintage furniture items from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, dusts them off and repairs them, and finally envelopes them in a colourful array of recycled textiles from all around the world.

Hibri is a former antique furniture seller, while Baroudi's passion has always been antique textiles, which she makes sure to bring back home with her after every trip abroad, amassing a huge collection in the process. Uzbeki national fabrics, Damascene brocade, Chinese silk, Lebanese traditional costume materials and all kinds of other textiles are put together in a unique, Bokja-style patchwork technique that results in a poetic symbiosis of design and culture.

In some cases, more than 20 cloth patterns from all corners of the globe may be used to cover a single chair or sofa. The creative inspiration that one draws from a visit to this store is so powerful that it remains etched in one's memory for a long time after one's visit to Beirut. Small wonder that after visiting the store, the legendary, French shoe designer Christian Laboutin decided to feature at least one piece of Bokja furniture in each of his shoe boutiques.

Mukhalassiya Street, Blg 332, Safi Village

Posted 04/2010

 

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