Tamer Khalifa sits in the design studio that he created in his Sharjah home. Clint McLean for The National
Tamer Khalifa sits in the design studio that he created in his Sharjah home. Clint McLean for The National

Tamer Khalifa: Engineer by day but pop-art designer by night



It's like being on the set of The Big Bang Theory; vintage Superman posters line the walls, nifty gadgets crowd the counter tops and superhero figurines stand to attention on the shelves – Spider-Man, The Hulk, Thor, Darth Vader, Captain America and, unless I'm mistaken, He-Man, all stare down at me as I make my way across the room.

“My son is very jealous because I buy more toys than he does,” laughs Tamer Khalifa, as he shows us around the quirky design studio that he’s created in his Sharjah home. “I’m a big Marvel Comics fan. It’s a fascinating world, because it doesn’t have any ­boundaries.”

The obsession with Marvel seems fitting. By day, Khalifa is an aircraft engineer; by night, a freelance furniture designer. At present, his pop-art home accessories are sold by a range of Dubai retailers, including O’de Rose, Objekts of Design, ­O-Concept, Iris Noir, ValleyDez and, most recently, Interior 360. And the self-taught Khalifa is no respecter of constraints. Much like the characters that crowd his workspace, once he decides to do something, he goes out and gets it done, he says. “The moral of the story is I go for it; I don’t wait for it to come to me.”

This particular tale starts with a simple Nikon camera. “We were living in Saudi. My father used to travel a lot and one day he came back with a very basic Nikon, with normal film. I asked him if I could use it and he said: ‘If you can work out how to use it, you can keep it.’ I was 9 or 10 years old. There was no YouTube at the time, and no real way for me to teach myself, so it was a case of trial and error. I started buying film with my own pocket money and basically just burnt a lot of film.”

Khalifa’s passion for photography grew, but when it came to selecting a university degree, he knew, as a dutiful Arab son, that he had to choose something more practical. He opted for engineering, but used his time at the American University of Cairo to hone his photography skills. “I started asking my friends if I could take pictures of them – some of them were aspiring models, so I would take photos of them and then give them the pictures.”

After his degree, Khalifa returned to Saudi Arabia, but there was limited scope for him to further develop his passion for photography until he moved to Dubai nine years ago. By then, his focus had shifted from fashion to interior photography, which, in turn, inspired him to explore ways of combining photography with furniture design. He began designing cushions, which were quickly picked up by O’de Rose, and then moved onto throws, bean bags, poufs and larger, more substantial furniture items. Today, his portfolio includes everything from Umm Kulthum cushions and ­Marvel-inspired stools to wooden side tables and weekender bags made from neoprene (the material used for diving suits).

From the very beginning, Khalifa’s work has been defined by his love of colour. “I’ve always been fascinated by colour throughout my life. And I think one of the types of art that best utilises colour is pop art, so I wanted to specialise in pop art. But having Arabic roots, I thought why not take that history that we have and revive it in a way that is cool?”

Umm Kulthum, one of Khalifa’s heroes, makes a star appearance in that thinking – on cushions, stools and various other surfaces – as do other Arab stars of old, including Shadia, Sabah, Lobna Abdel Aziz and Omar Sharif. It is a style that is becoming increasingly popular, but Khalifa sets himself apart by not being entirely restricted by this Arabian-inspired aesthetic – his products are as likely to feature Elvis Presley, King Kong, comic-book heroes or elephants (the latter photographed by Khalifa while on safari in Kenya). There’s also the Patch Me Up Dr collection, which takes different types of fabrics from around the world and patches them together to create colourful, textural furniture. And, crucially, objects can be completely customised. “I would like to be known as a ‘can-do-it-all’ ­designer,” he says.

In the future, Khalifa hopes to design carpets, as well as products that are multifunctional and that will appeal to all the senses. “I want to create a product that you can touch, hear and smell. For example, I am working on some Kulthum cushions that are fitted with a ­recorder, so you can just tap on it and listen to some of her music.”

The common theme across Khalifa’s creations is a sense of simplicity and nostalgia. And for all the “stuff” in his workspace, one thing is notable in its absence: the amount of technology used. There is a simple PC in the corner of the room – no Mac, no big screens, no fuss. “Everything in my life is basic,” he says. “The way I dress, my camera, ­everything. Yes, technology is evolving, but I use the minimum amount of technology that I can to produce the goods that I create.

“I love vintage. A lot of people think that designs used to be simple. But it actually had a deep meaning behind it. If you look at old black-and-white movies, especially in Egypt, the way that people dressed, the way that people talked, the settings, the way that everything looked perfect – these are the kinds of things I notice as a designer. And that’s because everything at the time was perfect.

“Through modernisation and our move towards the digital world, I think that we are moving away from perfection. In the old days, to produce a setting that had to look perfect, you had to work hard to make it so; and you couldn’t go back and change it afterwards. A part of me wants to go back to those old days – when people really made the effort to create something.”

sdenman@thenational.ae

MATCH INFO

Manchester City 3 (Sterling 46', De Bruyne 65', Gundogan 70')

Aston Villa 0

Red card: Fernandinho (Manchester City)

Man of the Match: Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)

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Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

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How to wear a kandura

Dos

  • Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
  • Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
  • Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work 
  • Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts 

  • Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal 
  • Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
  • Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
  • Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
  • Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
 
 
Going grey? A stylist's advice

If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”

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Brave CF 27 fight card

Welterweight:
Abdoul Abdouraguimov (champion, FRA) v Jarrah Al Selawe (JOR)

Lightweight:
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Mzwandile Hlongwa (RSA) v Khamzat Chimaev (SWE)

Middleweight:
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Mohammad Fakhreddine (LEB) v Christofer Silva (BRA)

Super lightweight:
Alex Nacfur (BRA) v Dwight Brooks (USA)

Bantamweight:
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Chris Corton (PHI) v Zia Mashwani (PAK)

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
'The worst thing you can eat'

Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.

Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines: 

Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.

Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.

Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.

Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.

Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”