Where do you live and how long have you lived there?
I moved to Copenhagen a year ago with my husband, Martin, and our son to live and work in a converted pencil factory. We have two apartments, opposite one another - one is our Ferm Living showroom and design studio; the other is our home.
What made you choose the property?
We love the industrial building - the exposed pipes, the high windows, the bare concrete floors. Our son is almost three, so it's handy to have a flexible arrangement, where we work from home. The commute is great - we just open a door and we're in the office! It can also be a bit dangerous, because we never really leave work.
What does your home say about you?
That I am a big fan of classic and vintage furniture. My style is retro-meets-modern - I often look to the 1950s and 1960s for ideas, then incorporate the designs into something new.
What is the key to creating a happy home?
I love having one main spacious living space where we eat, work and play - everyone all together. It's good to rearrange your belongings regularly, too. Sometime I gather up all of our possessions - all the accessories, everything - and put them all in the middle of the room on the dining table. Then, I clean everywhere and start rearranging things from scratch with a blank canvas, to give the whole room a fresh look. It's very cathartic.
Which item could no home of yours be without?
My B&B Italia sofa by Patricia Urquiola. It's huge and heavy, but I adore it. It's a sandy colour with a grape-purple section and it's my pride and joy.
Where do you like to shop for pieces for your home?
In the famous Strøget area of Copenhagen, there's a shop called Illums Bolighus. It's three heavenly floors of Danish designer furniture and accessories. I'm obsessed with second-hand buys, too. We've bought a lot of our vintage furniture from an online auction site called Lauritz.com. We recently did a photo shoot in a small town where there were lots of cheap junk shops and I picked up four wonderful 1960s chairs.
Do you incorporate elements of your work into your home, or do you like to keep your domestic environment separate?
We have lots of our own products at home. In fact, we have an unwritten rule that we shouldn't sell anything we wouldn't buy ourselves. Often, the reason we design something is because we can't find it anywhere else. That's how the whole company started, actually: in 2005, I wanted some wallpaper for a bedroom and just couldn't find the right pattern, so I decided to make my own.
What are you working on right now?
We've just finished our Autumn/Winter 2011 collection - the catalogue is being printed right now.
What are you inspired by?
Geometry is a huge influence at the moment. Also, Scandinavian nature always inspires us - the raw landscapes and natural materials. I always choose wood over plastic and I'm really into graphic prints, too. We're lucky to have inherited a great history of furniture design in Denmark - we're very proud of that tradition and we want to carry it on in our own way.
Who are your favourite designers?
It changes from season to season. I like Donna Wilson's designs - although she's Scottish, her style is very Danish in feel, and I love her humour.
How would you describe your interior style?
We have a very Scandinavian look, which is best described as old-meets-new.
If you could live anywhere else in the world, where would it be?
The dream scenario would be to have houses in two or three places. I love Denmark in the summer, but we have long periods of greyness and rain in the winter so it's quite bleak. A lot of Danish people have houses in Majorca and go there for the winter. That would be nice.
How do you like to relax?
My parents have a house on the west coast. It's a wild and rugged area and so quiet - I can enjoy the fresh air, switch my phone off and completely unwind.
What is the best way to simply and instantly update a room?
Wallpaper. You can make a huge change even on a small budget. Just papering one wall with one roll will totally alter your space in an afternoon.
Company Profile
Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
Company Profile
Company name: Cargoz
Date started: January 2022
Founders: Premlal Pullisserry and Lijo Antony
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 30
Investment stage: Seed
Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
Coal Black Mornings
Brett Anderson
Little Brown Book Group
J Street Polling Results
97% of Jewish-Americans are concerned about the rise in anti-Semitism
76% of US Jewish voters believe Donald Trump and his allies in the Republican Party are responsible for a rise in anti-Semitism
74% of American Jews agreed that “Trump and the Maga movement are a threat to Jews in America"
The five pillars of Islam
SPEC SHEET: SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FLIP5
Display: Main – 6.7" FHD+ Dynamic Amoled 2X, 2640 x 1080, 22:9, 425ppi, HDR10+, up to 120Hz; cover – 3/4" Super Amoled, 720 x 748, 306ppi
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, 4nm, octa-core; Adreno 740 GPU
Memory: 8GB
Capacity: 256/512GB
Platform: Android 13, One UI 5.1.1
Main camera: Dual 12MP ultra-wide (f/2.2) + 12MP wide (f/1.8), OIS
Video: 4K@30/60fps, full-HD@60/240fps, HD@960fps
Front camera: 10MP (f/2.2)
Battery: 3700mAh, 25W fast charging, 15W wireless, 4.5W reverse wireless
Connectivity: 5G; Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC (Samsung Pay)
I/O: USB-C
Cards: Nano-SIM + eSIM; no microSD slot
Colours: Cream, graphite, lavender, mint; Samsung.com exclusives – blue, grey, green, yellow
In the box: Flip 4, USB-C-to-USB-C cable
Price: Dh3,899 / Dh4,349
LAST-16 FIXTURES
Sunday, January 20
3pm: Jordan v Vietnam at Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
6pm: Thailand v China at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: Iran v Oman at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Monday, January 21
3pm: Japan v Saudi Arabia at Sharjah Stadium
6pm: Australia v Uzbekistan at Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: UAE v Kyrgyzstan at Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tuesday, January 22
5pm: South Korea v Bahrain at Rashid Stadium, Dubai
8pm: Qatar v Iraq at Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Company profile
Company name: Fasset
Started: 2019
Founders: Mohammad Raafi Hossain, Daniel Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $2.45 million
Current number of staff: 86
Investment stage: Pre-series B
Investors: Investcorp, Liberty City Ventures, Fatima Gobi Ventures, Primal Capital, Wealthwell Ventures, FHS Capital, VN2 Capital, local family offices
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
A QUIET PLACE
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn, Djimon Hounsou
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
The specs
Engine: 77kWh 2 motors
Power: 178bhp
Torque: 410Nm
Range: 402km
Price: Dh,150,000 (estimate)
On sale: TBC
Frida
Director: Carla Gutierrez
Starring: Frida Kahlo
Rating: 4/5
Company profile
Date started: May 2022
Founder: Husam Aboul Hosn
Based: DIFC
Sector: FinTech — Innovation Hub
Employees: eight
Stage: pre-seed
Investors: pre-seed funding raised from family and friends earlier this year
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile
Company: Wafeq
Started: January 2019
Founder: Nadim Alameddine
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: software as a service
Funds raised: $3 million
Investors: Raed Ventures and Wamda, among others
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Haltia.ai
Started: 2023
Co-founders: Arto Bendiken and Talal Thabet
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: AI
Number of employees: 41
Funding: About $1.7 million
Investors: Self, family and friends
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Land between Two Rivers: Writing in an Age of Refugees
Tom Sleigh, Graywolf Press
Confirmed bouts (more to be added)
Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
Nick Diaz v Vicente Luque
Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
Deiveson Figueiredo v Marlon Vera
Mackenzie Dern v Loopy Godinez
Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Company profile
Name: Yodawy
Based: Egypt
Founders: Karim Khashaba, Sherief El-Feky and Yasser AbdelGawad
Sector: HealthTech
Total funding: $24.5 million
Investors: Algebra Ventures, Global Ventures, MEVP and Delivery Hero Ventures, among others
Number of employees: 500
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Klipit
Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
Funding: $4 million
Investors: Privately/self-funded
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: DarDoc
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founders: Samer Masri, Keswin Suresh
Sector: HealthTech
Total funding: $800,000
Investors: Flat6Labs, angel investors + Incubated by Hub71, Abu Dhabi's Department of Health
Number of employees: 10
Results
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1hr 32mins 03.897sec
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull-Honda) at 0.745s
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 37.383s
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) 46.466s
5.Sergio Perez (Red Bull-Honda) 52.047s
6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 59.090s
7. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) 1:06.004
8. Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari) 1:07.100
9. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri-Honda) 1:25.692
10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1:26.713,
Villains
Queens of the Stone Age
Matador
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.