In a country that likes art to be safe, a new generation of edgier artists is pushing Saudi Arabia into the contemporary art world. They are finding an international audience – and fetching record prices. One of Saudi Arabia’s leading designers who work more discretely than the rest with select clientele, Rasha Alfaraj is a true gifted talent. Having lived part of her life in Great Britain and Germany she has accumulated a world of proficiency in the history and the making of interiors and modern sculpture. In a very short interview in her own words she says mockingly when asked about quality and value ” Quality! Everybody says we are the best in our field we have quality and standards, and also everybody says our pieces are one of a kind, I think this has to do with lousy old sales tactics that worked in the late eighties when customization was scarce and was perceived as something out of reach for many but not now! Not when machines are writing your name on your phone and toilet paper, I mean how special can you be!…really”. So our guys were intrigued by that statement and kept asking about value and what adds it to any product or brand? She replied: ” that is the whole problem, you are asking! Value is never given to anything from what the maker says about it, on the contrary value is given to you, you earn it value is plane and simple perception, others are the ones that value the thing they purchase, of course it is perceived by how it is presented but that still reflects much on the core of the maker not with repetitive sales phrases that are so outdated and definitely not with today’s consumer who has seen and heard too much about customization and quality.” She insists that Great Design is the basis of any successful brand with the right consumers who look for that product and value it. “There should be no talking done when a piece is presented, they either love it or they don’t”. For more information or to get in touch with Rasha, do not hesitate to visit the link below.
