With a launch at Zona Tortona 2010 in Milan, the Local line flies the flag for regional design

In the middle of the busy street of Via Savona in Milan, at the heart of Zona Tortona, a young brand of furniture and objects launched its debut collection. The venue was a car workshop which was left untouched for the launch, and standing beside heavy machinery, motors and tools were the whimsical pieces from Local.

Local is a line of furniture, clothing and objects from the UAE that utilises collaborations with artists, architects and designers. The idea of movement and collaboration is at the heart of the Local concept. The brand also sees designers and artists create product outside of their usual medium of choice – for example, an architect has designed seating for the line while a media artist has designed products.

Rami Farook, director of design studio Traffic, conceived Local with the goal of stimulating the design scene and economy of the UAE. An avid patron of art and design, and a regular visitor of Zona Tortona, he enjoyed his new place as exhibitor. “After coming to the Milan Design Week as a visitor and buyer it was nice to come back with works produced by the region for the world. We decided to keep our set up low key, laid back and free of gimmicks.”

The Local team celebrated the launch with a few of the designers present. Rita Nader flew in from Beirut while Fadi Sarieddine flew in from Dubai. Despite a few issues flying out of Milan (due to the volcanic ash cloud) the launch collection is now back in Dubai and was shown at an exhibition in traffic for one week starting May 11. 
www.localandco.ae

ABOUT TRAFFIC

Traffic is a Dubai-based multi-disciplinary art and design organisation founded in 2007 which includes a store, gallery and studio.