The product, so to speak, is simply the result – but behind it there is much, much more. The Shurouq collection by FROMM., on showcased during Fuorisalone, is the outcome of a wide-ranging rigorous design process conducted by a variety of players, part of larger global team. The creative concept starts in Qatar, the product development in Milan, the manufacturing is done in Brianza, and the distribution is international. Only in this way can a décor proposal come to life, capable of directly addressing new generations of consumers, who live and work in new hybrid spaces all over the world. Consumers who are interested in exploring new solutions, drawing on both innovation and tradition.
This is the intention behind FROMM., a company and a design platform headquartered in Doha, which puts local creativity (specifically that of Qatar) under the same roof with Italian and international design and global markets. The FROMM. adventure begins with its founder, Alia Rachid, and her desire to encourage young talents to approach new networks of the world, interpreting the needs of today and tomorrow. To get beyond boundaries – of both geography and creativity – the solution glimpsed has been that of collaboration: an effective formula in its essential simplicity.
Haima’ armchair by FROMM., Design Maryam Al Suwaidi
Alia Rachid, Founder and CEO of FROMM.
Which means connecting young designers with industry professionals and companies, as the first step along with research (what are the current needs of the new generations?) and design (learning directly from industry professionals in the FROMM. team), all the way to production (producing pieces where the best expertise for that particular piece is) and distribution through various sales channels and retailers worldwide. The prototyping is done in Brianza, while the production happens in locations selected for their precise know-how, the most suitable for a given project.
What emerges from this virtuous circuit that starts and ends with the consumer is an avant-garde model of collaboration and cultural hybridization, which includes all the loftiest values of design: human beings at the center, innovation of thinking and action, the local contribution, the educational approach, experimental creativity taken to implementation, all the way to sustainability and social responsibility. In this perspective, FROMM. can truly be defined as a ‘design hub’ that offers concrete opportunities to young talents, providing them with the tools and models with which contemporary project scenarios are created.
The Shurouq Collection by Design Platform FROMM.
Past, present and future in a single vision, aptly symbolized in the logo: FROMM. means “From Msheireb,” where Msheireb is a up and coming area in the city of Doha, the state capital. Hence the choice of the logo’s component forms: squares and quarter circles that link back to the Middle Eastern technique of banna’i, dating to the 8th century, which translates the curved lines of Arabic calligraphy into lines and angles. And the colors: warm, natural, material, contemporary dove gray, intense and energetic golden yellow. This mixture of heritage and timeliness is also evident in the Shurouq Collection designed by Shua’a Ali and Maryam Al Suwaidi, winners of a design competition held by FROMM. to seek talents to work on the company’s first line of furnishings. Eight products – including coffee tables, cabinets, lamps and seating – that fuse Arabian cultural identity into the challenges presented by globalization. The Shurouq collection will be displayed in the FROMM. showroom at Via Savona 35 in Milan.
