Orient 499

Orient 499 was founded in Beirut in 2006 by Frank Luca and Aida Kawas. They set out to build a Lebanese brand conceived in the country and produced there as well. For more than eighteen years the house has worked with artisans across Lebanon. It now employs over 200 of them directly and indirectly. Coppersmiths in Tripoli hand-hammer tableware to designs developed with the studio. Glass artisans in Sidon blow decanters and glassware. Soap makers and carpenters supply the rest of the range, together with embroiderers and couturiers. The clothing side runs to jellabas and abayas for women and men, some in Loro Piana cashmere. A made-to-order jellaba service sits beside the ready-made pieces. At home the offer covers hand-carved mother-of-pearl furniture as well as mirrors and lighting. The Mida collection of tables and stools was designed with the Lebanese duo david/nicolas. The Met Store in New York invited Orient 499 into its Heirloom Project. For it the house produced a handblown glass decanter after a 19th-century bottle in the museum's collection, and a jasmine-scented soap shaped like a grape cluster. The Beirut showroom stands at 499 Omar Daouk Street in Mina El Hosn. A second showroom operates at Alserkal Avenue in Dubai, and the online store ships worldwide from Lebanon.