Fouad Qeblawi is the CEO and co-founder of Qeblawi Brooks, a Dubai-based creative studio delivering elegant and considered interiors throughout the UAE, India and Nigeria. Fouad was previously Head of Private Commissions at Candy & Candy, prior to founding the esteemed design studio 1508 London in 2009.
If I were a SONG, I would choose Rocket Man by Elton John. I have always been fascinated by space and mesmerised by its beauty and complexity. I feel humbled by how minuscule our world actually is and grateful at how infinitely rare it is.
If I were an ANIMAL, I would like to be an octopus. Related to humble slugs and snails, the octopus is the ultimate survivor; it uses its intelligence and guile to adapt to and dominate any environment in which it finds itself.
If I were a BOOK, I would choose The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho because I believe in following your dreams. If you really want something badly and follow your heart, the whole universe will conspire to help you.
If I were a CITY, I would be Istanbul, straddling two continents where East meets West, a melting pot of religions and ethnicities resulting in one of the most incredible food scenes I have ever come across.
If I were an ICE-CREAM FLAVOUR, I would be Heston Blumenthal’s iconic bacon-and-egg ice-cream because it’s daring yet comforting, and although I only ever had it once I can still recall its taste clearly.
If I were a TREE, I would be a fig tree, because I have the fondest memory of picking figs with my grandfather in Damascus when I was ten. The tree was bursting with what seemed to me to be millions of fruits; the sweetest figs I had ever tasted. I absolutely love the scent of fig which transports me back to that summer I spent with my grandparents in Syria.
