Grapevine // February 2024
Clay, flowers, collage, a song, and old graffiti
Grapevine is a monthly list of recommended things to read (books not links), think about, experience, or see (mostly in Lebanon) including art exhibits, films, performances, or anything that I found inspiring. Think of it as a curated moodboard of micro-utopias that is up-to-date and focuses more on the physical rather than the digital.
Patricia Assaly.
During a COVID doomscroll in 2020, I found Patricia’s Instagram. It was still a new account but it had shots of beautiful, beige ceramics. Mugs of naked clay with horizontal stripes in white glaze. I ordered two matching mugs (one for a friend) and when Patricia and I met for the exchange, I then realized we already knew each other. She was a former colleague from my days in advertising. She thought that’s why I was buying her creations so early on in her brand building but I didn’t know they were hers as she had a new surname after getting married. I wasn’t doing any favors of encouragement, I just loved her work.
I took my mug with me to LA. I liked the size and the feel of the hardened clay in my hands. It would be part of the new chapter there with me.
But then I dropped it because I’m a klutz. It shattered. I shattered. It felt like a sign of something deeper because I think everything is. Once I was back in Beirut, I got in touch with Patricia for a new mug.
I bought the one-off vase of hers in the photo above from Fabrica Design Platform, which also functions as a studio that runs ceramic workshops —including one hosted by Patricia!
Josephine, or “Josephine Flowers” as she’s saved in my phone, is the creative mind behind Malfoof, a cultural event space in Geitawi. She’s also the florist behind Malfoof Flowers and the flower stand at Mar Mikhael’s Saturday farmers’ market, Souk el Tayeb. She recently launched Flower Fridays where you can come to the studio from 10am - 4pm to pick out local flowers for a bouquet (of your budget) all while enjoying coffee and baked goods.
The bouquet I got blossomed for the following 10 days and its changing form gave me so much joy each of those mornings. It was replenished the day before my birthday with a new batch of mimosas, anemones, ranunculus, eucalyptus, and cabbage roses.
Rusted Radishes and Malateet Cookies.
I had casual birthday drinks with some friends during happy hour at molo in Badaro. Rusted Radishes, a bilingual literary and art journal produced here in Beirut, had the same idea for the launch of their eleventh issue, Labor & Idleness. This was on Valentine’s Day and the combo created a fun crowd.
A surprise gift: I gave extra slices of cake to some people that were sitting in the garden and two turned out to be Aanab subscribers (if you’re reading this, hi Nour and friend!). One of the top highlights of my night.