September 2016 | Issue # 207 w w w . b a z a a r . t o w n
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Int "Back To Life, Back To Reality", words sung by the infamous band Soul II Soul many many years ago and words that still apply perfectly to how one feels in Kuwait every September. The mass exodus is over, hundreds of thousands of people have recently streamed back in town, schools and universities have started classes again, traffic jams are back (oh how we missed you), and those glorious tans we all came back with are starting to fade away. All that remains now are those lingering memories of a carefree summer, combined with the occasional random Instagram or Facebook picture.
The bazaar team...
Here at bazaar HQ, we're too busy to have time to daydream about days gone by, since there is so much going on in K-town to write about that we can barely keep up! Bringing you the best of September, we’re starting off by announcing that it’s almost time for ArabNet and Nuqat! Next month brings us Kuwait’s first ArabNet conference – focusing on the Kuwait and GCC markets with highlights on the trends, startups and opportunities out there. The month after will bring us the region’s favorite creative conference, Nuqat! We have all the details about the year’s theme and their latest location.
Ahmed Al-Ashab
On the topic of creativity, we caught up with 3DPme’s founder Abdullah Alhussainan to discuss the future of 3D printing and all the fun things you can do with it! Seeking out a quiet haven to get your work done? Head to Nimsha Al-Kharji and Nouf Al-Ghanim’s new space: Magnet! With their incredible café and workspace, the ladies behind Magnet have all your needs covered!
Hala Y. Sharara
If, like us, you enjoy browsing for some alternative reading material – then our Truth or Dare is for you. Read up about Hisham Najem and his riveting online Manga series Shinigami Sensei – but be warned, it’s an addictive read. From awesome people to delicious food, we went ahead and discovered two incredible concepts. bazaar goes dining at an enchanting new Italian eatery tucked away in Al-Khaled Complex in Salmiya that goes by the name Vigonovo. As for those who are determined to sample every burger Kuwait has to offer – we ordered from the all-new Just C and loved it!
Boss Ahmed El-Adly
Operations Tim Burns
Business Development Ihab Mokalled
Design Content Coordinator/Staff Writer Yasmine El Charif
Staff Writer/Online Media Amira Haroun
Staff Writer Yasmine Dalloul
Communications Editor Alia Al Duaij
Contributing Writers Barry Rodrigues Natasha E. Feghali Nejoud Al-Yagout Rita Makhoul Dr. Susannah-Joy Schuilenberg
Contributing Photographers Muneera AlKhulaifi
Syndicates & Sources
For now, we leave you with this awesome collection of reads for you to enjoy. See you next month!
Baraka Bits Fast Company LA Times MCT International Newsweek
Happy reading!
Printing
Ahmed El-Adly
British Industries for Printing and Packaging
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w w w. b p aw w. c o m The views expressed in bazaar magazine are those of the respective contributors and not necessarily shared by the magazine or its staff (but sometimes they are).
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ABK
INDEX SEPTEMBER 2016 30
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40
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
HISHAM NAJEM
VIGONOVO
THE READING ROOM
This month’s Up Close and Personal segment finds us chatting with Nimsha Al-Kharji and Nouf Al-Ghanim: the creators behind the well-known and loved Magnet workspace. The two entrepreneurs open up their space’s doors to us to let us know the story behind Magnet, and themselves.
A manga made in Kuwait? It exists, and it’s amazing! Shinigami Sensei is an original manga written by born and bred local, Hisham Najem (when he’s not doing his day job!) and this month, we get to know the writer and what inspired him to tell his story. Believe us when we say, it’s a good one.
Do you have a penchant for fine Italian dining? Good news to all the foodies out there, there’s a new hidden gem in town! We visited Vigonovo and met with Chef Marco who whipped up some fresh, Italian delicacies for us to try out. Discover this fresh take on Mediterranean cuisine in this issue.
Brought to you by the ladies behind The Yard, Al Shaheed Park has a new establishment to add to their ever-growing family. The scenic Reading Room, a haven for books, gifts and relaxing moments in between. We wander into the beautiful space and chat with the masterminds behind this concept.
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SOSNEAKY
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PRINT IS BETTER
36
URBAN KUWAIT
3D printing is truly magical, but it’s even more magical when it’s accessible! This month, we met with Abdullah Alhussainan, founder of the service that not only 3D prints whatever your hearts may desire, but also rents out and sells the printers on a regular basis! Prepare to be amazed.
Sneakerheads, unite! There’s a new hub in town prepared to make all your stylish casual footwear dreams come true! We checked out this sister-owned store in the Behbehani Villas and we were definitely impressed – not only with the merchandise, but with the owners too!
Are you convinced that print media is dying? Are you apprehensive to advertise on paper? Well, the numbers are in and they’re about to prove your misconceptions wrong. We’ve come across a very interesting article, backed with extensive research— and we’d like to share it with you.
Modern Architecture Kuwait offers incredible insight into Kuwait’s urban landscape. Published and supported by Dar Al-Athar AlIslamiyyah and the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, presents 150 plus projects spanning over a 40-year period.
3DPME
Modern Architecture Kuwait P.36
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Hotels & Health Clubs
Malls
Al Salam Mall Arraya Haagen Dazs Galleria Al Hamra Elevation Burger Mall 360 Dunkin Donuts Marina Mall/Crescent Casper & Gambini Chocolate Bar Johnny Rockets P.Q. Paul Souq Sharq Starbucks Haagen Dazs Breadz Symphony Mall Juan Valdez The Avenues Elevation Burger Johnny Rockets Paul Starbucks Airport Mall Starbucks Dar Al Awadi I.O. Center Spoons Chocolate Bar Salhiya Complex Starbucks
Stand Alones
4 Boutique Alghanim Marine Alghanim Showrooms - Safat Al Rai,
Shuweikh, Sharq, Fahaheel beau-Tique cosmetics British Embassy Brush Salon CAP Gallery Cookie Dough Dar Al Funoon Dar.Nur Gold Class Lounge - Grand Cinemas Al Hamra I. O. Center Italian Center Jacques Dessange Salon, Shaab KAICO Kuwait Airport Business Class Lounges N Style Nail Lounge Media Elephant Pink Moon Boutique Sultan Gallery THE One The Chairman's Club USA Embassy
Schools & Universities American International School American University of Kuwait Australian College Kuwait Bayan School (Hawalli) Boxhill College BSK - British School of Kuwait Universal American School
Kuwait University Starbucks Starbucks Starbucks Starbucks
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cavali
what's trending Septemeber 2016
What: @thebowerycompany Info: The GCC’s first online concept store. Editor’s Note: Great gifts and home accents!
What: @jukebox965 Info: Local musical talents. Editor’s Note: Great videos of great musicians!
What: @healthyfoodadvice Info: Free recipes and food advice. Editor’s Note: Khloe K follows them, so you know they’re good!
What: @weavedandworn Info: Beachtime coverups! Editor’s Note: Because summer isn’t over yet!
What: @lafabricakw Info: Fun graphic shirts! Editor’s Note: A timeless essential.
www.bazaar.town
What: @thegoodquote Info: Daily positive and motivational quotes. Editor’s Note: Start your day off right with good vibes!
What: @itallgrows Info: Resident green thumb with plant saving tips! Editor’s Note: For the plant lover who kills their plants.
What: @snackboxkw Info: Work-friendly snack subscriptions! Editor’s Note: For the serial snacker at heart.
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truth or dare
THE MAN BEHIND THE MANGA Shinigami Sensei’s Hisham Najem By bazaar staff
Life can be filled with surprises. We all have plans and goals set for our future, find a way to study towards the careers we think we’ll flourish in, and then just… live. But sometimes, you feel inspired to think outside the box and chase after your passions, even if it’s just a project on the side, and you never know what that chase could lead to! When writer Hisham Najem chose to keep chasing, he found himself pursuing a dream he didn’t even know he had: creating a manga using his own writing coupled with the artistic talents of Indonesia-based Hanna Philip – or as Hisham puts it, “someone who could actually draw – because I’m not the best artist,” he laughs. But how did it all happen? It isn’t everyday you meet someone who pulls a manga out of thin air! “I like anime, I like manga, and I like to think I’m a decent writer,” Hisham dishes, “I also had this idea for a story that I had initially wanted to turn into an anime series or movie, but didn’t feel as though I could manage the funding for it and knew that Sundance would probably laugh in my face, so I decided to start small.” After some mentoring sessions with Marvel Comic’s Evan Burse, Hisham’s small dream expanded to his first full-fledged manga entitled Shinigami Sensei. This original story tells the thrilling, mysterious tale of a natural born killer (hence the Shinigami aspect, Japanese for “Grim Reaper”) turned teacher (Sensei) trying to escape trouble and move on from his violent past. Shinigami Sensei has an interesting plot that suggestively raises a lot of current issues regarding war and turmoil, yet manages to avoid the stereotype of religion causing such tragedies with its artful inclusion within the protagonist’s character. “Our hero is raised by a priest and a nun and then a Muslim family. I wanted to bring to the readers’ attention that religion taught my character his best aspects while war taught him his worst. Being raised by religion is what keeps him grounded and makes him want to change throughout.” But we won’t divulge any further and ruin the story for you, as it isn’t even fully out yet! “Well, I know what’s going to happen,” he chuckles when pressed for details, “but the rest of you will have to keep reading to find out!” The manga releases a new page twice a week, on Sundays and Thursdays, and is only 22
available on the web. “Maybe one day it’ll be published as a book, but not yet. My ultimate dream has been to turn it into an animated series!” and why shouldn’t it be? As Hisham himself puts it, “good stories like this one are meant to be told” – which is why we want to tell this talented writer’s story this month. Read on to get to know the man behind the manga! TRUTH OR DARE How would your mother describe you in one word? Chivalrous. How would you describe your mother in one word? My mother’s love and care exceeds words. What is the most ridiculous question you’ve ever been asked? “Do you work for Disney?” What is the most spontaneous thing you’ve ever done? Publish a comic book. What is your theme song? Avenged Sevenfold – “Hail To The King.” What word in the English or Arabic language do you wish you had invented? Awesome. Where would you like to live? What is your dream retirement location? Kuwait, Hawaii. What is the first famous quote that comes to your mind? “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy
without fighting” -Sun Tzu. What animal best describes the kind of partner you’d be interested in? Tiger. What do you miss about your childhood? The simplicity of life. If you could change your name, what would you change it to? Adam. How would you describe your handshake in one word? Assuring. What is the toughest part of your character? My patience. Who is your favorite historical figure? Sun Tzu. What in the world do you least desire? Power. What do you think is lacking in the world, which if there was more of would make the world a better place? Understanding and acceptance of each other. Why do you think most girls/guys like you? Because I’m easy going and down to earth. Finish this sentence: “Happiness is a thing called…” Laughter. Are you interested in checking out Shinigami Sensei? Contact Hisham at: hisham.n.najem@gmail.com to get a link!
tissot
3DPME
Printing just got fun with Abdullah Alhussainan By bazaar staff
3D printing is most certainly not the latest advancement in technology, but it still makes our hearts flutter at the thought of printing objects on demand. Need a decorative piece to give your desk a little character? 3D-print it! Can’t find the right size screw for a fixture? 3D-print it! Want to – you get the gist. Armed with a Computer Engineering degree from KU and a deep rooted “interest in recycling and making stuff,” Abdullah Alhussainan founded 3DPme for all your 3D printing needs. But being a part of the Maker Community – which takes the DIY culture into the digital age with the help of technology – is what keeps Abdullah motived. “Building the Maker Community in Kuwait is one of the important things that 3DPme, and many others like FabLab, Manifesto13, ART* and 7erafy, are working on,” Adbullah explained. We got the chance to sit with him to learn more about what he does and what fueled his interest. Originally an Android developer Abdullah – the co-founder of Kuwait Prayer Times app (one of the most used apps in Kuwait) – grew fascinated with the field of 3D printing back in 2014. “I had just resigned from my job and started looking around to start a business. I saw 3D printing and thought ‘let’s give it a try’,” he explained. The name came to him on his couch while staring up at the ceiling – “Suddenly, I thought 3D Print… 3D Printing… 3DP… Me?! ‘Me’ could be in, well, me and it could be Middle East! Cool! And that's how I got the name 3DPme.” But 3DPme doesn’t just print stuff for you – they can also rent out their 3D printers with weekly, monthly and yearly packages, and have new and used 3D printers for sale. We learn more about the process with founder Abdullah Alhussainan. I have an idea! How can I get it 3D-printed? If you have an idea or a sketch, you share it with us and once we fully understand your idea we connect you with a 3D designer. Once the 3D design is ready, the printing process begins. This process differs from one client to the other, as it depends on the job and client’s requirements. We don’t have an in-house designer, so we either outsource the 3D design to freelancers in Kuwait, or we use CadCrowd.com – which is a website to find CAD designers. But if a client doesn’t want a specific design, we let them choose a free one from any of the community websites available online, such as Thingiverse.com and Youmagine.com. We found that this approach reduces the clients’ costs. That’s the beauty of the Maker Community – we’re 24
connected to a network of designers both locally and internationally that can realize a client’s vision. How often do you host educational workshops and who can attend? What is their purpose? We have a workshop or two every month. Some workshops are for children and others are for adults and they’re open to everyone, even absolute beginners. The objective behind the workshops are to show people how to use a 3D printer and how it can benefit them. We always start by asking each attendee what is their background is and what their goals are to show them examples related to their fields of interest. To reach a bigger and more diverse segment, we host our workshops in collaboration with other businesses such as Manifesto13, ART* and The Print Room. How do you see people benefiting from 3D printing? The amazing thing about 3D printing is that
it’s a tool that each person can use differently. Students are using 3D printing to create their projects. Small businesses are using 3D printing to make molds for chocolates, candles and soaps. Designers are making furniture and prototypes of their products. Architecture firms are printing miniature buildings to show their clients. Car enthusiasts and garage owners are printing spare parts and add-ons for cars. We even experimented with food 3D printing and printed with Nutella. Food 3D printing is a field on its own and restaurants can benefit from it. For it to work, you basically convert your food item into a paste, then fill a syringe with this paste and go ahead and print any shape with the food! You can buy/rent a printer, or simply print your designs in 3D by checking out 3DPme’s website www.threedp.me. Alternatively, you can WhatsApp them on 9962 2030 and follow them on Instagram @3dpme and Twitter @threedpme for more information.
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SISTER ACT
Getting to know the sisters behind SoSneaky By bazaar staff
Huddled within the gorgeous vintage Behbehani Villas in Kuwait City, you’ll find a few splashes of modernity – a Starbucks, the original Casper and Gambini’s of yore, and a… sneaker store! SoSneaky is the Marafi sisters’ gift to Kuwait – a haven where the style savvy, confident and curious can find a prime selection of one of the most comfortable fashion essentials: sneakers. Run by Sarah and Masoumah Marafi, SoSneaky is an artfully arranged store containing sporty chic apparel for both men and women. “Our sneakers come from different corners of the world,” big sister Sarah Marafi says as she walks us through the spacious, art-deco inspired designed store. “We realize that in Kuwait, like many other places, people are focused on and prioritize the big brands like Nike and Adidas – while we think they’re great, we would like to stock brands that are known outside Kuwait, but not in Kuwait- in addition to brands people know and love. We like to branch out and include lesser-known brands in our inventory. We want to offer Kuwait something different.” And different their inventory is! When you walk around SoSneaky and take a clear look at the sneakers on display, the range and originality of the selection is apparent, and it’s obvious that Sarah and Masoumah know their stuff when dealing with the vendors. “We’re both sneakerheads!” Sarah laughs, “We both like casual wear and believe in being comfortable and stylish – this is something we’d like to help incorporate into Kuwait’s style scene. We like to think of SoSneaky as a lifestyle and not a trend.” The merchandise at SoSneaky can easily be worn as way of life rather than a way of trend. Both men’s and women’s apparel are vast and range from comfortably stylish, to slightly trendy, but are mostly timeless. What’s also great about the SoSneaky boutique is that they support local designers on top of lesser-known brands. The gender-neutral apparel is also great because men and women alike can shop freely and purchase what they genuinely feel will work with their wardrobe, such as selecting a cool piece from local Youngg Design’s cutting edge tanks, or fun Disney inspired shirts by Eleven Paris. Gender specific clothing is available too, like gorgeous pure silk pieces from Danish designer RWD. In the store, you can see elements of both Sarah and Masoumah’s characters. Sarah’s Nordic influence shows in the store’s construction, with light colored wood and shelving schemes inspired by her Copenhagen apartment. Civil Engineering student Masoumah is an artsy soul, which ties nicely into the graffiti art that works its way into the store’s design. She also fancies 26
Masoumah Marafi, left, Sarah Marafi, right herself an environmentalist, which explains the refreshing pops of green lining throughout the décor. “I wanted to be an environmental engineer, and civil engineering is the closest I could get to that!” she says with a shy smile. But as different as they may appear, their sisterly bond is strong and the two work beautifully together. Sarah, the older and more talkative sister, added, “Because I’m based in Denmark more than I am in Kuwait and live there full-time, I depend on her to hold down the fort while I’m gone. Of course, I’ll come back as often as I can and help out, but Masoumah lives here and I still have a life in Denmark.” What else did the sisters bring to each other’s lives? Lots of sneakers! “Sarah turned me into a sneakerhead!” Masoumah laughs. “they weren’t a big part of my wardrobe before, but my collection keeps growing now, because of her.” This statement is undoubtedly accurate, because when we asked what their first favorite
sneaker was, Sarah answered with a vehemence that traced back to her first beloved sneaker at the predicted age of a tender six or seven, Masoumah collects herself for a more modern response. “Jordan Futures,” she states coolly, “black with green stripes – I like black because it goes with everything.” The store has been running smoothly since their April 23rd opening, as commemorated in the form of graffiti on a wall in the store. “Everything about our store is sneaky – the location, the sneakers, the brands we use – it all ties into the name!” Sarah says excitedly as she poses grinning with a pair of sneakers. “We have plans to collaborate with popups in the future, so stay tuned for that!” SoSneaky is located in Block 14 at the Behbehani Houses in Kuwait City. Call them at 2246 9918. Follow them on Facebook: SoSneaky and on Twitter and Instagram @sosneakyq8. Photography by Muneera Alkhulaifi.
adolfo
ARABNET IS COMING TO KUWAIT! Mark your calendars: 4-5 October! By Rita Makhoul
Marking its Kuwaiti debut, ArabNet is coming to Kuwait on October fourth and fifth to host a 2-day conference focused on the Kuwaiti and GCC market with the purpose of highlighting local trends, opportunities, startups and rising stars. After the announcement of the $7 billion Kuwait National Fund for SMEs in 2013, the market has witnessed a surge in entrepreneurship support and institutions: funds, co-working spaces, and angels investors. This was further inspired by the $170 million acquisition of Kuwait's Talabat.com, which marks the largest regional exit since Yahoo! Maktoob in 2009. ArabNet Kuwait will host the leading investors and stakeholders driving digital entrepreneurship in Kuwait and the MENA region; the Startup Demo and Ideathon competitions; as well as workshops targeted toward startup founders to boost their business. The Kuwaiti ecommerce market was estimated at $1.26 billion in 2015 according to Payfort. Coupled with high GDP and a 91% Internet Penetration Rate, the opportunity for growth of online goods and service providers, as well as mobile transactions, is very high. ArabNet Kuwait will focus on trends and opportunities in ecommerce, omni-channel retail, online payments, digital banking and business transformation. 28
Social Media penetration in Kuwait is at 96% (one of the highest globally) leading in the MENA region on platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram. Kuwait is also home to the GCC’s most affluent online influencers. ArabNet Kuwait looks to highlight Social Media platforms and trends, native and programmatic advertising and video content, through panel discussions, workshops and the OMD academy. The 2-day conference will consist of the TechFair, an exhibition area for leading digital companies and rising startups to connect, in addition to a full day of keynotes and panels covering digital media topics focused on technology in media and advertising influencers, brands and new age marketing; eBusiness topics will cover mobile enterprise, digital banking, and the state of ecommerce in Kuwait. Topics that will be also discussed related to technology include the latest hardware technology and innovations, retail mobile platforms and gaming, in addition to the landscape of entrepreneurs’ supporters in Kuwait. ArabNet Kuwait will also hold a full day of workshops and discussions on parallel tracks dedicated to entrepreneurs and marketers. The workshops will focus on building skills and expertise, in addition to delving into the latest and hottest topics in media and entrepreneurship with market leaders.
Furthermore, two competitions will be held at ArabNet Kuwait. The first being the Ideathon competition for entrepreneurs with innovative digital ideas that have not yet been built, giving them the opportunity to turn their ideas into reality. The Startup Demo arrives as the second competition, and it is aimed at entrepreneurs with innovative digital young startups that are less than two years old, giving them the opportunity to showcase their company and network with investors and media outlets alike. Sponsored by the renowned media agency OMD, Talabat.com, and others, ArabNet Kuwait features insights from speakers including Abdulla Elyas, co-founder and MD, Careem; Dany Farha, co-founder and CEO, BECO Capital; and Ihsan Jawad, Managing Partner, Middle East Venture Partners to name a few. The jury for the startup competitions includes Ramez Mohamed, CEO, Flat6Labs; Fares Ghandour, Partner, Wamda Capital and other investors.
Startups looking to compete in the Startup Demo challenge, and/or to know more and/or apply for Ideathon, head to: www.arabnet.me/conference/kuwait. For more information and to book your space at ArabNet Kuwait, visit www.arabnet.me.
adolfo
up close & personal
CREATIVE ATTRACTION
Nimsha Al-Kharji and Nouf Al-Ghanim on curating the perfect workspace By bazaar staff
Creativity attracts, that’s a fact. When graphic design graduate Nimsha Al-Kharji moved to London for her postgraduate studies, she noticed the ease of grabbing a light meal, good coffee and having a quiet “office” to get her work done. “There are so many available workspaces for anyone [including students] to pay and just sit and get work done,” Nimsha started, “and I noticed that gap here in Kuwait.” While startup accelerators exist and offer remarkable services, students and freelancers alike seem to be at a loss when it comes to finding their ideal workspace. On the other hand, Co-Owner of Magnet Nouf Al-Ghanim, is a law graduate with a deeply rooted passion for food. Having always dreamed of opening a home-style café, Nouf’s dad made the dream come true and helped her and Nimsha find the perfect location – and this is how Magnet came to be. “The whole thing started over the phone,” Nimsha laughed. A phone call between Nimsha and Nouf opened the door to a great venture that would combine both their interests to benefit everyone. A café and workspace in one, Magnet arrives as the ultimate space for creativity to shine. Split up into three levels and an outside seating area, Magnet has been designed to inspire its patrons. Minimal design and a clean aesthetic add to the Zen-like theme. Exposed light-bulbs, steel fixtures, pipes and wooden seats decorate the area, as well as white flowers and cushioned benches all-around. While Nimsha had the idea to create a workspace, Nouf’s dream was to create a healthconscious café to cater to locals. “We’re inspired by the amount of quick-bite options you can get anywhere in Europe,” Nouf smiled, “and we wanted to do something similar, so we combined them into one idea!” – taking us back to their fated phone conversation. Craving to create something different, they decided to join forces to see their dreams come true. Nouf got the café she wanted and Nimsha got her workspace. Working with a specialized chef, the café offers healthy, quick bites and an incredible coffee selection. They even went as far as offering lactose free, almond and soy milk! “We also have an almond-coconut milk combo,” Nimsha boasts. Created as a one-stop-shop for those looking for some quiet, Magnet balances between the workspace and café. Nothing is held above the 30
Nouf Al-Ghanim (left) and Nimsha Al-Kharji
other as they’re created equal – they ensure that everything is fresh and prepared daily. The food is super light and ideal for a quick business-lunch meeting or pre-cram session sustenance. They’re also currently working on developing a weekend brunch menu with breakfast to follow eventually! Super exciting news for the early birds out there. While the music is kept at a comfortable, conversational volume downstairs, upstairs is entirely isolated. “We wanted to create a ‘Quiet Zone’ for people to work in a hushed environment,” Nouf began, “People follow the rules amazingly and even step out of the zone to answer their phone!” For a nominal fee, people can “rent” a desk to work at for the entire day. Refreshments are kept on the side and finger foods can be ordered from the café to be enjoyed while working upstairs. The cozier meeting rooms for group study sessions and meeting offer an incredible feature: Idea Paint painted walls! So go ahead and draw some charts on the walls. Their other notable space would be on the next floor up, the “Open Space.”
Reserved for workshops, seminars and meetings, the space is fully equipped with a projector and the café can also provide catering if required. So what’s next for Nimsha and Nouf? The sky’s the limit!
Up close and personal questionnaire: What do you most value in your friends? Nimsha: Love, trust, loyalty and respect. Nouf: Their loyalty & trust. What is your idea of perfect happiness? Nimsha: Peace of mind. Nouf: Getting on a plane and exploring the world. What is your greatest fear? Nimsha: Cockroaches! Full stop. Nouf: Losing someone I'm attached to.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Nimsha: I trust very easily, sometimes people use it to their advantage. Nouf: I'm very blunt and don't easily get along with people. What is the trait you most deplore in others? Nimsha: Unkindness, hypocrites & judgmental people. Nouf: Hypocrisy. Which living person do you most admire? Nimsha: MY MOTHER. Nouf: Mama Muneera, my beautiful grandmother whom I consider as my mother. What is your greatest extravagance? Nimsha: Buying gadgets nonstop. Nouf: SHOES!! I can never have enough! Which words or phrases do you most overuse? Nimsha: So, basically‌
Nouf: Who cares? What is it that you most dislike? Nouf: Routine. It kills me! Which talent would you most like to have? Nimsha: Playing the piano and the guitar. Nouf: Being able to speak all the languages of the world. If you could have any job, what would it be? Nimsha: It’s my job now, working for myself! Nouf: Become an interior designer & a Michelin inspector. What would you consider your greatest achievement? Nimsha: My master's degree and Magnet are my greatest achievements. Nouf: Graduating from law school. What is your most treasured possession? Nimsha: Being always grateful is my most
treasured possession. Nouf: Magnet! What is your most marked characteristic? Nimsha: Big dreamer. Nouf: I'm a hard worker, I never give up & always like to keep myself busy. Where would you most like to live? Nimsha: Kuwait/London/New York, months in each country. Nouf: Florence, Italy.
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What are your favorite words to live by? Nimsha: Gratitude. Nouf: Always count your blessings and be grateful for the life you're living. Magnet is located in Salmiya, Amr Bin Al-Aas Street, Block 3, Aknan Complex. Call 2225 4085 for more information. Follow @Magnet.KW on Instagram to check out their incredible creations and to find out about their latest offerings! 31
ONE ON ONE WITH TAREK ALERYAN By Nejoud Al-Yagout
Tarek Aleryan is head of Public Relations and Media Services at the Dasman Diabetes Institute (DDI). His work entails organizing conferences, workshops and seminars – along with television and radio interviews and press releases to raise awareness about diabetes. Tarek also hosts his own KTV2 program - Hala Kuwait - where he interviews movers and shakers locally. Although he is very busy, he found the time to answer some questions. Can you tell us about the outreach campaigns you organize for DDI? Dasman's mission is to prevent, control and mitigate the impact of diabetes and related conditions in Kuwait. Our collaborations with governmental, private and international organizations give us the expertise to tackle various initiatives. We also provide workshops and development programs for healthcare professionals in the field of diabetes care; and we have a strong relationship with the Ministry of Health to attend to difficult cases - while engaging as many of our patients as possible in research activities. In addition, we have outreach programs focusing on prevention and care. DDI is the leader, locally, in the fight against diabetes. The Institute was developed to integrate a more holistic approach towards the epidemic and to build a center in which research, educational initiatives and clinical services are encompassed under one roof. The staff ranges from scientists to clinicians working with patients towards methods of treatment and prevention. We also provide training courses to patients and healthcare providers; and we have fitness experts working with patients toward lifestyle changes. This collaborative setting provides patients with resources to receive the best treatment possible - along with the ability to fully understand the scope of their condition. DDI hosts conferences, seminars and various events such as World Diabetes Day Walkathon and the annual Open Day. The Institute also organizes outreach campaigns at malls, universities, schools and governmental institutions to promote knowledge and awareness. The most common type of diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes, is preventable. The other types are not. Type 2 Diabetes can be managed by moderate to intense physical activity for half an hour daily, and eating a healthy, fiber-rich diet while avoiding foods high in sugars and fats and maintaining a healthy weight and avoiding smoking. DDI reached out to Dr. Sanjay Gupta from CNN to discuss obesity. What was achieved from the meeting? Dr. Sanjay Gupta, chief medical correspondent for CNN and multiple Emmy award recipient, recently filmed an episode of Vital Signs at DDI. The episode was regarding child obesity in the Middle East, and Dr. Roula Barake, head of the Nutrition Department, 32
was interviewed to discuss this issue. Dr. Gupta was keen to learn more about the reasons behind the rise and prevalence of child obesity in Kuwait. He plans to do more segments with the Institute. The Dasman Institute joined forces with Zain to create a mobile diabetes clinic. Can you elaborate further? The mobile diabetes clinic was launched on April 10th to spread awareness. This step by the Institute, in conjunction with Zain, came to fruition on World Health Day - under the following theme: Let us Fight Diabetes. The Director-General of the Institute, Dr. Qais Al-Duwairi, anticipates that the mobile clinic will go out to various parts of the country to disseminate information about diabetes and to have the public run tests to see whether they suffer from this disease. Today, one in 11 adults has diabetes; and current projections indicate that in 2040 one out of 10 adults will be diabetic, according to statistics by the International Diabetes Federation. As for Type 2 Diabetes in Kuwait, for those ages 20-79, a little above 20% suffer from the disease. Diabetes also affects 37 out of 100,000 children below the age of 15, which is considered as a very high rate, making Kuwait the third highest nation in the world with such alarming diabetes rates. In the near future, the Institute and Zain telecom will organize a series
of awareness events to keep the public informed about this disease. You also interview people on KTV2. Do you have any tips for others who are also balancing more than one career? The main tip is that you must enjoy what you do, so that you always find the time needed to do your best. On the television show Hala Kuwait, I get to meet many interesting people. At my job at DDI, I not only get to interact with people, but I am also doing something that benefits us all. What could be better than that? Finally, what is the next chapter for you professionally? When Dr. Qais Al-Duwairi became the new DirectorGeneral of DDI a few months ago, he energized the staff and encouraged the development of new departmental programs. I see the role of the Public Relations and Media Service Department as a supporter of these new programs. We have an energetic group with plenty of creative talent, and look forward to creating the best media presentation to showcase future programs. You can follow Tarek Aleryan on Instagram: @tarekaleryan. For more information regarding DDI: www.dasmandiabetesinstitute.org.
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THE SEVENTH SENSE
Powering the Creative Economy at Nuqat 2016 By bazaar staff
The future of the world economy is the subject of many researchers around the world. More importantly, examining the traditional structure of what constitutes a thriving economic system is continuously evolving. While multiple resources and skillsets exist across the world, nations are not utilizing these skills to their full potential. Exploring this further has shown that the value of creative and intuitive capacities of a nation’s people is an under-valued resource. Introducing an economy that relies on creativity isn’t a new concept, and its inception came with the first industrial revolution. A creative economy isn’t simply fueled by the creative industries – they complement each other in a way so that the creative economy relies on people’s creative solutions for everyday issues. With that in mind, Nuqat have officially introduced their theme for the 2016 conference: The Seventh Sense – Powering the Creative Economy. Before we delve deeper into the theme, what it means and what Nuqat will be providing for this year’s conference, we thought it would be a good idea to mention that this year the location of the conference moved. While the Amricani Cultural Centre has hosted the Nuqat conferences for the past years, this year the Saud Alnasser Al Sabah Diplomatic Institute has offered them a wonderful space. A fantastic new location will open the door to fantastic walking tours around the area and beyond. You can also stay up to date with all of Nuqat’s news by watching this space in our magazine, website and social media! Nuqat will also be introducing an interactive app that will allow you to keep track of and reserve seats to all events, talk to attendees and Nuqat personnel, and get live updates. Once downloaded, consider the app to be your ultimate guide for all Nuqatrelated activities. For now though, let’s focus on this years theme and what it means. William Duggan, author of The Seventh Sense: How Flashes of Insight Change Your Life, describes the seventh sense as “the mechanism of the human mind that produces new ideas.” In other words, it’s the Eureka! moment one has when a new idea materializes. Following that module, Nuqat is looking to translate this sense in a way that can be beneficial to the Arab world and beyond through developing innovation within the industries. Entertaining the notion that creativity can, and should, power our future economies by taking on a more prominent role. Some of the questions Nuqat are raising 34
will bring forth answers and solutions that could potentially benefit everyone: “How can we heighten the human and humane elements of each and every profession and filed, so as to create more jobs for people an empower the creative potential of all industries?” and “How do bankers, laborers, lawyers, parents, athletes, engineers, doctors and mechanics practice creativity?” Nuqat are determined to introduce different viewpoints to discuss all the ways inspiration and creativity can be generated and preserved as an economy. Through their arsenal of theorists, academics, artists, writers, designers and innovative thinkers from all over the world, Nuqat are ready to do their part in powering the creative economy by examining every possibility through collaborations. With every conference day’s discussion panel revolving around a new question, as well as their infamous roundtable discussions, Nuqat hopes to find ways in which the creative economies can benefit the Arab world by being proactive. Their workshops and competition will surely
provide valuable outcomes. Innovation is what we always seek, and Nuqat has delivered brilliantly. The competition has them teaming up with Sirdab Lab and Coded, and hosting a 24 hour gameathon – basically a hackathon for gamers. The gameathon will call on people from different backgrounds to create groups that will be assigned special industry focuses. As for their cultural entertainment calendar, it’s loaded with incredible exhibitions, performances, cultural tours and more.
Nuqat’s 2016 conference will take place at the Saud Alnasser Al Sabah Diplomatic Institute located on the Gulf Road near Kuwait’s Museum of Modern Art in Sharq. You can visit their the Nuqat website: www.nuqat.me or follow them on Facebook: NuqatME and Instagram @Nuqat for more information. The Seventh Annual Nuqat Creative Conference will be held from November 10th to the 16th. Keep your eyes on www.bazaar.town and Instagram: @bazaargram for regular updates!
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MODERN ARCHTECTURE KUWAIT
A history of Kuwait’s urban landscape By bazaar staff
An architectural gem, Modern Architecture Kuwait 1949-1989 (MAK) offers incredible insight into Kuwait’s urban landscape. Published and supported by Dar Al-Athar AlIslamiyyah and the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, the publication presents 150 plus projects spanning over a 40-year period. Several years in the making, this book offers a wealth of information for aspiring architects, historians and, more importantly, the general public alike. Dubbed as the “first systematic analysis” of modern Kuwaiti architecture, MAK takes us on a journey through Kuwait’s urban history: From the inception of the oil industry to the years leading up to the Iraqi invasion. Penned by Roberto Fabbri, Sara Saragoça Soares and Ricardo Camacho, MAK offers an insight into the elapsed structures that make up Kuwait’s urban landscape. Kuwait has stood witness to transformations of astonishing depths over the last 40 years. With social and civic changes, the country has observed its “built environment” go from an old coastal town to an engaging metropolis. While the country 36
might not be brand new, creating the ever-changing landscape we see today took a lot of effort and diligent planning. Wanting to create a bigger country for its people, Kuwait began expanding into its uninhabited environment to create an entire city from the ground up – and according to the book “almost from scratch.” Going through this book gives you a sense of what it was like during this 40-year period in architecture. It’s a more intimate glimpse into the country back then versus now, and how the city’s integrity was at the heart of every project conceived. An educational overview, MAK’s purpose is to highlight the architectural heritage of the country – a blueprint into the past. No stone was left unturned during the research phase as the team of authors investigated every resource available and known to compile such an extensive publication. The collection looks into each architectural structure for its specific quality and charm, inspecting each building and plan’s design methodology, and how it was adapted given the environmental conditions surrounding it. Perhaps the more interesting specimens to examine in this book are the unbuilt projects. Scale models and floor plans have been laid for these buildings and functions assigned – but alas, theses projects never made it into completion. Examples
of such buildings are the 1958 Government Hotel, 1977-1984 Mirqab Transportation Centre, 1960 Kuwait National Museum Competition and the 1968 Kuwait Sports Centre. MAK even goes as far as informing the reader the status of each building surveyed. Be it under the threat of demolition [the Kuwait Embassy in Tokyo, Japan and the Al Sabah Hospital are examples of that], in use, modified or even partially built and under threat like Al-Sawaber Housing Complex; every condition is mentioned. Leaving an everlasting mark on the urban landscape, the contractors, planners and designers thought each building proposal through no matter the circumstances. The authors, knowing that, have ensured that their work is immortalized within the pages of this book. MAK serves as a reminder of the beautifully clear vision served through Kuwait’s architectural history in chronological order, including a timeline elaborating on the regional context and biographies on each designer, planner and contractor commissioned.
Modern Architecture Kuwait 1949-1989 is published in both English and Arabic and can be purchased at Dar Al-Athar Al-Islamiyyah or online through : niggli.ch/en/modern-architecture-kuwait-1949-1989. html.
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THIS 100-YEAR-OLD TO-DO LIST HACK STILL WORKS LIKE A CHARM By James Clear
By 1918, Charles M. Schwab was one of the richest men in the world. Schwab (oddly enough, no relation to Charles R. Schwab, founder of the Charles Schwab Corporation) was the president of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, the largest shipbuilder and the second-largest steel producer in the U.S. at the time. The famous inventor Thomas Edison once referred to Schwab as the "master hustler." He was constantly seeking an edge over the competition. Accounts differ as to the date, but according to historian Scott M. Cutlip, it was one day in 1918 that Schwab—in his quest to increase the efficiency of his team and discover better ways to get things done—arranged a meeting with a highly respected productivity consultant named Ivy Lee. Lee was a successful businessman in his own right and is widely remembered as a pioneer in the field of public relations. As the story goes, Schwab brought Lee into his office and said, "Show me a way to get more things done." "Give me 15 minutes with each of your executives," Lee replied. "How much will it cost me?" Schwab asked. "Nothing," Lee said. "Unless it works. After three months, you can send me a check for whatever you feel it’s worth to you." THE IVY LEE METHOD During his 15 minutes with each executive, Lee explained his simple method for achieving peak productivity: At the end of each workday, write down the six most important things you need to accomplish tomorrow. Do not write down more than six tasks. Prioritize those six items in order of their true importance. When you arrive tomorrow, concentrate only on the first task. Work until the first task is finished before moving on to the second task. Approach the rest of your list in the same fashion. At the end of the day, move any unfinished items to a new list of six tasks for the following day. Repeat this process every working day. The strategy sounded simple, but Schwab and his executive team at Bethlehem Steel gave it a try. After three months, Schwab was so delighted with the progress his company had made that he called Lee into his office and wrote him a check for $25,000 (KD 7,500). A $25,000 check written in 1918 is the equivalent of a $400,000 (KD 120,000) check in 2015. 38
The Ivy Lee Method of prioritizing your to-do list seems stupidly simple. How could something this simple be worth so much? What makes it so effective? ON MANAGING PRIORITIES WELL Basically, if you commit to nothing, you’ll be distracted by everything. It’s simple enough to actually work. The primary critique of methods like this one is that they are too basic. They don’t account for all of the complexities and nuances of life. What happens if an emergency pops up? What about using the latest technology to our fullest advantage? In my experience, complexity is often a weakness because it makes it harder to get back on track. Yes, emergencies and unexpected distractions will arise. Ignore them as much as possible, deal with them when you must, and get back to your prioritized to-do list as soon as possible. Use simple rules to guide complex behavior. It forces you to make tough decisions. I don’t believe there is anything magical about Lee’s number of six important tasks per day. It could just as easily be five tasks per day. However, I do think there is something magical about imposing limits upon yourself. I find that the single best thing to do when you have too many ideas (or when you’re overwhelmed by everything you need to get done) is to prune your ideas and trim away everything that isn’t absolutely necessary. Constraints can make you better. Lee’s method is similar to
Warren Buffet’s 25-5 Rule, which requires you to focus on just five critical tasks and ignore everything else. Basically, if you commit to nothing, you’ll be distracted by everything. It removes the friction of starting. The biggest hurdle to finishing most tasks is starting them. Getting off the couch can be tough, but once you actually start running, it is much easier to finish your workout. Lee’s method forces you to decide on your first task the night before you go to work. This strategy has been incredibly useful for me: As a writer, I can waste three or four hours debating what I should write about on a given day. If I decide the night before, however, I can wake up and start writing immediately. It’s simple, but it works. In the beginning, getting started is just as important as succeeding at all. It requires you to single-task. Modern society loves multitasking. The myth of multitasking is that being busy is synonymous with being better. The exact opposite is true. Having fewer priorities leads to better work. Study worldclass experts in nearly any field—athletes, artists, scientists, teachers, CEOs—and you’ll discover one characteristic that runs through all of them: focus. The reason is simple. You can’t be great at one task if you’re constantly dividing your time 10 different ways. Mastery requires focus and consistency. The bottom line? Do the most important thing first each day. It’s the only productivity trick you need.
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CURATING SPACES
The Reading Room by The Yard By bazaar staff
Ala'a Ali Reda & Danah Behbehani
Both tranquil and beautiful, Al Shaheed Park is the ideal place to spend a sleepy Friday afternoon, a great place to escape to during your lunch hour at work, or just to venture off to from across town for a leisurely day. This public haven has expanded since its formation within the past two years, branching out with activities and events vast enough to attract people of all ages and demographics. These days, Al Shaheed Park is adding even more features for everyone to enjoy! From cafes, to yoga, to the gorgeous community 40
working space-slash-lifestyle-slash-gift-store brought to you by the ladies behind The Yard. Enter The Reading Room by The Yard. Created by Danah Behbehani and Ala’a Ali Reda of The Yard, this concept has been open since May and is designed to accommodate those who enjoy nestling into a serene space to get some work done, ponder, or catch up on their reading. “The Yard is curating spaces,” Ala’a says as she hands me a cup of their signature Peach Ice Tea, one of the light refreshments on offer at the space. “We remember walking past this space when it was empty and instantly falling in love with it. Looking through the glass
windows into the big open space and beautiful marble flooring, we envisioned the potential and beauty of the space. It feels surreal at times to see that it’s now The Reading Room!” And its location, being at the park, makes the new space channel a more neutral clientele, which differs from The Yard’s firstborn, Q at The Yard, a lovely, yet smaller space whose majority of clientele are young creatives and professionals working in the city. The purpose of The Reading Room is to be interactive in the way that familiars and strangers alike would be encouraged to collaborate, or just kick back solo during their
spare time. The space is set up in a communal fashion, with shared tables adorning the area so that people can sit together instead of segregating themselves. This was done with the intention for like-minded people to integrate and benefit each other creatively, socially and professionally. “We noticed with Q, the clientele had become friendly as many regulars would frequent the space. With that, they began to form a community, and they’d start hanging out, sitting together and even working together, due to similarities. We want the same thing on a larger scale at The Reading Room.” And on a larger scale it will be, as the space is considerably larger than their last, and filled with more merchandise – especially reading material! “We generally wanted to expand space for our products, and offer a wider range of merchandise for men, women and children.” Ala’a points out as we walk through The Reading Room, with its floor-length windows flooding the modernly designed space. Shelves of books line and scatter through the area on display for customers to purchase, flip through, or read while they chill, it’s easy to see where the name came from. “We actually had the name and concept a couple of years back,” Danah says as we flip through some of the artsy books they have on display. “This was always a goal, for us to expand on the range of books we carried - it’s always difficult to find design-based books in Kuwait.” But not anymore! Designophiles won’t have to search high and low for great literature to inspire them. Design books aren’t all there is to offer, as they have a nice variety, including lifestyle books, classic fiction, coloring books and children’s favorites like Dr. Seuss books! “Children are always welcome to visit the reading corner as well. We want the space to be very interactive and inclusive toward everyone.” Because The Reading Room is part of The Yard’s family, you know that their products are very much present and to die for. The Yard is infamous for supplying innovative, classic and cool accessories and stationary pieces, but The Reading Room is expanding merchandise to include—wait for it—toiletries! That’s right, ladies, we now have another accessible hub to grab our favorite goodies such as Earth Tu Face’s Coconut Body Butter or Malin+Goetz’s intensive body and hair repairing products. As always, little gifts, knick-knacks and doo-dahs are aplenty. From the adorable rabbit and mushroom lamps that glitter the display shelves, to the “just because” (and other occasion) cards to pick up for that special someone you’ve been thinking of. “We’re really excited about our wider range of products and feel our customers will be too!” Ala’a beams with a pride that implies the care and consideration put into each product bought exclusively to enhance the space. “We want to offer a comprehensive selection,” Danah agrees, “where people will be able to find
everything they’re looking for—whether you’re looking for a home accent, a larger gift to suit all occasions, a treat for yourself, or a small ‘you crossed my mind’ gift for someone else.” The excitement The Reading Room has to offer doesn’t stop there! Customers and passersby can also look forward to a range of events to be hosted by the space: cooking classes/dinner club, French classes, arts and crafts, and activities for children of all ages. “We have a year of activities planned and encourage people to participate!” Danah informs, “There’s something for everyone, just like the rest of our space. Q first collaborated with The Yard,
and today, The Yard is collaborating with the community.”
The Reading Room is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. from Tuesday to Sunday. Pay them a visit at the Visitor’s Center in Al Shaheed Park on Al Soor Street, opposite Al Tijaria. All products can also be viewed and purchased from their online shop, www.theyard-kw.com, and can be delivered worldwide. Follow them on Instagram @thereadingroom_bytheyard. Call them at 2246 1249 or 5596 3606. 41
IS IT THAT TIME AGAIN? YIKES! Back to work I go… By Natasha E. Feghali
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Sun, sand, grilling delicious meals and more are coming to an end as we say goodbye to summer and welcome autumn. For many of us this means a return to work. The idea of returning to the office, sales floor or classroom after a vacation could make us call in sick! Vacation and reality usually have very little in common, except for a sense of anticipation. Being greeted by an overflowing inbox and a hectic meeting schedule may cause you to suffer from the back-to-work blues, making it difficult to focus on that mountain of work in front of you. While many of us expect to sit down at our desks, after time away, filled with boundless energy and restored creativity for the well fuelled new projects, we usually end up spending several scattered hours (or days) trying to process a deluge of emails, files, meetings and falling further behind on tasks that have built up in the meantime. Before any long vacation or extended leave 42
of absence, it is important to set yourself up for success upon your return. If not, the postvacation return can bring on a crash in your work-life balance and perhaps even some irritable moods! According to Julie Morgenstern, productivity consultant and author of Never Check Email In The Morning, “You’ve got to set yourself up so there’s the minimum pileup while you’re gone, once you invest in that process once, it becomes an automated process.” When planning time away from work, most people focus on getting organized for their departure and not their return. Avoid undoing all that restoration by treating your return as something that needs to be managed in advance. Perhaps a working lunch for a few days will leave you better prepared? Therefore, do not leave any projects or deadlines to the last minute yet focus on important tasks. Many employees do not gage the amount of work that they will return to and postpone their worrisome tasks until their return or even do them while on vacation! Protect the time you’ve set aside to get caught up the way you would your vacation
time. It can be just as necessary so it needs to be treated that way. “Build in some transition time. Don’t book anything for your first day in the office, allot the time,” says Morgenstern. “And block off the time in your calendar. If it looks like you’re available, people are going to put things on your calendar. These are meetings with your to-dos.” If going back to work gives you persmission to be lazy or ineffective then it’s time for a change, as our time off is to recharge our batteries to be more effective in the workplace. This doesn’t mean that you need to be over productive, however it does mean that being efficient will result in not leaving your work or your colleagues’ work behind. This can create an ever bigger work load for you and your colleagues as well as some unnecessary ill intent in the work environment. The experts agree and so should you! Going back to work can be a stressful time, only when you are unprepared.
Contact Natasha at NatashaFeghali@hotmail.com, or follow her on Instagram @Nefghali.
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ARE YOU UP TO THE “SOCIAL CARE” CHALLENGE? By Barry Rodrigues
Social Media has taken a huge part of our lives to the next level. Someone who would have been lonely because he or she had limited people’s skills in the 80s or 90s is by today’s standards still popular if he or she has 500 Facebook friends. We can now contact and keep in touch with our friends from school. Families don’t need to send an assortment of birthday pictures to their overseas relatives via their email distribution list because they can now upload them to their social media. Even news had become ubiquitous in snippet format via Twitter, Instagram video and Snapchat.. How then can brands utilize this phenomenon to service their customers better? One great way is to integrate customer service into the social pipeline. Into something industry experts are calling “Social Care” Why, you ask me? The answer is simple. Social is more accessible to both sides of the spectrum. Customers find it easier to address their questions via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and brands can respond directly and quicker to customer needs. Email has been around for a while but the need to be formal has kept many a customer from asking a question or putting in a complaint. Also, the fact that social is public means brands are (or at least should be) more eager to sort our complaints, lest they get a bad reputation online. And what worse way to lose brand equity than have something negative go viral in the digital world? According to statistics in the US, 53% of customers who tweet a question expect an answer within a couple of hours. If it’s a complaint regarding your product, it goes up to 72% and they expect a reply in under an hour. I don’t know the statistics for this in Kuwait but trust me; the sentiment should be roughly the same. We are firmly in the "Now" generation where everyone has little time for trivial stuff and everyone wants answers now. So why is it worth investing in Social Care? I’ll give you a few reasons: Brands can save money Depending on the kind of problem and the product or service involved, about half of the queries posted on social media can be resolved within a few minutes. On average it costs a company $1(300 fils) to respond to a question and solve an issue. If you equate this cost of this compared to interaction via the traditional customer service hotline whereby the call goes through to a call center and so on, the cost of resolving an issue is much higher. 44
Immediate (and sometimes better) customer satisfaction Some of the top 100 global companies improved customer satisfaction by 19%. Let’s face it, when your query is resolved in a matter of minutes on social media, you are satisfied and the chances of you letting your social network know about your positive customer experience is high. This improved and instant customer satisfaction can positively affect a brand’s overall customer experience thereby elevating its social care status. Increased sales Companies that develop their social care abilities can improve on their sales through effectively upselling, cross-selling and customer retention. Social media officers are often like business development people and a trait of a good social media person is their ability to see the potential of selling a particular product or service to a customer and clinch that opportunity. So in essence they aren’t just there to answer questions but to also suggest, recommend and sometimes endorse a product. So there you have it, the inherent value of investing in social care. But capturing this value requires a clear strategy that integrates customer service with social care in the digital ecosystem of an organization. At the same time, brands need to invest in tools that can speed up and
provide analytics to better serve customers via social care. While call center agents can have the usual attributes of a good agent like being passionate about the brand, being able to identify and solve issues, being empathetic to customers, they should also be good at communicating via written (or typed words) with a deep understanding of social media etiquette. At the end of the day, these agents and social media officers should not just be answering queries and resolving problems but they should also be involved in spotting opportunities to engage with customers before they’ve even bought anything. Social care empowers brands to make meaningful and valuable connections with their customers but to achieve success; brands need to clearly understand the value of investing in it to pave way for a new breed of sales and customer service people. Barry Rodrigues is Head of Marketing & Product Development at Future Communications and an associate advisor with the International Advisors Group in Kuwait. Barry also provides pro-bono consulting services for small businesses to help them achieve their marketing objectives. For comments, please email Barry at barry@nexgenconsulting.co.uk.
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LIGHT-WRAPPED SOULS By Dr Susannah-Joy Schuilenberg
“There’s a form of pottery unique to Japan called ‘Kintsukuroi.’ Essentially, it means ‘to repair with gold.’ Pottery, once broken, rather than being discarded, is pieced together again using gold or silver lacquer as the medium. The result is a dish more gorgeous and precious than it was in the beginning. The broken pieces, far from being considered rubbish, become precious with the addition of gold which emphasizes all the cracks and chips in the vessel. This repaired pottery becomes more valuable than the whole piece was originally because in being broken and repaired, it has a history, traced in gold. I hear the heartache and pain of people’s lives every day. I hear the regret over bad personal choices, the agony over the cost of the actions of others, and raging against uncontrollable and unmanageable realities of living. My office walls hold the residue of gallons of tears, waves of anger, deep belly laughs, 46
helpless giggles, sadness beyond measure, the weight of great grief, and every feeling in between. These emotions permeate the air of that space. If I stopped there, I’m not sure even I could go back into that room because those sentiments arise from human experience, much of which is painful. But I can’t stop there. There is something inexplicable often happens in that room. Light. Yes. Light happens. When we admit we are broken, and in need of repair, light may pour in those cracks, healing and sealing as it flows into the dark spaces, bringing unquenchable hope. ‘Light’ is a new understanding, a new awareness, new knowledge. Truth we have been blind to, or ignored, not knowing how desperately we needed it. Through a cracked and broken soul, illumination pours in, and in an instant everything is different. That which was broken becomes so much more beautiful, cracks and all. Being broken is not a shameful thing, it is a consequence of living. Perfect people do not exist –
all of us are broken in some way. Brené Brown (The Gifts of Imperfection) writes, “Choosing authenticity means cultivating the courage to be imperfect, to set boundaries, and to allow ourselves to be vulnerable; exercising the compassion that comes from knowing that we are all made of strength and struggle.” When we embrace our “strength and struggle” we allow in light. It is those who welcome the brokenness within that become light-wrapped souls, accepting not only their own cracks and flaws, but also the imperfections in others. The reality of life is desired more than any illusion. Life is not easy. Not for anyone (no matter what it looks like from the outside) but by loving our brokenness, our floundering, flawed Self, we become more human, more real, and thus breathtaking and uniquely lovely. Give yourself the gift of imperfection. Fly your ‘broken’ flag and those own blemishes you struggle to hide. Celebrate the strength that has carried you this far, and acknowledge the glorious gold-filled cracks in others. In a world that insists we must be perfect, rebel, and say, “No, thanks. I choose to be real.”
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MEET THE NEW WAVE OF WEARABLES: STRETCHABLE ELECTRONICS By Kim Lightbody
If you purchased a La Roche-Posay sunscreen this summer, it may have come with a complimentary device that looks something like a heart-shaped Band-Aid. But it’s even thinner— half the width of a human hair—and unlike a Band-Aid, it contains miniature electronics that connect to your smartphone and monitor your sun exposure in real time. Launched in June from the La Roche-Posay parent company L’Oréal, My UV Patch is the first stretchable electronic for mainstream consumers. Stick it anywhere on your skin, wear it for up to five days, and use the accompanying app to see how many rays you’ve soaked up. If it sounds simple, it isn’t: the tiny device contains a near-field communication (NFC) antenna and a microchip, which wirelessly send signals to your phone, as well as photosensitive dyes that change color based on their exposure to light. The product is the result of years of academic research into how to transform typically hard, rigid electronics into pliable materials that can easily conform to the contours of another object (particularly the human body) and send data to computers or smartphones using NFC and Bluetooth. With the technology finally advancing to the point of commercialization, stretchable electronics may soon impact everything from medical research to mobile payments to the way you navigate a crowded amusement park. None of this was possible until 2006, when John Rogers, the head of the Rogers Research Group at the University of Illinois, UrbanaChampaign, published a paper with three of his colleagues explaining how they had developed a stretchable form of silicon by cutting and patterning the material into waves, allowing it to expand or compress like an accordion. It was a revelation: silicon, the most widely used semiconductor in electronics, is naturally hard and brittle. That’s fine if you’re building a smartwatch, but it doesn’t lend itself to creating ultramalleable devices that feel more like a second skin. Rogers’s achievement has sparked a flurry of activity in other university labs as engineers and scientists try to further his work and develop uses for it. "This is where wearables are likely to go next," says Rogers. "A lot of people see this as the future." Rogers’s method of creating stretchable electronics isn’t the only one—some scientists are working with liquid metals rather than silicon, and others are focused on altering the molecular structure of organic materials to make them inherently stretchable—but for now, it’s the most ready for commercialization. Rogers, who is moving his lab to Northwestern 48
University this September, cofounded a company called MC10, a Massachusetts-based startup dedicated to bringing stretchable electronics to market. The company worked with L’Oréal on My UV Patch and has developed another device, the BioStamp Research Connect, which measures body motion, muscle activity, and heart rate. MC10 began selling the BioStamp to researchers and companies earlier this year. "It’s essentially a body-worn computer," says Roozbeh Ghaffari, MC10’s cofounder and chief technology officer. Ghaffari’s team is also working with Rogers’s lab on studies at Chicago-area institutions, using the patches for physical rehabilitation and on neurosurgery patients. Rogers is overseeing a separate trial at the city’s Lurie Children’s Hospital, where the wireless, battery-free sensors replace cumbersome machines to monitor the vital signs of premature babies. For the next generation of the technology, both MC10 and Rogers are exploring how stretchable electronics can collect and analyze bodily fluids, such as sweat. This would allow the devices to measure biomarkers like electrolyte levels in athletes or glucose levels in diabetics. Rogers is running one of these microfluidic studies with L’Oréal, which is interested in how the
technology could monitor skin health. "Hydration is an important part of antiaging," says Guive Balooch, global vice president of L’Oréal’s technology incubator, which produced the My UV Patch. "If you can measure different attributes of the sweat, you can start to understand the personalized beauty routines and skin health of consumers." The U.S. Air Force has also shown interest, partnering with Rogers to test the device on its members, measuring things such as total sweat loss during exercise. Additional consumer applications are on the way: MC10 is working on devices that could be used for cashless payment, interactive gaming, and live events—which Ghaffari says could be market-ready within a few years. Though MC10 isn’t sharing much information about its partners, stretchable electronics could enable users to pay for groceries or access a hotel room with the wave of a hand or participate in enhanced gaming experiences. Imagine a video-game console that monitors heart rate, temperature, and movements, and responds to them in real time with new challenges and environments. "Electronics keep getting closer to us—from a computer on your desk to a Fitbit on your wrist," Rogers says. "We’re just scratching the surface."
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THE PROTÉGÉS G6
Lessons learned from Kuwait to Boston and back again By bazaar staff
Generation 6 Students at Harvard University
It’s always a good idea to get a head start on character building before having to put those skills to professional use. This is why Kuwait’s young adults are lucky to have access to The Protégés, a program that offers six weeks of life-altering experiences dedicated to enriching their minds. During the six weeks, the students are exposed to different tools to use in their everyday lives that will benefit them from the moment they step out of the program till the rest of their lives, and this year’s Protégés were no exception in taking advantage of the full experience. The Generation 6 (G6) Protégés started off with a bang from the first day of their 50
journey with wise words from their mentors, an eclectic group of successful individuals who have different elements of experience and pearls of wisdom to bring into the students’ lives. The mentors are selected based on their professional backgrounds and experiences, including professions in corporate training, social media awareness, life coaching, communications, productions, and even a Reiki master – to name a few. Such Mentors include Ms. Rana AlKhaled, for example, an advocate for tolerance, individualism, respect for the law and public resources, work ethic, integrity and volunteer work. Other mentors, such as Mr. Mohammed AlMunaikh are business buffs who have years of entrepreneurial experience and have founded apps and other businesses in the State of Kuwait. Mentors such as these two,
amongst others, guided the students throughout their six weeks in the program and contributed in teaching them the secrets they know about life, extending beyond business facts. "A lesson I want to pass to every Protégé is that life is not linear, and that it isn’t necessarily a bad thing”, said Mentor Mohammed. What did the mentors have in store this year for the G6 Protégés? Each day offered something different – from general icebreakers that allowed them to connect on deeper levels, to out-of-the-box discussions that inspired them to seek different perspectives on life. An example of an activity was one entitled “If Walls Could Speak”. Assigned by Mentor Rana, the students creatively presented acts and plays, to tell the many stories a wall could hold. Through this, they were taught to appreciate the beauty
around them, and to look and reflect upon their surroundings. On top of rounded discussions and in-house activities given by mentors, The Protégés were also given mini-field trips within Kuwait to experience different settings to broaden their horizons. Whether it was when they visited Yadawi, a crafts studio in Jabriya, to learn how to make beautiful art out of unlikely scraps and objects, or when they visited Marina FM to meet Ali Najm, one of the GCC’s most prominent radio talk show hosts, where they were challenged to find a news story and give an impromptu report, they kept learning to work together in teams and explore different problem-solving strategies. Food for thought was on the daily menu for The Protégés, and this extended beyond activities. The students were rewarded lectures from an array of local speakers on a daily basis. These speakers would teach them different life lessons to consider – such as, what it is to be “Charismatic”, an inspirational lecture led by Protégés founder and mentor Shamlan AlBahar and notable contemporary figure, Khalid AlBuraiki. In doing this, they also introduce the students to positive role models – not only through themselves, but also through examples of notable figures such as Audrey Hepburn and Mahatma Gandhi, and what makes them charismatic. Another notable guest speaker was Sheikha Intisar Al Sabah, founder and editorial director of Lulua Publishing and the founder of the Alnowair positivity initiative. Sheikha Intisar had a lot to contribute in her lecture, giving the students her valuable thoughts on positivity – another example of an attribute that will benefit them in the long run. And then, there was Boston – an opportunity so great, and an experience so unforgettable that these lucky students were able to enjoy. The Protégés, being guests of the prestigious Boston College, would reconvene daily to expose themselves to the realities of a culture and an everyday life that occurs on the opposite side of the globe, which widened their horizons. They engaged in daily 6 a.m. drama therapy sessions with Fatmah Al-Qadfan, an Intensive Individual Support Provider who taught them the value of starting their days off on an energetic and positive note, and even met Pulitzer Prize winning author Paul Harding, the author of – one of the many novels The Protégés were recommended to read by their mentors. The Boston experience was not without reflection, and the students embraced it. On their last day, amidst a leadership seminar led by mentors, they were given a task to reflect on, write down and present the valuable lessons they had learned at that point in the program. With a lot of gratitude expressed to the college and the mentors, their expression of what they had learned was incredibly deep, and upon completing
Generation 6 during a walk at Boston College
Chef Faisal Al Nashmi explaining the street food challenge to generation 6
this segment of the program in the fashion of a ceremony held for them at the College, they reflected on all that was learned and how they can improve. “The best moment in The Protégés was when I knew what my greatness was: it was all about the simple and basic things in me. When I knew that, everything suddenly clicked.” Reflected one Protégé, Noura Al Jouan. “To me, [the simple and basic things] were my weaknesses, but apparently they were my strengths.” The students arrived back to Kuwait as changed individuals after Boston, and completed their weeks as pending Protégés with even more in their pockets than they could’ve ever imagined. “The feeling of being able to say anything to so many ears who are keen to listen without misunderstanding is how I found my idea of heaven” is how (Protégé) Alaa Al Balushi expressed the experience.
This program is evidently a valuable one in character building, and for students aged 1624, it’s a great investment to consider. Not only because of the opportunities they are exposed to, both locally and abroad, but because of the life lessons and tools they’ll collect along the way of this magical six week journey. It was always said, throughout the past generations, that once you’re a Protégé, you’re a Protégé for life—and judging by G6’s Summer 2016 experiences and lessons, we think we understand why.
Are you 16-24 and want to be a Protégé for life? Apply now for G7 Summer 2017 at: www.theProtégés.org. Follow them on Instagram @theProtégés. Read about The Protégés’ Boston trip on our website www.bazaar.town. 51
JUDD APATOW ON COMEDY, FROM ‘GIRLS’ FINALE TO ‘GHOSTBUSTERS’ BACKLASH By Patrick Ryan
Judd Apatow is back on the small screen, in a big way. More than 15 years after his short-lived Freaks and Geeks, created by Paul Feig, was axed by NBC, executive producer Apatow is in the midst of a TV takeover with three other comedies: HBO’s Girls, now shooting its sixth and final season; Netflix’s Love, back next year; and Pete Holmes’ semi-autobiographical Crashing, due on HBO in early 2017. We sat down with Apatow, 48, on Crashing’s Brooklyn set, where he discussed his current slate: Between Girls, Love and now Crashing, do you find that you’re gravitating more toward TV? Well, there’s a lot of opportunity now because there’s a big need and a lot of freedom, so I find it irresistible. It’s what I always dreamed of: that you can make TV and everyone would get out of your way and you follow your vision without watering it down. I feel like it’s a golden age for television. You can do weird things on TV — there are happy stories, sad stories, dark stories. But with a movie, it always has to end satisfying. Unless you’re the Coen brothers, and it ends with somebody getting shot in the head. What’s different about producing for HBO vs. Netflix? It’s not very different. They both have very smart people who have great taste and believe in the talents. If you work on network TV, they want to pick your casts, dictate your story and how your show works. … It just becomes creativity by committee, which is never good. You’re finishing work on Girls. How would you like to see that end? It’s a really strong season, but it feels like it’s time. It’s the end of their twenties and (creator/ star Lena Dunham) felt like it was a show about that period. Lena has had a vision for how she would end it, so now we’re just working on those scripts. The ideas she expresses at the end are important and she’s got a great take on it. But it’s very sad, because she’s brilliant and it’s been nothing but fun to interact with her for the last seven years. It’s just beginning to hit everybody that this is about to be over. In general, do you find it’s easier for smaller shows with niche audiences to survive? Yeah, way easier. In the old days, you’d have almost no chance to get any of these shows on the air. People really wanted them to appeal everybody. There was a moment where Friends was on the air and everyone was trying to rip off Friends, and there wasn’t a lot of creativity 52
happening. When you tried to be creative, the networks were mad at you. They weren’t happy we were doing Freaks and Geeks, they were truly angry. Why? They didn’t see it as appealing to people. That was before there were a lot of shows about antiheroes or types of people that weren’t talked about on TV. For a long time, TV was just the land of handsome, beautiful people, and now it’s the opposite. Do you think that Freaks and Geeks would’ve stuck around longer now? Sure, absolutely. Freaks and Geeks would’ve stayed around for 20 years, if it had only been today. Paul Feig, who created the show, has gotten a lot of unfair backlash for his Ghostbusters reboot. What do you make of the online reactions to its female casting and trailers?
It’s all silly. The types of people that get all worked up about who’s playing Batman next never interest me. It’s fine that they have hobbies that they care about, but ultimately, it’s a movie and it’s meant to make you happy, and once it comes out, people are going to love it. There’s a lot more impor tant things happening in the world to get worked up about than that. What’s your favorite TV comedy right now? Well, I’m missing Mad Men a lot and I’m missing Louie a lot. Those are probably the shows that I enjoy the most. I haven’t watched (Louis C.K.’s Horace and Pete) yet. I loved Lady Dynamite. That’s my new favorite comedy. Maria Bamford is a genius and that show does an incredible job of finding a way to express her vision of the world.
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WHY TRUSTING GOOGLE FOR YOUR HEALTH IS A BAD IDEA By Dr. H. Eric Bender , Dr. Murdoc Khaleghi , and Dr. Bobby Singh
“Hey, Doc, should I drink cockroach milk?” a patient asks. While sometimes questions like these seem “cultural,” it’s often difficult to fathom that a physician or any health care professional would have recommended the treatment in question. The phrase “Nine out of 10 doctors recommend…” is often used to promote widely accepted treatments, so that one outlier doctor must be responsible for all the rather wacky treatments that we other physicians get asked about every week. And although some of these treatments seem beyond bizarre, they can also be incredibly interesting. At least they were to the three physicians listed in this article’s byline, including Dr. H. Eric Bender, who says his fascination with peculiar medical practices started in medical school. During one of his early rotations, he was shocked to learn that not only could he order leeches for a patient in the hospital but he could specify where they were to be placed as well: left leg, right arm or whole body. (In case you’re wondering, to precisely “aim” a leech, place it in a small cup with a very small hole cut in the bottom. That hole is then aligned with the area on the patient requiring blood removal and voilà! Bloodthirsty segmented worms are suddenly hard at work. Bender does not recommend trying this at home.) Now, thanks to our internet-sparked society of do-it-yourselfers, Bender’s fascination with the unconventional cure has continued to grow as he has contemplated conversations with his patients and researched a wide range of (seemingly) ridiculous but sometimes effective remedies. Unfortunately, the physician’s oath to “do no harm” has been replaced in many clinics with “do clean up this mess.” For example, a physician or two in the not so distant past recommended that children smoke tobacco to treat pica, a condition in which people feel compelled to chew on nonnutritious substances like rocks, sand or glass. The list of dangerous substances, organisms and animal byproducts that people have used over the years to treat everything. Fortunately, most of the practices did not, as further research demonstrated the dangers of many of them. “Weird medicine” is not limited to just medical practices and treatments. A look into the medical literature reveals that it is replete with research and studies that aren’t particularly well-designed or are far-fetched to the point of absurdity. Other studies seemed simply self-evident. Did you know 54
skydiving is dangerous? Would you believe that stock market crashes are associated with increased depression? Clearly, some of this research must have been conducted at the University of the Obvious. Some fascinating practices seemed like terrible ideas but are actually so well-supported by research that they are considered the gold standard for treatment of certain illnesses. Enticing theories that turn out to be bad ideas (think bacon-stuffed pizza) are not unique, but seemingly odd ideas that turn out to be great ideas, such as having complete strangers stay in your house while you’re not there—kudos, Airbnb!—are as rare as spinoffs being as good as the original. As an example, consider that antibiotics frequently kill good bacteria while also killing the bad bacteria doctors are trying to eliminate. “Good” bacteria suppress the growth of bad bacteria. So when the good bacteria are wiped out, many individuals develop a type of intestinal infection known as Clostridium difficile (or C. diff ). C. diff is often difficult to treat with antibiotics, since
they typically caused the problem in the first place. Fortunately, one treatment has a very high rate of success: fecal transplantation. Yes, you read that correctly. Doctors place stool from a donor inside the patient’s gastrointestinal system. Intuitively, you might think putting my feces into your gut would cause serious infections, but the donated good bacteria help eradicate infection. If you think using excrement is an odd way to eradicate infection, how about maggots instead? Maggot therapy involves using those little legless larvae to prevent a wound infection. Maggots selectively target and eat dead tissue that is difficult to remove surgically without taking healthy tissue with it. Although doctors have been aware of this fact since at least the 1930s, this treatment was not regularly used for decades, particularly as antibiotic use to treat and manage wounds rose in popularity. However, after a recent “rediscovery” of maggot therapy, more than 800 health care institutions use it today. You can be sure pharmaceutical companies are already working on a way to charge exorbitant prices for the little larvae.
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CRAFTING CULINARY EXPERIENCES
Interview with Executive Chef Stephan Dellner—captain of the International Chefs Team at The Regency Hotel Kuwait By bazaar staff
At the iconic Regency Hotel in Kuwait, the art of crafting fine culinary experiences is perfected by visionary Executive Chef Stephan Dellner. Hailing from Germany, Chef Stephan believes that creativity, great leadership and teamwork are all integral elements to ensure the success of the hotel’s food and beverage activities. When it comes to preparing for a special banquet, Chef Stephan has a remarkable eye for curating an experience that goes beyond the typical plate of food. Instead, he envisions how the hotel’s guest will perceive an entire banquet from the moment they walk through The Regency Hotel Kuwait’s prestigious entrance. He applies this creative eye to the hotel’s various dining outlets, where menus are planned carefully to deliver diners with an exciting and memorable experience. We learn all about Chef Stephan’s captivating hospitality journey with The Regency Hotel Kuwait in this special interview. It is an established notion that cooking is a career that combines hard work and passion. What motivated you to become a chef and when did you decide on this career path? I believe that cooking has been a childhood dream of mine, as I loved watching my mother in the kitchen. I knew back then that I wanted to not only cook, but to also have a career in this field. From Germany to Kuwait, tell us about your journey. Before coming to the region, my career began in Germany’s beautiful Black Forest region. From there, I worked in several European countries at boutique luxury establishments and aboard luxury yachts that introduced me to working in the region before coming to Kuwait. I’ve been living in Kuwait for the last year and a half. Is there a difference between working in Europe and in Kuwait? The creative culinary standard in Europe is considered as a point of reference. When I came to the Middle East, I’ve learned that showcasing and keeping this as inspiration is important, while at the same time understanding that customers in the region expect more. The guests have quite a high standard for luxury and I believe that striking a balance between creativity, maintaining a high standard while adapting certain flavors to the local culture, is key. We know that The Regency Hotel is famous for its variety of cuisines, how do you handle preparing for these different concepts? Our team of chefs hails from all over the world to guarantee authenticity with every dish presented. From Indian, Far Eastern, Middle Eastern to 56
European cuisines, each chef has a specialty and all of the dishes we create are held to the highest of standards. As an Executive Chef, what is your secret ‘ingredient’ to lead your team? You have to behave like a passionate leader, nourish the team with a positive environment, and set a good example. In this way, talent is nurtured, while good ideas are shaped into realities. It’s really important to empower the team, while still leading them toward realizing the hotel’s ethos. At The Regency Hotel Kuwait, our style is quite classical, but we are still successfully able to present classical ideas in a modern light utilizing our team’s creativity and talents. Do you prefer to dine at a specific outlet at The Regency Hotel? If so, which one is your favorite? I’m a frequent diner at the hotel’s international Silk Road restaurant and I am a huge fan of the Seafood Night—because there is a large variety of seafood cooked in different styles to choose from. Are there any special culinary activities coming up at the hotel’s dining outlets? This September, our Barbecue Nights will be making a come back which is always fun for us! A beautiful
Arabic tent will be set up by the beach side with its own special set menu with live cooking stations around the pool and beach area. The hotel’s luxurious main lobby, Al Liwan, will also showcase very soon an innovative, cosmopolitan menu with a modern European touch. That’s the beauty of working with an international team of expert chefs, as you have the talent and expertise to present authentic cuisine to our local clientele. Eid also will bring with it our special Eid Brunch menu for the duration of the entire holiday. To make the experience more memorable, we decided that each day of this special holiday will celebrate a certain type of cuisine in a fun interactive fashion from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Of course, our Friday Royal brunches are still going on! Lastly, what are three ingredients that you cannot live without in the kitchen? Teamwork, passion and motivation. For more information, contact The Regency Hotel Kuwait at 2576 6666 or visit: www.theregencykuwait.com. Follow @TheRegencyQ8 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
ﻓﻀﺔ ﺑﻮﺟﺒﺎره ﺗﺨﺼﺺ ﺗﺼﻤﻴﻢ داﺧﲇ ودﻳﻜﻮر ﻣﺪرﺳﺔ ﺛﺎﻧﻮﻳﺔ
ﺳﺎرة اﻟﺮﻓﺎﻋﻲ ﺗﺨﺼﺺ ﺗﺼﻤﻴﻢ داﺧﲇ ودﻳﻜﻮر ﻣﺼﻤﻤﺖ دﻳﻜﻮر
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ﻟﻴﲆ ال ﻋﺒﺎس ﺗﺨﺼﺺ ﺗﺼﻤﻴﻢ ﺟﺮاﻓﻴيك ﻣﻮﻇﻔﺔ وزارة اﻟﻜﻬﺮﺑﺎء و رواﺋﻴﺔ
ONLINE SHOPPING WOES, SOLVED! Shop & Ship saves the day (and your wallet!) By bazaar staff
Who doesn’t love online shopping? Sometimes, it’s just the best way to browse! You can curl up in the comfort of your own home, wearing your pajamas and watching your favorite show, and update your life in a matter of minutes with just a few clicks! But sometimes, life is unfair. We all know the feeling – when you really want to buy something but… they only deliver to the U.S., the UK, Canada, or any of those other countries that get all the fun stuff. With Shop & Ship, your days of shopping FOMO (fear of missing out) are over. You’ll never ever have to wonder how much more awesome your life would be if you had that one item you really wanted that wouldn’t ship to Kuwait on its own. But what is Shop & Ship, besides a lifesaver? Created by Aramex in the year 2000, Shop & Ship (S&S) arrives as a leading international online shipping solution that makes global online shopping more convenient and accessible to you, no matter where you live. Offering services 58
to customers all over the globe, S&S offers you 18 physical addresses in the U.S., U.K., China, Turkey, UAE, India, South Africa, Hong Kong, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Singapore, Canada, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea and Japan upon member registration. This means you can shop from any one of those countries, hassle free! What’s even more attractive about S&S is having peace of mind with secure online payment options, including debit and credit cards. So no need for those nonVisa-or-Mastercard holding hearts to sink, K-Net is an accepted form of payment. Worried about where your parcel will arrive? Don’t fret! You can get your order to ship to whichever address you feel is most convenient. If you think you’re going to benefit receiving your parcel at the office, register it to there. If you’d like to receive it at home that works too. S&S is flexible, and aims to make this whole experience more efficient and peaceful for you. For added peace of mind, you can protect valuable shipments with S&S Protect: an add-on that guarantees anything pricy or important you might be ordering is insured.
Efficiency, peace and excellent deals is also why S&S ensures that you’re charged only for weight of goods versus dimensional weight, and also gives reassurance of money back guarantee, if you feel their services didn’t meet your expectations. The Shop & Ship service is available in over 65 cities worldwide, and Kuwait is one of them! We at bazaar are huge fans of this service, and find ourselves ordering and delivering via S&S on almost a monthly basis. They never disappoint, and we know you’ll be as pleased with their service as we are. So go on, what are you waiting for? Sign up with Shop & Ship right now and get shopping! Go crazy, shopaholics! Sweeter: Here's a special offer for all our readers. Sign up today for only USD 1 with this promo-code at checkout: BazaarSnS (valid until Septmeber 20th) Join Shop & Ship today by visiting their website for more information www.shopandship.com. Follow @ShopandShip_Insta on Instagram, @ ShopandShip on Twitter and Facebook: MyShopandShip.
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CONTEMPORARY LUXE Autumn/Winter chic at Harvey Nichols Kuwait By bazaar staff
Winter is coming, and Harvey Nichols is ready to dress you to the nines. Offering exclusive contemporary brands in abundance for the upcoming autumn/ winter season, shoppers won’t be left wanting. With cutting edge designs, rich and beautiful fabrics, Harvey Nichols will have you ready to brave the colder months in style. CINQ À SEPT Sharing its name with the French term for that liminal moment linking late afternoon and early evening, Cinq à Sept brings the intriguing tension between day and night to a new advanced contemporary collection. Inspired by the hours between 5 and 7 p.m., Cinq à Sept embodies a deliberate balance between sophistication and ease, youthful daring and confident allure. The collection’s modern feminine aesthetic embraces unexpected details and striking silhouettes, resulting in garments that draw their romance from the woman wearing them.
Solace
ELLIATT Known for its chic and playful designer pieces, Elliatt is targeted to a fashion conscious 25-35 year-old. The brand’s signature look is in luxe fabrications and unique, intricate detailing. While contrast embroidery, delicate lace trims, laser-cut patterns and beadwork can all be found within the Elliatt ranges. KENDALL + KYLIE With Kendall and Kylie’s debut collection, transition yourself into the season with shades of coral, powder blue, and black and white. This sophisticated contemporary collection captures a balance between Kylie’s dynamic edge and Kendall’s classic femininity. Featuring sharp, tailored dresses, versatile separates and chic playsuits, the line is inspired by world cities, from New York and Paris to Dubai. PUMA BY RIHANNA Puma has done it again! The street-wear brand displays athleisure brilliantly by reflecting Rihanna’s bold style to the core. The Puma by Rihanna line shows an array of goth and sport — taking on wrestling gear, boxing shorts and robes, tracksuits and hoodies galore. 60
Mira Mikati
Cinq à Sept
TI:BAEG Witty original and sophisticated classic, the soft contemporary brand Ti:baeg expresses tender emotions through multifarious colorful graphics. The way a tea bag infuses rich flavors into water, 'Ti:baeg' will release the colors within you. 'Ti:baeg' suggests a new style through the combination of delicate details and colors along with graphic elements. ENFOLD Japanese label Enfold offers an especially versatile breed of minimalism. Appropriating the of-the-moment normcore attitude, Enfold’s sleek yet relaxed monochrome basics speak volumes. Yet their range of casual attire comes to us with solid fabrics contrasted with hard lines: Oversized coats and blouses, slouchy trousers, and effortlessly structured dresses. While Enfold’s essential ready-to-wear pieces, like pullover sweaters and sweatshirts, burst with youthful accents and an understated novelty factor making their latest creations highly coveted.
Enfold Puma by Rihanna
MIRA MIKATI Mira Mikati wants you to literally wear your emotions. With her quirky style, she uniquely combines fun, emoji-style detailing with elegant, grown-up silhouettes. Fun prints take center stage in this collection. MARISSA WEBB Marissa Webb’s main focus is simple: to create buy-now, wear-now pieces. One of Webb’s strongest looks for this season consisted of a white lace top with pronounced shoulders, layered over a tank top and tucked into army pants fasted with a loop belt. An outfit curated to perfection which one could imagine wearing throughout late summer.
Marissa Webb
SOLACE Contemporary womenswear brand Solace London’s collection is absolutely dreamy. Statement dresses and separates exude a modern, graphic elegance. Solace’s focus on construction, craftsmanship and their minute attention to detail is what makes the designs shine.
Harvey Nichols Kuwait is located at Grand Avenue – The Avenues. Opening hours are from 10 a.m. till midnight Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. from Sunday to Wednesday. Please call 2228 3008 for more information. You can also get social with Harvey Nichols Kuwait by following them on: Facebook.com/HarveyNicholsKuwait , Instagram @HarveyNicholsKuwait.
Elliatt
Kendall + Kylie
Ti:baeg
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WHATEVER HAPPENED TO DUAL-SCREEN SMARTPHONES? By Jared Newman
Back in 2011, an unknown smartphone brand called Imerj began to show off a slick prototype for a dual-screen smartphone. The device unfolded like a clamshell laptop, allowing users to type on one screen while interacting with apps on another. In portrait mode, users could run two apps side by side, with swipe gestures to pass apps back and forth between the two displays. Unfortunately, the product never shipped for a variety of reasons, and since then, no one's released a phone with side-by-side screens outside of Japan. But if anything, the idea makes more sense now than it did five years ago. Smartphones continue to cannibalize tablets and laptops, as we spend more time texting, reading, socializing, watching videos, and playing games on the one device that's most readily available. As such, we demand ever-larger smartphone displays, to the point that we can barely fit them in our hands and pockets anymore. Surely, we'd go even larger if we could. But instead of making a single-screen even larger, perhaps the time is right to add a second one. Imerj wasn't the first attempt at a dual-screen Android phone. That honor goes to the Kyocera Echo. The Echo launched with a lot of fanfare, but it had a number of problems. When unfurled, the two screens had a thick bezel between them, tarnishing the tablet-like experience Kyocera was aiming for. The extra display also consumed a lot of power—a point that Kyocera seemed to acknowledge by shipping the Echo with an external battery pack. Worst of all, the Echo lacked the software to support its ambitious hardware. Out of the box, only a handful of apps supported side-by-side use, and Kyocera's attempt at an app-developer program went nowhere. Perhaps Kyocera could have established an ecosystem had it committed to the dual-screen concept over the long term, but the Echo ended up being a one-off experiment. Imerj's take on the dual-screen phone was more refined, but also more ambitious. The prototype was conceived and built by electronics manufacturer Flextronics (now known as Flex), with the original goal being to create a phone that could dock into a desktop workstation, says Sean Burke, who ran Flextronics' computing division at the time. To enable multitasking on the workstation, the Imerj team adapted the Linux kernel to run multiple Android apps side by side, along with a full Linux desktop. The dual-screen phone evolved out of that effort. "Because we had resolved the whole aspect of doing multitasking and multi-displaying, we could 62
actually do dual screen and have the combination of making it a full-sized screen across two screens, or running multiple apps at the same time and maintaining full Android compatibility," Burke says. But while Burke maintains that the device was ready for production, Flextronics was unable to drum up interest from electronics brands. Motorola, for instance, was busy with its own laptop docking system on its Atrix smartphones, while Sony didn't want to diverge from its existing three-year product roadmap (which included a dual-screen tablet but no phone). Cisco, which had been dabbling in consumer electronics with its acquisition of Flip camera maker Pure Digital, liked the Imerj idea but decided it was too aggressive a leap into the smartphone business, Burke says. A "big retailer in the U.S." also opted against making its smartphones after initially seeming interested in the project. Meanwhile, Flextronics itself was reluctant to go directly to market, Burke says. Like many Android phones, its design would likely have infringed on patents from companies like Apple and Microsoft, who at the time were some of Flextronics' largest contract customers. Although no major phone makers have attempted a dual-screen smartphone since Imerj wound down, the pieces are starting to fall into place. Android, for instance, will support two apps running side by side in the next major version, dubbed Nougat. Burke says while phone makers would still have to define how dual-screen
interactions work, native multi-window support should make things easier. As for hardware, the borders around smartphone screens have gotten much narrower over the last five years. (On Xiaomi's Mi 5, for instance, the bezel is practically nonexistent.) And while a dual-screen phone would still draw extra battery power and require a thicker design, display technology and power efficiency have improved to the point that a doubly thick phone doesn't seem like a big tradeoff. Lenovo's Moto Z, for instance, is a mere 5.2 mm thick. If you stacked two of them together, they'd still be slimmer than an original iPhone. That's not to say the concept is without its design challenges. The borders around smartphone screens won't go away completely until displays become fully bendable—an advancement that's still many years away—and Burke says he's still not sure how well a dual-screen design would accommodate third-party cases. Technology analyst Patrick Moorhead points out another issue. Hinges, he says, are notoriously difficult to design when trying to strike a balance between sleekness and sturdiness. As an example, he points to Windows tablet-laptop hybrids from a few years ago, which were either too flimsy or too clunky. It took PC makers a few years to get it right. Perhaps that's the biggest challenge of all: To design a dual-screen phone, some hardware maker will have to part with nearly a decade of design conventions and take a big risk.
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HOW TO GET RID OF YOUR BIG NOSE IN SELFIES
Researchers have come up with a way to correct for the bulbous facial features that you get when you take a selfie By Katharine Schwab
Have you ever noticed how selfies can make even the most delicate button nose look like Adrien Brody's or Gérard Depardieu's? A group of scientists from Princeton and Adobe Research has invented a solution. Their photo-editing tool enables users to decide how far away the camera is from their face—after the photo has already been taken. That means that the software can take your selfie—the one where your nose looks huge—and slightly redistribute the pixels so that the photo looks like it's been taken from farther away. Goodbye, big nose (you can test it out at the project's web site). Taking portraits from farther away is a technique often used by professional photographers, and it tends to make photos look more, well, professional. A 2007 study showed that the subjects of photos taken from about 2 feet away are generally considered to be more approachable, while subjects of those taken from about 13 feet away come across as smarter and more impressive. These aren't the camera's distortions— according to Fried, noses do seem bigger when you're physically closer to someone. But personal space norms make us comfortable with certain 64
people at certain distances: We're more used to seeing a significant other up close and strangers from a few feet away. Fried called this amount of space a "canonical distance." Because a selfie is taken from a short distance away from the face, it's often closer than the canonical distance. But manipulating photos to correct for that skewed perception is no easy task. "We as people are really sensitive and attuned to faces," he says. "So everything, whether you want to improve photos, edit photos, anything where you have a face, it’s a really hard task. The slightest change will really pop up if it’s not natural." In order to create the editing method, Fried and his team combined a model for creating 3D human heads and a program from Carnegie Mellon researchers that identified key points on a picture of a face. They then wrote an algorithm that would transfer the 2D key points into a 3D image, effectively creating a model of the person's face. From there, the program adjusted the 3D head based on other models of a face photographed from the desired location and warped the pixels in the flat image to match. The editing tool isn't specifically for reducing nose size in selfies—that's just a nice side effect for some. Instead, Fried hopes to provide amateur photographers
with more options, enabling them to change their facial features in a natural way that simulates what the photo would look like if it was simply taken from a different distance. "Many people would like the selfie effect because they prefer themselves with larger noses," Fried said. "The point is to empower users, to get all these different effects without having to move the camera." Fried, along with the Princeton professor Adam Finkelstein and Eli Shechtman and Dan Goldman of Adobe Research (though Goldman is now at Google), presented the research at this year's Siggraph conference. The team built a demo for people to try out as well, and the tool would no doubt make for a popular app—but Fried isn't interested in pursing that for the time being. The next step along this line of inquiry is a digitally recreated version of the iPhone's Live Photos feature, in which the phone's camera captures a second and a half of video before and after the picture being taken. "You’ve seen the Harry Potter movies?" Fried says. "That’s the dream. If we can do more, a slight rotation of the head, bridging a bit—if we can add these minor movements, we could bring life to still photographs." But for now, bulbous-nosed selfie-takers can look a little more normal.
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CLINICAL NUTRITION WITH MR. SAMI ALBADER
Discover Taiba Hospital’s solution to a healthier you! By bazaar staff
We’ve all been there – going from nutritionist to nutritionist and trying every workout available to us. While some efforts are fruitful and others can prove inept, we continue our search for the ultimate lifestyle that will keep us fit and healthy. Enter Taiba Hospital’s Clinical Nutrition and Diet Department. With their advancements in the science and technology of helping you adopt a healthy lifestyle, we just had to find out more! So we sat down with the department’s director, Mr. Sami Albader to learn more about what sets them apart from the rest. Originally a Management student at university, Mr. Sami struggled with weight-loss and saw the benefits of the university dietitian’s guidance. He then decided to enroll into some of the nutrition classes offered. There, he found himself learning about the different techniques he needed and consequentially, made some lifestyle changes. As a result, he started to lose the weight and grew eager to explore this field further and made the decision to change his major to Nutrition and Fitness, and the rest, is history. How do you tailor each nutrition plan for clients and how do you asses them? Assessment of the clients’ history with food, activity, different diets, and medical history is very important. We also put the client on a scale to measure their body fat tissue and get an indirect calorimeter reading – which provides an accurate measure of calories the client needs to consume in order to lose or maintain their weight. We also recently started introducing the Genetic Test (Nutrigenomix) at Taiba Hospital, which gives you a deeper understanding of a person’s genetics, and how they relate to their nutrition. The assessment and tools at Taiba Hospital make tailoring plans for individuals very easy and effective. How do you guide and inspire your clients? I help guide my clients through one-on-one conversations about their goals and coming up with a specific plan on how to achieve each one. At times, when it’s needed, I share with them the success stories of previous clients to help inspire them further. I also use social media as a tool to help motivate my followers. What is your advice to maintain a healthy lifestyle? I have five key points: 1. Eat slowly! The slower you eat, the better your digestion and better control you have on your appetite. 2. Eat until 80 percent full. Don’t try to overwhelm 66
your stomach with food, if you are about 80 percent full or less you will feel energetic and vibrant and can go about your daily tasks with ease. 3. Include vegetables with every meal. Whether it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner – vegetables are low calorie, nutrient dense foods that help keep you nourished while maintaining a healthy appetite. 4. Include protein with every meal. If you want to lose weight, protein is very important to help increase your satiety and help curb your hunger for longer hours. 5. Move more and simply increase your daily physical activity. Invest in a pedometer and start counting your steps for a week, then try to increase that number by 200 to 500 steps per week. Your goal should always be to reach a minimum of 10,000 steps per day. What’s new and exciting in the world of nutrition? Two areas are new and very exciting, the first
is linking people’s DNA to nutrition through the science of Nutrigenomix. For instance, we can now test the effects of coffee consumption on people and see the benefits or altercations it may have. As well as the types of diets and exercises a person can benefit from most. The second area is probiotics and the gastrointestinal tract and how food can affect it as well as the effect it can have on our mood, eating behavior and weight loss or gain.
You can visit Taiba Hospital’s Clinical Nutrition and Diet Department in Sabah Al Salem Area, Block 3, Street 3. Call them on 180 8088 to make an appointment now for a healthier lifestyle! Follow them on Facebook: TaibaHospitalQ8, and on Instagram and Twitter @TaibaHospital for more information.
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ARE WE FINALLY GOING TO BE ABLE TO DITCH 3D GLASSES AT THE MOVIES? By Neal Ungerleider
When you go to the movies now, it's pretty much accepted that you'll be handed a pair of glasses along with your torn ticket stub. Studios love 3D movies, and many films—especially big blockbuster action and science fiction films—have scenes designed just for three-dimensional viewing. But the glasses themselves might not stick around movie theaters forever: Researchers are discovering new methods that could someday dispense with glasses entirely. At this year’s SIGGRAPH conference in Anaheim, researchers unveiled work on something called Cinema 3D. The technology, which is still in very early stages, shows 3D movies to viewers in any seat in a theatre using a special set of mirrors and lenses. Although Cinema 3D has a long way to go in terms of being cost-effective and being something researchers can reproduce on a large scale, a prototype version of the system was met with extreme interest at the conference. Researchers at MIT, the Weizmann Institute, 68
and Germany’s Saarland University and Max Planck Institute all worked on the project. The prototype they discussed at SIGGRAPH requires 50 sets of mirrors and lenses, and is only the size of a pad of paper. Scaling it out to larger sizes remains a major challenge. Piotr Didyk of Saarland University and the Planck Institute told Co.Create that if a larger version of the technology were to be developed for movie theaters, it would require the use of precision manufacturing techniques. However, he noted that "We are researchers who come from computer graphics. We have a background in optics so we know how to design optics, but we don’t work on fabricating those elements." The way the system works depends on one crucial factor: People stay in a seat for the duration of a movie and have a limited range of movement while the movie is playing. "This project started with the observation that every cinema has a specific layout," Didyk added. "People in a theatre can’t move wherever they want; they sit in certain spots with a fixed head position with a certain degree of movement. This led us to design an optical system which takes multiple
images shown on screen, all with the same viewing direction." In other words, if you stay in the same seat for a movie and don’t move your head much, the screen will show up in 3D for you. The technology is similar to other techniques that have shown up in the augmented reality world. For instance, Magic Leap is generally believed to work with similar innovations in mirrors. These techniques are easily exploitable in the cinema and augmented reality, where users generally keep their heads in a fixed position. However, they aren’t easily used for television or any other situation where viewers are moving around the room—which is just one reason why we haven’t seen 3D television yet. Even though it’s still strictly in its early stages, glasses-less 3D movies are of intense interest to the film industry. According to the MPAA, more than one out of every 10 movies viewed in 2015 was in 3D, and theater chains are deeply interested in any form of 3D viewing that’s both appealing to the customer and exceedingly costfriendly. Who knows? In 20 years, you may be watching Batman V Superman 4 in 3D with no need for glasses at all.
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FOR THE LOVE OF BREAD
The guide to Le Pain Quotidien’s handmade, artisanal, organic and freshly baked breads By bazaar staff
There are few things in life more loveable than bread. It is an age-old luxury that most, if not every culture, likes to indulge in. A vessel to many dishes, whether they be appetizers, main courses, or desserts, for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack, bread is the food staple that makes every true foodie’s heart skip a beat – which is why bread made right, no matter the type, is an important part of the indulging process. Le Pain Quotidien, affectionately known as “PQ”, implements the worldwide love of bread in its menu, and with its 100 percent organic process of baking, redefines the ideology of bread being made right. You can count the ingredients in PQ’s bread on one hand: flour, starter, water, salt and time. Using only organic stone-ground flour milled to their exacting specifications is the secret behind their bread’s earthy, deep richness and hearty crust. While commercial bakeries might use yeast to get their bread to rise, PQ nurtures a natural sourdough starter to give their breads lift. It’s the secret to their bread’s rich aroma and craggy interior. Le Pain Quotidien takes bread making nice and slow, letting the levain starter do its job. With their bakers guiding the way, time is always on their side. Levain: the baking process A levain is a natural yeast culture that slowly matures to bring a wonderfully tangy flavor, complex aroma and texture as well as nutrients to PQ’s hearth-style loaves. Maintaining these natural yeast starters requires patience and skill; it must be cared for every day to retain and develop its unique flavor. It’s an involved process but a worthy one, for it brings the nuanced taste from the past to their time-honored loaves. PQ lets their levain do the heavy lifting. Natural yeast starters benefit from long fermentation, during which time the muscles of their bread, called gluten, soften into amino acids, which are more easily digested by the body. Besides allowing for the uniquely developed taste of the bread, the fermentation process also assists to break down sugars and starches, resulting in rustic loaves with higher mineral and vitamin content and lower carbohydrate content. PQ’s breads are not only easier to digest, but they’re also a better nutritional alternative to conventional breads. This is the PQ difference. Meet the stars of the PQ family Le Pain Quotidien’s hearth-baked rustic breads all begin with organic, stone-ground wheat, 70
water and salt. They are, at their core, the same – however, once the expert bakers of PQ use whole-wheat, add grains and seeds, or supplement with other carefully milled flours, they are able to offer a selection of breads that can satisfy your whim. Wheat This is the bread they are known for, made with organic whole-wheat flour, sea salt, water and levain, their all-natural fermented starter. Whether it’s served alongside soup, salad, a hearty farm-egg breakfast or used as the base for their signature tartines, this bread will always feel like home. Baguette Long, slender and classic, the PQ baguette features a shatteringly crisp crust and a tender, supple crumb. It’s made from organic wheat flour, sea salt, water and yeast and is ideal paired with their farm-style fresh fruit jams or chocolate spreads. Rye Dense, rich and hearty, their deeply dark rye is made with organic dark rye flour, whole-wheat flour, sea salt, water and levain. Just add some quality butter and fleur de sel, and life is good.
5-Grain This bread is ideal for breakfast, with a hearty highlight of flax seeds, rolled oats, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds. Raisins add sweetness and whole organic wheat flour, yeast, sea salt and water comprise the bones of the loaf. It takes about eight hours and ten careful, elaborate steps for the PQ bakers to bake a typical loaf of bread. The baking process requires patience and skills, so slow down, savor and share it. Le Pain Quotidien prides itself in its bread, and finds a way to implement freshly baked goodness in all of its dishes. “Le Pain Quotidien” literally translating to “the daily bread”, and with the taste of freshness in each bite, you’ll find that PQ lives up to its name. Go on and indulge in a PQ plate at one of their rustic locations—you won’t regret your choice. Le Pain Quotidien can be found in Marina Crescent and at 2nd Avenue – The Avenues. Follow them on Instagram and Facebook @LPQMiddleEast. Visit their website at www.lepainquotidien.com.
The Promenade mall is your neighbourhood destination. In the heart of the city.
promenade
H&M STUDIO AUTUMN/WINTER 2016 MEN’S COLLECTION Interview with Andreas Lowenstam, Head of Menswear at H&M By bazaar staff
Andreas Lowenstam
Elevating classic looks, the H&M Studio Men’s collection for Autumn/Winter 2016 interprets fashion through the quality of the fabrics presented in each carefully designed piece. With the arrival of this collection, the design experts at H&M present a lesson in the importance of reimagining classic looks using quality garments. After all, updating classic looks offers an intuitive, timeless style. Highlights from the collection include a typical bomber jacket that is elongated for a modern twist, 72
and traditional fabrics like wintery corduroy take on utilitarian shapes. Knitwear in the collection is also key, as the use of fabrics like cashmere/ merino wool might seem like regular practice, but with innovative patterns like irregular ribbing or deconstructed cableknits, a new classic is born. Pants are tailored in various lengths and styles, and with the use of wool and corduroy fabric, perfectly match the season’s coats. Every detail is accounted for in this collection, T-shirts and tops are presented in silk and fine pima cottons, while accessories like mohair beanies, wool scarves and leather shoes with platform soles make for excellent wardrobe accompaniments.
Believing that fabric is key, Andreas Lowenstam, Head of Menswear at H&M said that the collection “started with the qualities. These fabrics had such character, we knew we wanted to create a collection that focused on the perfect coat. I love how the collection makes such a statement from pieces that are so calm. You can make a strong look from elevated classics, especially when all the details have been considered so deeply.” Available at select H&M stores in Kuwait starting September 6, we spoke further with Andreas Lowenstam to learn more about H&M Studio Menswear collection for Autumn/Winter 2016.
What was your inspiration for this collection? With the vision of designing a collection built on modern uniforms for the modern urbanite, we got inspiration from all the interesting qualities and beautiful colors we sourced for this collection. We are all very proud of this collection. What are your favorite pieces in this collection? For sure all the heavy overcoats. We knew we wanted to create a collection that focused on the perfect coat. How would you describe this collection in three words? Modern, masculine and quality-driven. How does sustainability come into this collection? We aim to work with sustainable qualities where it
really adds value to the product. For this collection we have worked with recycled wool for some of the pants, jackets and coats. Tell us about the team that is behind this collection and when did the work start? We are more or less 10 people working with the Studio Collection. We are an in-house design team that has a lot of experience within fashion. We started the design process for the collection almost a year before the products hit stores in September 2016. How does the design process for Studio work? All our concepts are working with the customer in mind when designing and analyzing current
fashion. With the Studio Collection, it is even more important to create a statement on the latest fashion for the early adopters and for the customers who expect to find the latest products, qualities and silhouettes at H&M.
The H&M Studio Autumn Winter 2016 collection for Ladies and Men will be available at H&M at the Grand Avenue– The Avenues and the kid's collection at H&M at the 1st Avenue– The Avenues. The collection will be released on September 6th 2016. For more information, please visit www.hm.com. 73
HOW TO AVOID HACKING?
Read this story, then turn off your computer By Tim Johnson
Here’s some advice for newbies to the largest cybersecurity and hacking conferences in the world, taking place in Las Vegas this week: Hackers are going to hack, so do everything you can to get out of their way. Disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on your cellphone. Turn off your computer. Do not use ATMs near the convention you will attend. Pay for everything with cash. Sound extreme? Not to the experts at the Black Hat and DefCon 24 conventions, which have drawn about 16,000 people from 108 countries, many of them trained to snoop on other people’s digital devices. In fact, some of the sessions at the threeday Black Hat convention, which started small in 1997 but now has corporate sponsors and plenty of law enforcement attendees, offered training on how to break into networks or how to attack them surreptitiously. Information security officers find the sessions helpful in understanding the evolving coding of malware, the software tools through which hackers break into systems. In the unseen air around the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, it’s mano a mano among digital combatants, hackers and security specialists. “We’re not stopping attacks. We’re just observing them,” said Neil R. Wyler, speaking at a network monitoring facility with multiple large screens at the convention center. Wyler goes by the user name of “Grifter” and his day job is with RSA, a network security company based in Bedford, Massachusetts. His business cards describe him as “hacker-in-residence” and “threat hunting & incident response specialist.” As a security expert, he usually spots network intrusions and goes after them. But at Black Hat, he’s had to take his hand off the holster even while observing that “there’s a significant amount of malware flying around.” “We have full visibility. Every packet that flies across the network, we see it,” he said. Some of the harmful coding Wyler detects is instructional, coming from the laptops of experts in various conference rooms offering demonstrations. “They are teaching them the latest hacking methods, how to stay stealthy,” Wyler said, and if he and other monitors tried to stop the attacks, “you could screw up someone’s demo in front of 4,000 people.” “Black Hat attracts the most talented hackers around the world in the private and public sector,” said Vitali Kremez, a cybercrime intelligence analyst at Flashpoint, a cybersecurity company based in New York. “It’s the Wild West. Some people are going to get hurt.” He looked at a hapless visitor and warned: “Don’t connect.” The recent DefCon 24 Hacking Conference, that 74
was held at the nearby Bally’s Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, is a little grittier. Sessions included one on how to use digital tools to overthrow a government. “DefCon is where you really don’t want to leave your cellphone turned on at the show,” said Tim Erlin, security and IT risk strategist at Tripwire, a Portland, Oregon-based security software company. Some attendees take “burners,” cheap disposable phones that they can throw in the trash afterward, he said. If someone takes a smartphone, pranksters at DefCon “might ‘brick’ your device, make it inoperable,” Erlin said. It’s not entirely diabolical. Those employing such mischief aren’t out to make money but to prove a point. Hackers and digital renegades want to show security specialists that they remain one step ahead of them. “If you’re going after the guys who defend the network, it’s like ‘Ha! Ha! Ha!’” said Wyler, noting the satisfaction that hackers feel at one-upping those who should know better. In an article on “How to stay safe at Black Hat,” which was offered to attendees, Wyler emphasized the extent to which hackers might go to infect computers at the conference. “Every year, we have people dropping random
USB drives around the conference floor,” Wyler wrote, referring to portable flash drives. “At Black Hat 2015 someone was literally throwing USB drives into open classroom doors. It’s not just a story, it happens. So if you see a drive on the ground, pick it up and put it in the nearest trash can.” The flash drives invariably contain malicious coding, he said. Underlying many of the talks at the Black Hat convention is concern about an explosion in cybercrime, ranging from the Bitcoin-hungry individual who encrypts a victim’s computer and then demands a ransom payment in order to restore access to the major cyber gang that steals credit card information in order to commit massive fraud. “To become a cybercriminal today, you don’t have to have any skills. You don’t have to be a hacker,” said Eyal Benishti, founder and chief executive of Ironscales, a security company. With barely $300, one can buy software to launch a phishing scam, luring unsuspecting email recipients into clicking on links to open doors into their hard drives, potentially revealing banking information. “If you send enough phishing attempts, someone will click.”
dean and deluca
HOW "MR. ROBOT" IS GOING TO REVEAL THE STORYTELLING POSSIBILITIES OF VIRTUAL REALITY By Joe Berkowitz
"You can look away," the narrator of the Mr. Robot VR Experience tells you, the viewer, just before things get awkward. And of course, you can look away. You can look anywhere you choose in the entire drab apartment, which should be familiar to viewers of the bracing hit USA show. Up until now, the main feature of virtual reality experiences has always been that you can look away, anywhere you want in 360 miraculously accounted for degrees. What’s revolutionary about this experience, though, is that the story in front of you is so compelling, you don’t want to look away. Besides, there will be time later to do this again and see what you missed. The Mr. Robot VR Experience is a 13-minute narrative immersion that debuted recently at Comic Con. Created in collaboration with the VR company Within and production house Here Be Dragons (formerly Vrse), the experience plunges viewers into the world of the show, right alongside mentally unstable computer genius Elliot Alderson and his frequent flashbacks. In fact, it's uncanny just how much the experience captures that world and its vibe, as many more viewers will be able to attest now that it's available through the Within app and Google Cardboard. Perhaps the reason the show’s leap to VR is so seamless, though, is that Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail wrote and directed it himself. Welcome to the future of VR storytelling. Here Be Dragons had been trying out different formats in the VR space for a while. They’d used the technology for New York Times-backed documentaries (The Displaced), musical showcases for bands like Muse ("Revolt"), and for more abstract experimentation (Evolution of Verse). The company had been hoping to move ahead with more of a narrative focus, though, and they were finally able to do so once Esmail approached them about helping bring his vision to life. Given the highly accurate depiction of tech Mr. Robot is famous for, the show’s immense momentum heading into the second season, and both parties' willingness to try new things, it proved to be an ideal match. "We’ve wanted to play with performance and evolving traditional dialogue-based scenes into VR for a while now, and this was the perfect collaboration to that end," says Here Be Dragons cofounder and president Patrick Milling-Smith. "Having such an iconic character who at times gives such an internalized performance being directed 76
by the show’s actual creator meant that everything felt like truth—every moment authentic with real reason." The narration here sounds like Mr. Robot narration. The music, courtesy of the hazy, synthheavy Chromatics, sounds plucked right from the show's soundtrack. The entrancingly flat affect of Elliot, played by Rami Malek, is intact, along with some of his accoutrements from the show—like that burned CD book we know to be filled with everybody’s private information. It all feels so familiar yet surreal, the pull for following Elliot along on this flashback, his first date with Shayla the dealer, is as strong as on any episode. The team at Here Be Dragons encouraged Esmail to come up with an original story for this project that would take advantage of VR’s spatial opportunities. Cofounder Chris Milk is an old friend of Esmail’s, so they already shared a common vocabulary, which helped the collaboration run even smoother. Once Milk and the rest of the team articulated the possibilities of narrative VR to the writer and director, letting him know which new tools he had at his disposal, Esmail provided a steady stream of ideas to explore beyond the script. "Our team really got down to the nuts and bolts of the philosophy of storytelling, user agency, and spherical narrative," Milling-Smith
says. "It was a great exploration and one that pushed us all forward." The Mr. Robot Experience tackles many of the problems with VR head on, combining familiar mise–en–scène from a beloved series with a sense of participation. Because Elliot addresses "you" in his narration both on the show and here, watching the action play out feels less voyeuristic than it has elsewhere. Part of that effect is thanks to the conceit of the show, but perhaps future experiences will create their own logic in which a linear narrative works. "Every film and experience we do becomes its own form of R&D as we try to explore and write the language of storytelling in VR," Milling-Smith says. "The technological breakthroughs will come in a response to creative forces pushing the boundaries of what we think is possible today." As for what is possible in this particular experience, this viewer is still not entirely sure. Because I did not look away when Elliot permitted me to, just before the uncomfortable beginning of his date, I did not explore the rest of the room to see whether anything else was going on. Come to think of it, I barely did so at any other point during the entire 13 minutes. When I ask Milling-Smith about Easter eggs, though, he answers coyly. "You’ll just have to watch it again."
sutis
WALT DISNEY ANIMATION VS. PIXAR
Fighting to entertain kids of all ages with cartoon wonder By Nicole LaPorte
Last Christmas, for the first time in history, a Pixar movie flopped. With the critical and box-office dud The Good Dinosaur, the animation studio that enjoyed a two-decade-long run of imaginative and high-grossing films, such as the Toy Story trilogy and Up, found itself in a strange place. It was no longer the top-performing cartoon shop inside the Walt Disney Corporation. The Good Dinosaur's failure fueled the perception that Pixar is listing, relying mostly on sequels of its early hits. Last fall, a month before The Good Dinosaur's release, Pixar announced its upcoming films through 2019 and four of its next five projects--Finding Dory, Cars 3, Toy Story 4, and The Incredibles 2--revisit old ideas. (Unsurprisingly, Coco, the one original, has sparked the most curiosity.) By contrast, Disney Animation has been surging forward with a streak of kid-oriented hit films such as a record-breaking little princess movie called Frozen, the Oscar-winning Big Hero 6, and this year's almost universally beloved Zootopia. Disney's reemergence, after years of sputtering, has instilled a new bravado at the studio, which "was feeling like an inferior backwater to Pixar," says Tom Sito, a former Disney animator who's now the chair of the Division of Animation and Digital Arts at the University of Southern California. Disney's rebound has led to increased oneupmanship within the Mouse House. According to one source, "Pixar's attitude is, 'We're Pixar.' And Disney is like, 'Well, then, why don't you have the highest-grossing animated film of all time?'" Intracompany rivalries are always complicated, and in this case they're exacerbated by the role Pixar founding fathers John Lasseter and Ed Catmull played in Disney Animation's renaissance. The duo was put in charge of the studio--Lasseter as chief creative officer, Catmull as president--after Pixar was acquired by Disney in 2006. They overhauled how Disney Animation operates, opening lines of communication, empowering directors, and installing a Story Trust, akin to Pixar's famous Braintrust of top directors, writers, and storyboard artists who collaboratively drive a film's story forward. "The creative environment [at Disney] before the Pixar takeover had a lot of executives interfering in the creative process," says Sito. "Lasseter swept that all away." Both men also still oversee Pixar, so for 78
the past decade they have been splitting their time. This wasn't an issue at first, but with the shift in each studio's relative fortunes--starting with 2013's Frozen and especially this past year--the competition for Lasseter's time and attention, in particular, has led to some hard feelings. Employees at the two companies largely remain friendly, and animators are a tight-knit community of artists, but sources say that Pixar employees are highly aware of how much time Lasseter spends in Burbank, feeling that Disney is "the new girlfriend," whereas Pixar is "the wife." This sentiment went into overdrive on the making of The Good Dinosaur, which suffered problems early on, had an overly complicated story (originally, the dinosaurs in the movie were supposed to be Amish), and cycled through two first-time lead directors. One source says that Lasseter, who was coming off the personal disappointment of Cars 2 (which he directed and which critics slammed, although it was a financial success), was more invested in Disney's turnaround. At the same time, Catmull was less available (he wrote a best-selling management book, Creativity, Inc.) and key members of the Braintrust were busy on their own projects at various stages of The Good Dinosaur's six-year production.
One source notes that the Oscar-winning Inside Out was made during this same time, though in the hands of Braintrust director Pete Docter, it arguably needed less supervision. (Disney and Pixar declined to comment.) Disney Animation's culture is now less insular than Pixar's. Disney takes chances on outsiders like former TV director Rich Moore (Wreck-It Ralph, Zootopia) and screenwriter Jennifer Lee (Frozen). Pixar still draws from its own ranks and has yet to mint new allstars as accomplished as Docter and Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, Wall-E). But Disney Animation's comeback is inspiring Pixar to challenge itself again. "It's like a sibling rivalry," says one former Pixar employee. "If a brother or sister goes out and does something awesome, you then want to go out and do something awesome." Pixar's latest attempt at awesomeness is Stanton's Finding Dory, the buzzed-about sequel to Finding Nemo. Later on, Disney Animation will release Moana, a film about a Polynesian princess that was written and directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, the team behind The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. A talking fish versus a seafaring island girl? Let the boxoffice bets begin.
junkyard
BOWIE’S ‘LOVE AFFAIR’ WITH ART HITS THE AUCTION BLOCK By Tufayel Ahmed
Take a map of London. Draw a line north from the Royal Academy of Arts on Piccadilly, where visitors are lining up for a show of David Hockney self-portraits, up to the Wallace Collection, where the curators are preparing an exhibition of Tom Ellis’s figurative paintings. On the way, your pencil will travel past Sotheby’s, the august British auction house. It’s busy there too, though perhaps for slightly less than purely artistic reasons. In two small rooms at Sotheby’s rear, a group is standing in front of a splashy Damien Hirst painting. It’s a psychedelic, circular piece, popping with oily, vibrant colors and named, with typical Hirstian understatement, Beautiful, Shattering, Slashing, Violent, Pinky, Hacking, Sphincter Painting (1995). These onlookers may be Hirst fans—or, then again, not, because this isn’t just any Damien Hirst. This is a David Bowie Damien Hirst. In early July, barely six months after Bowie’s death from cancer, Sotheby’s announced that it would be selling 400 works from his private collection later this year. Whether the auction covers the full extent of Bowie’s collection, no one will say. Either way, the sale is expected to raise at least £10 million (KD 5 million). As an appetite whetter, Sotheby’s has been showing a selection of the sale’s highlights at its site on New Bond Street; this fall, these will travel to Los Angeles, New York and Hong Kong. About 1,000 people a day have visited in London, and the show is likely to draw similar crowds elsewhere: Bowie’s death has only increased public fascination with the fine details of his life. It’s a life that weaves through the collection. Though his fame was global, Bowie was a product of London, forged in its southern suburbs, tempered in its clubs and music venues. That lineage is clear in the art he collected; many of the paintings being auctioned are by postwar, London-centric British artists. They include Frank Auerbach, Auerbach’s tutor David Bomberg and Harold Gilman. Though the highest-valued artwork is American, Bowie’s link to the piece is still personal. In 1996, he played Basquiat’s mentor Andy Warhol in the biopic Basquiat , directed by Julian Schnabel. Although Bowie was mostly outacted by his wig, his excitement at being part of the New York art world—even just a version of it—was obvious. And the consideration put into his private collection suggests that buying art wasn’t just a hobby, the sort of vanity project that tends to follow in the wake of immense wealth. 80
“It’s such an erudite and intellectual collection. There’s a cohesiveness to it,” says Tom Eddison, a contemporary art specialist at Sotheby’s. “He’s incredibly well-tuned into art and artists.” You could go further—for Bowie, art was a necessity. He always had a knack for spotting what was intriguing (and most marketable) about the avant-garde and weaving it into his narrative, once describing art as a “stable nourishment” in his life. “Art was,” he told The New York Times, “seriously, the only thing I’d ever wanted to own.” Bowie admitted he lacked the proficiency of George Underwood, a childhood friend and classmate of Bowie’s, whom he later commissioned to design the artwork for his Space Oddity, Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust albums. (Underwood also threw the punch that damaged Bowie’s left eye, leaving its pupil permanently dilated and giving him that odd, bicolored stare—so he’s a man who can fairly claim his part in creating the Bowie mystique.) In 2014, Underwood asked Bowie to write the foreword to the program for an exhibition of Underwood’s work. “I’ve always loved George’s work. I think he may have unconsciously tipped me towards music,” Bowie wrote. “Sitting alongside him in art school convinced me (among others) that I would never achieve his fluidity of lines, his sense of rightness in relation to his subject, whatever it was.” Bowie’s shortcomings as a painter didn’t deter him from buying art. His collection began taking shape as his music career burgeoned, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. People who knew Bowie say he took great pride in his acquisitions. “He
would tell you, ‘I’ve bought that.’ He was very proud of what he bought—but also a bit full of himself. But it was always tongue firmly in the cheek,” Underwood says. The London gallerist Bernard Jacobson, who befriended Bowie in the early 1990s, says Bowie once cajoled him into selling him a portrait by Jacobson’s favorite artist, the British painter William Tillyer, which hung on his bedroom wall. “I said, ‘That’s mine. I don’t want to sell that.’ He said, ‘You’re a shop. You’ve got to sell it. That’s what you do.’ We went on and on,” Jacobson says. The painting eventually ended up in Bowie’s collection. Jacobson says the musician bought more pieces from his gallery than any other from 1992 to the early 2000s—he guesses the number could be as high as 100. “We ended up being great friends. He hung out in my gallery a lot. One day, he actually worked on the front desk for two hours selling pictures,” Jacobson says. Bowie’s close friendship with Jacobson led to the singer becoming still more immersed in the art world. In 1994, he joined the board of Modern Painters, a then-quarterly art magazine founded by Jacobson in 1987, and his role soon expanded into writing for the publication. From 1994 to 1998, he interviewed artists including Hirst and Tracey Emin, even securing a scoop with the determinedly enigmatic and elusive Balthus. “He gave it a lot of time. He took it very seriously,” says Jacobson, a former journalist. “I didn’t cringe when I read the copy. I didn’t think, Oh God, we can’t use this. It came from a real passion for the subject.”
elevation burger
WHAT IF SMART HOMES WERE DESIGNED FOR SENIORS INSTEAD? By john Brownlee
The smart home of the future is designed for millennials: tech-savvy, hyper-social, Marie Kondo-reading youngsters who aspire to keep their lives clean and orderly forever. But life is messy, and technology is perhaps, ultimately, more life-improving to the old than to the young. What millennial, after all, needs a titanium hip, or a replacement heart? So when Kevin Gaunt envisions the future of the smart home, he doesn't think of it in terms of millennials, or their "picturesque Airbnbstyle houses inhabited by attractive people who effortlessly interact with technology, dealing with all our chores and reading our deepest wishes before we are even aware of them." Instead, he asks what the smart homes and conversational interfaces of the future can do for the elderly. And his answers seem a lot less empty than the thermostat-automating smart home bots of today. As part of his graduate project at the Umeå Institute of Design’s Interaction Design in Sweden, Gaunt imagined a series of smart home bots aimed at helping the elderly, as opposed to these devices' current roles as "gatekeepers to a particular company's ecosystems," as Gaunt puts it. "That led me to think about what if a future smart home 82
had multiple [assistants] that each focused on a narrow set of tasks, like online shopping, managing the daily budget, or spying on the neighbors' whereabouts," says Gaunt. Gaunt's concept imagines the smart home of the future as having the equivalent of a fuse box full of bots, each of which are denoted by simple symbols (a stack of coins for banking, or a bag for shopping) and can link their functionality together to battle boredom in the elderly. Gaunt gives three examples of bots that could be formed this way, just by installing their related modules in the central controller. As new technologies arrive, we tend to assume that younger generations will be the early adopters. The first bot is a surprise bot: It keeps track of the household budget, and when its human is feeling down, orders them a surprise gift within their budget aimed at evoking delight. The second bot is a neighborhood-spying program that keeps an eye out for annoying buttinski neighbors, and warns you when they're at the door (so you can avoid answering it, if you prefer). The third is most poignant—and reveals the conceptual underpinnings of the project: a bot that mimics the behavior patterns of a dead spouse, playing their music, ordering their
cookies, and even cracking some of their jokes. According to Gaunt, he thinks these ideas hint at a more accurate vision of the smart home of the future. "As these bots ultimately try and quite possibly sometimes fail to do the ‘right’ thing, I see our relationship with this technology changing to something more alike having pets at home." A collection of virtual Pokémon, if you will. While his bots are mere concepts meant to provoke questions about who technology is designed to ser ve, Gaunt eventually hopes that they will help shift the dialog around smar t homes to be more inclusive. "Bots, AIs, and conversational interfaces have become a huge trend in design recently. As new technologies arrive, we tend to assume that—as in the past—younger generations will be the early adopters. But quite honestly? As chips and production costs become cheaper, and technology in our everyday objects become more ubiquitous, maybe this won't actually be true." In other words, perhaps the smar t home of the future will be smar t enough to be designed with the elderly in mind. After all, we only spend a third of our lives as young people, at best. But for the rest? We're old—and we need all the help we can get.
Mais alghanim
bazaar goes dining
VIGONOVO
Rustic Italian dining in the heart of Salmiya By bazaar staff
Inspired by the picturesque Italian village of Vigonovo that is set amid mountains and beautiful lakes, diners can now taste the true flavors of a rustic Italian cucina in the heart of Kuwait’s kitschy Al Khaled complex in Salmiya. Simple and uncomplicated, the experience at Vigonovo will absolutely delight diners looking for traditional Italian dishes. You will find Vigonovo as soon as you walk through the doors of Rose Patisserie in Al Khaled complex. Yes, you read that correctly. Inside the patisserie, you’ll see a whole new setup that’s now welcoming diners. Behind the pink façade is a space awash with sky-blue walls and a bright cheerful yellow kitchen. Little souvenirs from Italy adorn the space, along with a modest display of fresh desserts like Tiramisu and amaretto biscuits that, upon inspection, will leave you drooling. The man behind Vigonovo is Italian chef and operating partner, Marco Fiorot. Previously living in Italy and the U.S., it was both friendship and business that first brought Marco to Kuwait. When it came to opening up a restaurant with businesspartner Fahad Al-Mutawa, however, the idea came from the sheer number of visitors Marco would receive over dinner. He laughingly said, “It was endless! Every day they would call me, ask me what’s for dinner, and then shortly appear at my front door.” With a passion for traditional Italian cuisine with a modern twist, Marco wanted to recreate his experience of dishes enjoyed in his hometown right here in Kuwait. He further explained, “You create historic memories through the power of taste. Italian cuisine in Kuwait is available in many formats, from traditional, fusion to American inspired. At Vigonovo, I wanted to recreate dishes from my past, specifically the Northeastern region of Italy where I grew up. The dishes served here are further inspired by my mother’s cooking, and I want to make diners feel that.” From there, Vigonovo was born. From the preparation of the dishes served to interacting with the happy diners, the vibes at Vigonovo are best exemplified by Marco’s presence. He starts his day at the markets, then returns back to the main kitchen with fresh ingredients to start the day’s prep and set the menu at Vigonovo. At the moment, dining at the restaurant is upon reservation only. He added, “Every time diners are here, there will be something different and interesting on the menu, with dishes that are prepared usually upon the number of reservations as well as the best ingredients available to me on the day.” At 84
Vigonovo, you can opt for a special degustationsize menu where you are given smaller portions of everything that Marco prepared on the day to make for a truly different culinary experience, or you could order a larger portion of any specific dish that appeals to you the most. We started off our Vigonovo experience by digging into the pastas offered on the first course menu. While waiting for our dishes, Marco loudly announced, to our relief that, “the
pasta will be cooked al dente and only al dente!” The first dish was one that has appeared on our Instagram feeds time and time again, The Cupcake Lasagna. Not only is this dish labeled as “a must” on Marco’s chalkboard menu, the name in and of itself is tempting. How could one consume a lasagna in cupcake form? It’s fairly simple, as the rustic classic Italian dish is artfully presented as such. Delicate layers of flavors are the highlight of this dish, and we loved how the
flavor of each ingredient really shines through with every bite. Small but mighty, the Cupcake Lasagna is beautifully moreish. We also sampled the Tortellini with cinnamon, pumpkin and smoked Italian ricotta cheese, and again, were blown away by how such a simple dish could pack in so much flavor. To this, Marco shared with us his daily trips to the local markets, and how sourcing the finest ingredients to ensure that his dishes remain authentic can sometimes be challenging but totally worthwhile. More importantly, the trick to a successful pasta dish is balance. With our Tortellini dish, a clever balance is achieved by the sweetness of the pumpkin that was beautifully offset by the smoked Ricotta, the cinnamon smartly brought all of the dish’s elements together and the pasta was, of course, expertly prepared al dente. Finally, our pasta-filled journey ended with the delectable gnocchi with homemade Ragu. Personally, I’ve always found that gnocchi can be quite heavy as it is usually served with way too much butter. However, at Vigonovo, I finally understood how a simple potato dumpling could be highly addictive. Fabulously fluffy on the inside with a nice bite to it on the outside, the gnocchi carried the richness of the Ragu beautifully, making me wish it remains a staple on the menu. So far, our pasta experience left us daydreaming about what other creations Marco has in store for Vigonovo’s diners. And when he nonchalantly asked us if we fancied a cheese sandwich, we knew we had to say yes. Dubbed as ‘Toast alla Friulana’, Vigonovo’s take on this classic involves polenta and cheese, and it’s glorious. Prepared out of cornmeal, the polenta serves as the ‘bread’ that holds a more than generous amount of oozing, melted cheese with onions and potato— need we say more? Depending on the day, and what Marco finds at the local market, the second course options could vary from delicate veal to scrumptious seabass. To find out exactly what’s on the menu, you simply have to follow Vigonovo on Instagram and Snapchat, as Marco likes to share his daily journey online to tempt diners with what he plans on preparing at the restaurant on any given evening. For dessert, we opted for the Berries Pasticcione, a classic pasty with cream and berries, also offered with chocolate for all of you chocohalics out there. The layers of pastry were crunchy and airy, and the sweetness of the cream with the tartness of the berries made for the perfect ending to our meal. That, and a cup of artisanal espresso.
Vigonovo is located in Al Khaled Complex in Salmiya and is open from 5 p.m. Dinner is served upon reservations. To book and for more information, please call 9722 4992. Follow @Vigonovo_kw on Instagram and Snapchat: Fioro89. 85
bazaar music
PARTYNEXTDOOR 3 (P3) By PARTYNEXTDOOR
By Rae Sremmurd
SREMMLIFE 2
PURE AND SIMPLE
The next OVO Sound artist to release a project is set to be PARTYNEXTDOOR with the third installment of his self-titled series. This LP is simply called P3. Tracks include “Not Nice” and “Come and See Me” with Drake. The OVO squad has had a monster summer with the success of Drizzy’s VIEWS album. The LP has spent 10 weeks at the top of Billboard’s 200 albums chart. Roy Woods made a splash with the release of his debut album, Waking at Dawn. PARTYNEXTDOOR is also working on a collaborative album with Jeremih, so look forward to that.
Rae Sremmurd’s highly-anticipated sophomore album SremmLife 2 now has a release date. The LP will drop this month via Ear Drummer Records/ Interscope Records and is the official follow-up to their hugely successful debut SremmLife. The new album sees the Mississippi rap duo teaming up again with hitmaker Mike WiLL Made-It and features vocal assists from Juicy J, Lil Jon and Kodak Black. The outfit also recently premiered their video for lead single “Look Alive,” a hazy party visual where they jump around a dance floor, play arcade games and turn up to the fullest.
Musically, Pure & Simple lives up to its name: the uncluttered production gets its shine from tasteful washes of mandolin, pedal steel and strums of acoustic guitar. Parton sings the praises of a once-in-a-lifetime love in a pillow-soft coo, equating love with spiritual connection. "It's so pure, it's almost sacred / Simply put, it feels divine." Originally billed as a two CD package that would include a bonus disc called Dolly's Biggest Hits, Parton's latest collection is largely comprised of new original songs inspired by the stripped down format of a few successful one-off live performances she has given in the last couple years.
DOWN IN A HOLE
ANYTHING BUT WORDS By Banks & Steelz
By Britney Spears
Kiefer Sutherland is the latest star to jump from the screen to the recording studio. The Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner has released his debut album, with a 26-date U.S. tour to go along with it. Down in a Hole originated from a collaboration with Jude Cole, whom Sutherland founded Ironwork Records with in 2002. According to Rolling Stone, Sutherland showed Cole a pair of tracks in early 2015, which he’d intended for other artists. However, those songs eventually morphed into Sutherland’s album, which he calls, "the closest thing I've ever had to a journal or diary."
Back in 2013, Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA revealed he was working on a record with Interpol’s Paul Banks. The two also unveiled a name for their project, Banks & Steelz. They shared the first track from their collaboration, “Love + War,” featuring Ghostface Killah, along with a video paying tribute to Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. Recently they detailed their album, Anything But Words, and shared a new song called "Giant." Anything But Words features Florence and the Machine's Florence Welch, Wu-Tang Clan's Method Man and Masta Killa, and Kool Keith.
Tipped back in 2014, Spears said that she was "being more hands-on" with the album and that it is "the best thing I've done in a long time", though she noted that she did not know when the album would be finished and that she is "not rushing anything [...] so that my fans will truly appreciate it." Since the beginning of the album recording process, Spears insisted she wanted to do something different with the project and take a "left turn". During a Tumblr Q&A with fans in July 2016, when asked about the style of the album Spears responded with "I’ll just say this… We really explored some new things."
By Kiefer Sutherland
86
By Dolly Parton
GLORY
nestle
bazaar eats in
WE SAW, WE ATE, WE LOVED Ordering Just C to the office By bazaar staff
Just another day at the office. We have all returned from our respective vacations, not quite ready to get back into our damage reducing healthy eating routines just yet, and we’re all craving something indulgent. A quick scroll through Instagram led us to Slice, and upon further investigation, we learned that the awesome doner concept has opened up a burger joint. The sister eatery to the locally loved donor palace Slice, Just C is dedicated to the perfect, freshly made, “fast” burger experience that can be enjoyed anywhere – dined in, or taken away and eaten wherever your heart may desire, and with a name like “Just C”, being short for “Just C For Yourself How Good Our Burgers Are”, you know you’re in for something simple yet effective in terms of taste and quality. No muss, no fuss. As predicted, its menu, though very small, is extremely pleasing and only contains four different choices of burgers, three types of pommes frites (fresh potato fries, “Ziggy” crinkle cut fries, or fresh potato fries topped with cheese), and of course, classic canned soft drinks. In the spirit of really reviewing the place, our eclectic team ordered everything off the savory menu. The two gourmands of the clan ordered Truffle Burgers, containing Just C’s very own “crispy cheese”, provolone cheese, and truffle aioli sauce. Our designer kicked it old school with Just C’s Classic Burger, made with all the works: lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, American cheese and mayonnaise. The Operations Manager, known to be indulgent when it comes to gastronomy, requested the BBQ Burger: an artful compilation of bacon, American cheese, crispy onions, BBQ sauce and the restaurant’s signature “C” sauce. I went for the only thing that hadn’t yet been considered by the rest of the crew, the Mushroom Burger: a classic blend of mushrooms, provolone cheese and mayonnaise. You can’t go wrong with that. Once our burgers arrived, with three sides of fries for us to share, we dug in. Each team member had something to say about their burger and you could also tell that they were super satisfied and impressed since no one offered up any “just-to-be-polite” bites from their food (let it be known, dear readers, that this is a telltale sign when it comes to deciphering the honesty behind being impressed with a dish or meal of sorts). 88
Our food arrived neatly packaged with minimal branding and a lot of flavor. Each burger was consistent in differing from the next, which only further peaked our interest in Just C. The Truffle Burger was reported to exude a gloriously truffleinfused taste, as the title promised. Coupled with the combination of provolone and an innovative sheet of “crispy cheese”, my fellow writers were not disappointed. The Barbecue Burger, with its all-American construction, provided an electric taste that left our dear Operations Manager full for the rest of the day, yet he claimed that the burger wasn’t actually too heavy! With the perfect balance of bacon to meat to cheese, nestled between a steaming bun, this burger was said to be a winner. The Classic lived up to its name, bringing our designer back to his childhood years with memories it delivered. You can’t go wrong with this burger, especially if you enjoy an uncomplicated yet mighty taste. Tip: the Classic accompanies very well with a side of fries.
As for the Mushroom burger, (which was my personal favorite!) it hit the spot. If you enjoy mushrooms as much as I do, then your taste buds will be very pleased with the outcome. The medley of mushrooms combined with melted provolone cheese atop a freshly grilled, juicy patty was beyond satisfying and provided the perfect definition to the term “comfort food”, as all woes were washed away with every bite. All in all, we were super impressed with Just C – just like their brand promised we would be. The burgers tasted great and had an unbeatable quality to them, and the best part is that they weren’t messy at all! With a beautifully baked brioche bun, each burger stayed perfectly intact with every bite, and the burger meat itself was a dream – filled with flavor, and just thick and juicy enough to leave you wanting more. We ordered Just C on Carriage! Download the app to see if they deliver to your area today! Follow Just C on Instagram @justc_kw.
peach
geeks & gamers
NO MAN'S SKY REVIEW By bazaar staff
I was so excited to get No Man's Sky that for the week before its official launch, I messaged and harassed every video game retailer in Kuwait asking if it was available. Finally it was and I paid far more than the standard rate for it, just to get it a day early (which reminds me Kuwait, what’s up? Only a day early!?). Was the expense, not to mention the 3 year wait since the announcement, worth it? In a word…no. But yes. But mostly no. The disappointment is strong with this one. Before we get into that, here's some background about the game. No Man's Sky is a game where you explore space, with over 18 quintillion different planets to visit, each with its own life forms and dangers. The ultimate aim to complete the game is to find the center of the universe. Picture the scene, if you will, in slow motion. The elevator opens, and I run out and toward the front door of my home. I expertly throw my phone at the doorbell, so that by the time I reach, my wife has opened it and I save valuable seconds from having to wait. At the same time, I’m removing the plastic wrapper from the game and opening the case. As I reach closer to home, the door opens and I jump, Matrix style, through the doorway, while removing the disc from the box. I follow through (in the same gravity defying jump mind you) the entrance to the front room, Frisbee the disc into the PlayStation while grabbing the controller from the coffee table with one hand and the TV remote with the other. I hit the power button on both remote and controller, land with a commando roll and seamlessly bounce onto the sofa, controller gripped and approximately 0 seconds wasted. All in a day's work. Let’s pretend that it went down that way, just for the sake of excitement and action, ironically two of the things this game is missing. Upon starting your adventure, you see a few seconds of space whizzing by on screen and then the game loads and you’re left to your own devices to figure out what to do next. As it turns out, I discovered by pressing buttons and walking around aimlessly that I needed to fix my spacecraft. By mining for materials and looting boxes, I was able to fix the craft after an hour, and then take off to explore the galaxy. There was very little, almost nonexistent tutorial or instruction, only a mission objective on the bottom of the screen. I had no idea what the various health meters were, or where to find the elements I needed…you just have to figure it 90
out yourself, which in retrospect I think suits the game (a lonely, exploration adventure) quite well. Still, doesn’t make it any less annoying! Once I had passed that hurdle, the next ten hours were extremely fun. Flying from planet to planet, warping to different galaxies and star systems, exploring brand new, undiscovered worlds (when you discover a new planet, plant or animal, you can actually rename it which will then be reflected for everybody playing the game, and nobody else can rename it after you) and meeting aliens from the four races and learning their languages. I even thought to myself occasionally, despite the game freezing a few times, ‘’this is a masterpiece’’. But then it started to wear thin. I was essentially grinding and mining for materials to power my ship, so I could look for and install additional inventory spaces, so that I could do MORE mining and grinding in order to gain MORE inventory spaces, so that I could then do yet more mining and grinding to…you get the picture. The game gets repetitive quickly, since this is really all you can do. There are other issues, such as the inventory management system being overly
complicated and awkward (having to reload a gun in the inventory screen mid battle, which DOESN’T pause the game so you keep taking damage the entire time being a huge problem), the speed of which your character moves (spoiler: too slow) and the AI being at the most basic level, making optional combat easy to run away from (just as well with that reloading nonsense) being just a few of my personal gripes. On top of all that though lays a beautiful (seriously, you will take so many screenshots), ambitious and groundbreaking game, ideal for someone that has a lot of time to play, likes to explore, play alone, mine for materials/ construct items from them, upgrade equipment and is extremely patient. Out now on PS4 and PC, and a rumored Xbox One release shortly (you heard it here first!). I’m glad to have been an early adopter of the game, and I hope that future updates and DLC bring more fun and variation to No Man's Sky. But for me, my copy ran out of fuel and I just don’t have the interest to mine for more right now.
the kitchen
bookworms
THAT AL SALASIL 2.0 Bigger and better By bazaar staff
A common misconception amongst us avid readers is that there aren’t any real bookstores in Kuwait. Over and over again that notion has been proved wrong by none other than That Al Salasil. From providing an incredible presence in annual regional book fairs to expanding their bookstore in an incredible way – That Al Salasil are winning over our hearts. Since their inception in 1972 as book publishers and distributers, their current status as moguls of all-things-book-related and retail has earned them a partnership with several international publishing-houses and the U.K.’s WHSmith. Overhauling their entire look, That Al Salasil’s Avenues location has been reimagined to serve as the ultimate bookworm’s escape. As I walked in the first thing I noticed is how much bigger, and so much more organized the space is. Right across from the entrance is an area dedicated to book signings and events. In the middle is where you’ll find the latest global and classical Arabic releases, plus those published by That Al Salasil themselves. On the right side of the bookstore, you’ll find an unrivaled selection of English books ranging from fiction to nonfiction. Amid those wonderful releases, is a gem waiting to be discovered – a corner dedicated to graphic novels and comic books. To the left though, is a gloriously colorful area and in the middle of it is a beautiful cutout of a tree with fun animals around it, marking the start of the children’s section. There’s a Kids Corner tucked to the side with a glass window overlooking the mall proper, for the parents to watch over their children while they enjoy the entertainment provided in that space. This space is dedicated to children’s events – the children can enjoy being read to and even having characters be there to guide them through the chosen bookof-the-moment. Those outside this corner, happily sifting through their favorite books, can’t really hear what’s happening inside and can sit down on one of the many provided seats to enjoy excerpts from their favorite books. Spaced out with care, That Al Salasil have transformed their bookstore into a comprehensive reading nook for the entire family. 92
Clear and defined spaces will allow you to navigate the bookstore with ease while you browse through your favorite titles. Not sure you want to make a purchase yet? Grab a seat on one of their comfortable armchairs and enjoy a few pages before making the commitment. That Al Salasil is fully committed to encourage reading for all ages – from the space itself to the latest literary works you’re eagerly awaiting.
That Al Salasil’s wonderfully renovated bookstore is located in The Avenues, Second Avenue on the second floor. For more information, follow them on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat @ThatAlSalasil and on Facebook.com/ThatAlSalasilBookstore. You can even get your favorite titles delivered through their dedicated Instagram account: @SalasilExpress. That Al Salasil currently has 20 locations across Kuwait.
MAc
bazaar apps
PRISMA
BITLY
ARTISTO
LUX MANAGER
POKEMON GO
COASTIALITY VR
The next in a long line of apps trying to take the Instagram crown, Prisma is a photo filter app but with a twist. As usual, you take a picture or select one that you would like to edit, but instead of editing the colors, fade and angle of the picture; you can lay over one of around 15 artistic filters which turns your image into a work of art! You can then adjust the level of this filter using a scale, to either consume the entire image, or tone it down so you have just a hint of the filter showing.
Following on from Prisma, we have Artisto. Artisto does much the same thing as Prisma, but this time with video. You can shoot a 10 second clip (or chose a video from your gallery) and then add an artistic filter over it. I downloaded this app with the music video ‘’Take On Me’’ by A-Ha in mind (a film with a pencil drawn kind of effect), and I wasn’t disappointed! While the app is brand new, there are a few minor bugs but they should be ironed out in near future updates, especially given that this app will be a big hit.
By now, you are probably aware of Pokemon Go. It’s been all over social media and the news, and literally took the world by storm with millions of downloads on its first 2 days. The idea is simple; using augmented reality, you navigate the real world, and find Pokemon to collect and train. Highly addictive, and satisfying when you stumble upon a rare Pokemon and capture it. Many improvement updates are on the way, but for now, just take care of your battery as this app will eat it up.
Bitly, one of the most popular link-shortening websites on the Internet, released their official application this month. With it, you can shorten links quickly straight from your mobile device and share them easily wherever you need to. The app also includes various analytics so you can see how many clicks your links get, who is clicking them, and more. It’s wrapped up in Material Design, it’s easy to use, and it’s completely free. The only downside is that you have to make an account to use it.
Samsung sells some of those fancy smart lights that let you control them with custom colors, lighting patterns, and schedules. Here's the manager app for tweaking them to your heart's content. Unlike some other Samsung apps, this one will work with any Android phone or tablet running 4.2 or higher. Lux Manager is the new lighting control app from Samsung. It's the smart & easy way to control Samsung lighting devices. Just launch the app and pick whichever color you want. With 16 million to choose from, you're sure to find the perfect tone. Turn on Music light mode to really get into the beat.
We end with a VR focused app, given their increasing popularity recently. There's something about roller coasters that just seems to mesh with virtual reality, or at least the latest headset-based iteration of the tech. Coastiality is a theme park ride company that's equipping real roller coasters with VR headsets to enhance the experience. Obviously they can't cram the entire ride into your living room, but they can give you a VR/360 demo of four of those enhanced rides with this app. Coastiality is your home for unique, high quality virtual reality experiences. Viewable with and without VR glasses (e.g. Google Cardboard).
tomsguide.com androidauthority.com 94
sutis 2
ﻫﺪﻳﺔ ﻃﻔﺎﻟﻜﻢ ﺑﻤﻨﺎﺳﺒﺔ ﻋﻮدﺗﻬﻢ ﻟﻠﻤﺪارس ،ﺷﻨﻄﺔ ﻣﺪرﺳـﻴﺔ ﺑﺪاﺧـﻠﻬﺎ ﻫﺪﻳﺔ ﻣﻤﻴﺰة ﻋﻨﺪ زﻳﺎرﺗﻜﻢ أي ﻣﻦ أﻓﺮع ﺳﻮﺗﻴﺶ ﺑﺼﺤﺒﺘﻬﻢ. AVENUES SOUQ - MENUS COMPLEX - THE GATEMALL
/SUTIS_KW
@SUTIS_KW
industry news
BIGGER, BETTER, BOLDER
The Resurgence of Magazines in Today's Digital World By bazaar staff
Let’s point out the obvious: you are now leafing through a magazine. Or maybe you’re reading this online – in that case, you’re looking at a screen – but this article is still a part of a magazine. Magazines, as we all know, are a classic medium of journalism. You’ll find one in every home, you’ll find one in most if not every café, salon, etc., making magazines extremely accessible. Which is why the concept of print media isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Incremental Sales per Reached HH:
All Studies - Across Media Incremental $ per Reached HH: $0.33
$0.23
96
$0.26
$0.25
$0.19
Display
We at bazaar appreciate and have embraced digital media (It is the year 2016, after all), but we still vehemently stand by print. There is nothing quite like flipping through a magazine throughout the course of your day, whenever you find a moment of peace. It’s a little more rewarding than watching Netflix before bed, or staring at the little screen of your phone, running your thumb up and down. With this belief, we are proud to serve you with reading material every month. Furthermore, research studies have shown and proven with data, that Print Media is still the most effective method of advertising. What are we basing this seemingly loaded claim on? A piece published in AdvertisingAge by Jack Neff, that reported a study that was conducted by Nielsen Catalina Solutions. The study took place at the Advertising Research Foundation Audience Measurement 2016 Conference in New York this past June revealing the truth behind the numbers. This study was unprecedented in the way that it focused on “return on ad spending,” or ROAS, which is essentially the money these companies make versus what they spend on their advertising. Nielsen Catalina uses ROAS rather than the more common term ROI (return on investment) to indicate results measured solely on the dollar spent on media advertising, rather than the overall profit made. Furthermore, it focused on ROAS exclusively for CPG (commercial packaged goods) across multiple forms of media, and was based on analyzing 1,400 research projects that spanned more than a decade across 450 brands. These projects were commissioned since 2004 by different media companies and brands, and it is a worthy point of mention that the studies
$0.23
Linear TV
Mobile
Digital Video
Magazines
Cross Media
Source: Nielsen Catalina Solutions, Multi-media Sales Effect studies from 2004 - Q2015 4. Copyright 2016 @nielsen Catalina Solutions
Increase in sales per household in Nielsen Catalina Solutions study. Credit: Nielsen catalina Solutions
ROI-ROAS
All Studies - Across Media ROAS
$4.50 $4.00
$3.94
$3.50 $3.00 $2.50
$2.63
$2.55
$2.62
$2.45
$2.00
$1.53
$1.50 $1.00 $0.50 $ Display
Linear TV
Mobile
Digital Video
Magazines
Cross Media
Source: Nielsen Catalina Solutions, Multi-media Sales Effect studies from 2004 - Q4 2015. Copyright 2016 @ Nielsen Catalina Solutions
Nielsen Catalina Solutions comparison of average increase in dollar sales by media in staudy across 1,400 CPG campaigns. Credit: Nielsen Catalina Solutions
were not backed by a single sponsor or industry – unlike most other research products. Digital video, which people tend to assume would bring in the most numbers, isn’t nearly as effective as magazine advertising, delivering the lowest return of ROAS for CPG in the industry. Magazines delivered the highest ROAS of $3.94 per dollar of media spent. Digital video sunk in at a shocking low, delivering only $1.53. This means, that when merchandisers are excited over putting their product on digital video, they most likely aren’t going to profit from what they spent to advertise said product based on how many people were reached. This makes sense if you put it into perspective regarding your everyday life. How
many times have you come across a pesky ad on YouTube that you wanted to skip? How many of you have downloaded an Ad Blocker attachment to prevent yourselves from seeing these ads? Do you notice that on Facebook you tend to scroll past the sponsored ads on your newsfeed? Nielsen Catalina’s Chief Research Officer Leslie Wood pointed out the difference between digital and print advertising, and her conclusions led her to pricing. Magazines are still considered the most economic way to advertise, giving the lowest CPM in the study, and digital video the highest — being the highest in demand. “Everybody wants to be in digital video," Ms. Wood said. "There is very little inventory, so
the price is high. It's the reverse in magazines, which are undervalued in the marketplace." She said. In this way, advertising through print media, specifically magazines, will definitely give you more “bang for your buck.” The research that showed sales per household reached indicated that performance of all media outlets were closer in numbers. Magazines produced 26 cents of incremental revenue per household reached, but digital video was still lower at 23 cents per household. Digital display was even lower still with only 19 cents per household. But because it has the lowest cost, it was average in ROAS. This study showed that mainly premium inventory showcased scarcer buys, programmatically
speaking.“That cost data for all media came directly from either media companies or brands, so it reflects actual spending, not estimates” Ms. Wood said of the study. Advertisers could get some benefits with Mobile Advertising, as the study also showed that in terms of sales impact per thousand consumers reached, mobile fared best, but remember that in this study, the average reached only 2% of consumers in the study – which is relatively low in comparison to other forms of media researched. This happens when you automatically delete or disregard those SMS advertisements you come across – but might only look at them if they’re offering a promotion of sorts.
It’s all in the numbers, dear readers. Print media is definitely the most reliable, economical and effective method of advertising – at least when considering advertising for CPGs. Think about all the times you were flipping through our pages, skipped past an ad for a restaurant, apparel, or a service, only to flip back to that page for a minute and to consider trying that place out, or stopping by your closest Starbucks to try that new drink they’re promoting, or simply picking up that new coat from your favorite boutique. Read it for yourself! Jack Neff’s article on the Nielsen Catalina report at the 2016 Advertising Research Foundation Audience Measurement can be found on www.adage.com. 97
bazaar techno
ULTIMAKER 3D PRINTER BACKPACK
LYRIC SPEAKER
BEASTGRIP PHONE CAMERA RIG
BLOOMSKY SKY 2 WEATHER CAMERA
SAMSUNG POWERBOT VACUUM
NES CLASSIC EDITION
$70 (KD 20) seems impossibly cheap for a 3D printer? That's because it is. The Ultimaker 3D Printer Backpack doesn't actually include the company's $1,200 (KD 400) Ultimaker 2 Go printer. But it does make it easy to carry one around. Both the backpack and the printer are light, so it’s not much strain on your back, the interior has space for tools, and it’s quite rugged, so you can take it on a bike/subway/plane with confidence that you’ll look like the super nerd of all super nerds.
Not even local forecasts can compete with the BloomSky Sky 2 Weather Camera. This intelligent weather station sits in your yard, using an HD camera to capture an image of the sky once every five minutes while it provides real-time temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure readings. You can share the resulting time-lapses with friends, upload the weather data to make the companion app's readings more accurate, and, for the most comprehensive data, pair it with the Storm wireless accessory, which measures rainfall totals, wind speed and direction, and UV exposure.
Visualizers, and even visualizers with lyrics, aren’t anything new. They just require a computer. Or did, until now. When you play a song on the Lyric Speaker, it uses its built-in Wifi to lookup the lyrics to the song and analyze its mood, displaying both the words and algorithmically-created motion graphics on its translucent LCD screen. Dual highres drivers ensure your music sounds good, and Google Cast support means it plays nice with a host of other gadgets.
No one likes to clean their floors. Let the Samsung Powerbot Vacuum do the job for you. Its powerful CycloneForce design gives it 70 times the suction of competing robotic vacuums, and built-in Wi-fi lets you select which rooms to clean and when. To do so, it uses its onboard camera to make a complete map of your home, dodging furniture and objects left on the floor with ease — sadly, you'll still have to pick up after yourself.
It doesn’t matter what kind of phone you have: your photos and videos would no doubt benefit from external lenses and other gear. The BeastGrip Phone Camera Rig lets you accessorize as much as you need. The adjustable frame works with nearly any phone, providing a standard 37mm threaded lens and filter mount, compatible with a wide variety of add-ons, notably the included wide angle and fisheye lenses. There’s also a cold shoe for attaching lights and mics, and five standard threaded mounts for tripods, stabilizers, sliders, and other supportive accessories.
Buying an old NES and a bunch of games to try and relive your youth is admirable. It's also a complete pain, storing and swapping out enormous cartridges and trying to figure out whether or not your TV even has a coax input. The NES Classic Edition gives you all the nostalgia with none of the hassle. Arriving in November, it's a miniature of the real thing, packing 30 games into a palm-sized box — including all three Marios, both Zeldas, a couple Castlevanias, Metroid, Punch-Out (sadly minus Mike), and the best football game ever made, Tecmo Bowl.
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HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
IT ENDS WITH US
Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. Life is hell for all the slaves, but especially bad for Cora; an outcast even among her fellow Africans, she is coming into womanhood—where even greater pain awaits. When Caesar, a recent arrival from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they decide to take a terrifying risk and escape. Matters do not go as planned—Cora kills a young white boy who tries to capture her. Though they manage to find a station and head north, they are being hunted. In Whitehead’s ingenious conception, the Underground Railroad is no metaphor—engineers and conductors operate a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil. Cora and Caesar’s first stop is South Carolina, in a city that initially seems like a haven. But the city’s placid surface masks an insidious scheme.
By Colleen Hoover
By Shauna Niequist
By Liane Moriarty
Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play received its world premiere in London’s West End on July 30, 2016. It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children. While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.
Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up—she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true. Ryle is assertive, stubborn, even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place. As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan—her first love and link to the past she left behind.
Written in Shauna’s warm and vulnerable style, this collection of essays focuses on the most important transformation in her life, and maybe yours too: leaving behind busyness and frantic living and rediscovering the person you were made to be. Present Over Perfect is a hand reaching out, pulling you free from the constant pressure to perform faster, push harder, and produce more, all while maintaining an exhausting image of perfection. Shauna offers an honest account of what led her to begin this journey, and a compelling vision for an entirely new way to live: soaked in grace, rest, silence, simplicity, prayer, and connection with the people that matter most to us. The book states that "Present Over Perfect is an invitation to this journey that changed my life." A remarkable perosnal collection, this book may help readers find what they seek.
In Truly Madly Guilty, Liane Moriarty turns her unique, razor-sharp eye towards three seemingly happy families. Sam and Clementine have a wonderful, albeit, busy life. With two girls, Sam has just started a new dream job, and Clementine, a cellist, is busy preparing for the audition of a lifetime. If there’s anything they can count on, it’s each other. Clementine and Erika are old friends. A single look between them can convey an entire conversation. But theirs is a complicated relationship, so when Erika mentions a last minute invitation to a barbecue with her neighbors, Tiffany and Vid, Clementine and Sam don’t hesitate. Having Tiffany and Vid’s larger than life personalities, there will be a welcome respite. Two months later, it won’t stop raining, and Clementine and Sam can’t stop asking themselves the question: What if we hadn’t gone?
By J.K. Rowling
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By Colson Whitehead
PRESENT OVER PERFECT
TRULY MADLY GUILTY
Source: www.amazon.co.uk
The New Meaning of Chocolate
choco cuisine
big boys toys
SONY 100-INCH XD9 4K TV
ELVIS' BMW 507
TOYO FERRET OFF ROAD VEHICLE
Based on an armored military scout vehicle from the '50s, the Toyo Ferret Off Road Vehicle was built to show off the company's Open Country tires — and it does it well. The Ferret's original engine was replaced with a beefy LS V8, the chassis upgraded with King shocks, and a custom grappling hook launcher attached to the winch cable. Of course, there's also six wheels outfitted with the aforementioned tires, with the middle wheels on hydraulics so you can lower or raise them as needed.
There's no need to wall mount it. With an integrated floor stand, the Sony 100-Inch XD9 4K TV is meant to be the centerpiece of your viewing area. It uses Backlight Master Drive technology for individual LED backlight control, offering unprecedented contrast and picture with full 4K HDR support. It also runs Android TV with Google Cast support for slinging videos from your phone, and the sleek stand helps to hide the mess of cords coming from your other gear.
RIPCHAIR OFF ROAD WHEELCHAIR
G LAB BLOCK AMP
OCTOSPOT DIVING CAMERA
Originally owned by driver Hans Stuck, who drove it in both casual and racing situations, Elvis bought it in 1958 from a dealer in Frankfurt while he was in the military. At one point, he even had the white car repainted red to hide the lipstick messages female fans would write on the car. After its recent discovery, the car was given an extensive restoration by BMW Group Classic, who had to build many of the parts from scratch as so few original parts still existed, and did so by using period-correct techniques, as opposed to modern manufacturing.
Designed to give mobility challenged people the ability to access previously inaccessible areas, the Ripchair Off Road Wheelchair is a robust transport platform. For those with their own motorized chairs, it offers a ramp, letting them back in, lock their chair in place, and reverse the process at their destination. Its constructiongrade tracks handle any terrain, powered by a 29 hp, 4-stroke engine. It also has lights in the front and rear, a cup holder, cargo compartments, and an available winch, providing a wealth options not available on your average scooter.
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Hand-built using the best components available, the G Lab Block Amp pairs decades-old technology with an outstanding modern design. Four metal cubes housing various components are connected to the top circuit board via a central black column that also holds the power supply. The amp routes incoming signals — whether from the pair of line-ins, or the phono input — through pairs of EL34, ECC88 and 6N6P tubes to produce amazing sound at only 5.5W per channel. Just make sure you have a sturdy base — the Block weighs 44 pounds all by itself.
There are several options for recording video and taking pictures while diving, but none match up to the set of features promised by the Octospot Diving Camera. The Octospot mounts and demounts from your diving mask within seconds and is ready to provide high quality recordings on your dives. It's the first camera that is able to not only log your dive, but also correct white balance to match your depth. It has a long battery life, even in cold water, and is designed to be operated while wearing gloves, so you aren't working at a disadvantage underwater.
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bazaar movie night
The latest from the big screen playing in cinemas across Kuwait in September
HELL OR HIGH WATER
MECHANIC: RESURRECTION
SKIPTRACE
Release Date: September 1st Theaters: Cinescape Kuwait-wide Genre: Crime, Drama Cast: Dale Dickey/Ben Foster/Chris Pine Synopsis: Toby is a divorced father who's trying to make a better life for his son. His brother Tanner is an ex-convict with a short temper and a loose trigger finger. Together, they plan a series of heists against the bank that's about to foreclose on their family ranch. Standing in their way is Marcus, a Texas Ranger who's only weeks away from retirement. As the siblings plot their final robbery, they must also prepare for a showdown with a crafty lawman who's not ready to ride off into the sunset.
Release Date: September 1st Theaters: Cinescape Kuwait-wide Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller Cast: Jason Statham/Jessica Alba/Tommy Lee Jones Synopsis: Mechanic: Resurrection is an upcoming American action thriller film directed by Dennis Gansel and written by Philip Shelby, Tony Mosher, Rachel Long and Brian Pittman. It is the sequel to the 2011 film The Mechanic and stars Jason Statham, Tommy Lee Jones, Jessica Alba and Michelle Yeoh. When the deceitful actions of a cunning but beautiful woman [Jessica Alba] force Arthur Bishop [Jason Statham] to return to the life he left behind, his life is once again in danger as he has to complete an impossible list of assassinations of the most dangerous men in the world.
Release Date: September 1st Theaters: Cinescape Kuwait-wide Genre: Action, Comedy Cast: Jackie Chan/Johnny Knoxville/ Bingbing Fan Synopsis: Fists and feet are flying in this explosive action-comedy starring Jackie Chan and Johnny Knoxville. Hong Kong detective Bennie Chan (Jackie Chan) has been tracking notorious crime boss Victor Wong for over a decade. When Bennie's young niece Samantha/bái shū (Fan Bingbing) gets into trouble with Wong's crime syndicate, Bennie must track down the only man who can help him: fast-talking American gambler Connor Watts (Johnny Knoxville). Bennie races against the clock to bring Connor back to Hong Kong and the unlikely pair embark on an entertaining and perilous adventure from the snowy mountains of Mongolia to the windswept dunes of the Gobi desert.
WAR DOGS
ANTBOY 3
HAVENHURST
Release Date: September 1st Theaters: Cinescape Kuwait-wide Genre: Comedy, Drama, War Cast: Miles Teller/Bradley Cooper/Jonah Hill/Ana de Armas Synopsis: With the war in Iraq raging on, Efraim Diveroli offers childhood friend David Packouz a chance to make big bucks by becoming an international arms dealer. Together, they exploit a government initiative that allows businesses to bid on U.S. military contracts. Starting small allows the duo to rake in money and live the high life. They soon find themselves in over their heads after landing a $300 million deal to supply Afghan forces, a deal that puts them in business with some very shady people.
Release Date: September 8th Theaters: Cinescape Kuwait-wide Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Family Cast: Oscar Dietz/Samuel Ting Graf/Amalie Kruse Jensen Synopsis: So Pelle keeps getting older and now public school is over. He is enjoying summer and everything seems peaceful with low criminal rates in his town of Middellund. He has done his job well and is about to be honored with a big statue of himself. He has decided to start school in another town after summer to his friend, Wilhelms big disappointment. His alter ego, the superhero Antboy, has almost retired but suddenly an old enemy, the Flea, is released from prison. Antboy, as well as the Citizens of Middellund, is afraid, and almost certain, that the town again will suffer under his Reign. He has a curriculum vitae as a child kidnapper and earlier nothing would stand in his way to bring Antboy down....
Release Date: September 22nd Theaters: Cinescape Kuwait-wide Genre: Horror, Thriller Cast: Julie Benz/Fionnula Flanagan/Belle Shouse Synopsis: A troubled young woman, Jackie (Julie Benz), with an unyielding alcohol addiction, is released from rehab and given a second chance with a new job and a furnished apartment at Havenhurst. Guilt-ridden over the tragic loss of her 8-year-old daughter, Jackie is quickly drawn into the mysteries of Havenhurst, in particular the unsolved disappearance of the apartment’s previous occupant, a young woman (Danielle Harris) she befriended in rehab who disappeared recently without a trace. Jackie must not only battle her inner demons, but also the very real ones that live deep within the walls of Havenhurst.
For more details on movie timings and the cinema nearest you, visit: Cinescape: www.cinescape.com.kw or Facebook: Cinescape – Kuwait National Cinema Company. *Above programs are subject to change without prior notice. 104
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CRUISING THROUGH ANTIQUITY ON THE NILE, WITHOUT THE CROWDS By Terri Colby
On the top deck of the cruise ship River Tosca, the swimming pool was cool and inviting in the afternoon heat. Below, the fabled Nile River was wide and blue and calm. Palm trees dotted the shoreline where farm animals grazed. And I had the deck of the 236-foot ship all to myself. That’s emblematic of cruising the Nile in a time when Egypt’s tourist industry has been decimated by fears that the turmoil of 2011’s Arab Spring lingers. The ship, designed to carry 82, had only 16 passengers for a week’s journey in late February. We enjoyed hand-andfoot service and had no crowds to fight as we strolled through some of the most famous and spectacular remains of the land of pharaohs. Beth Misakonis and her husband, Leo, retired information technology professionals from Mechanicsburg, Penn., decided 2016 was the year for them to rebook their Egyptian cruise that was canceled during the Arab Spring protests. Friends and relatives urged them not to go. But Beth noted that mass shootings happen in the U.S. “I think there are risks anywhere and everywhere,” she said. Added Leo, “It’s always been on our bucket list.” A river cruise isn’t always the best way to see a country’s highlights, but it works perfectly for Egypt. The Nile’s valley is Egypt’s heartland and breadbasket, and the river itself is the main highway of Egyptian history, from Cairo in the north to Luxor, Aswan and Abu Simbel in the south. It’s a tour where your clean, cool, spacious hotel room follows you from place to place, with no luggage to haul. Today’s Egypt seemed a calm enough place when we visited. The U.S. State Department currently has no official travel warnings or alerts for Egypt, but it tells U.S. citizens to remain alert to local security developments, and notes that terrorist organizations are known to be operating in Egypt. For complete details, go to www.travel. state.gov. Our small group with Uniworld river cruise line — all but two of us Americans — was often discreetly accompanied by armed guards. Whether that made us feel safer is up for debate, but no one in the group seemed concerned about our security, except perhaps when approached by locals desperate to sell us souvenirs. That wasn’t always pleasant, but given the tourism decline it’s easy to understand. A firm la shukran (no thank you) was usually enough to turn them away. The itinerary began and ended in Cairo, where the Four Seasons Hotel was our refuge in the sprawling, chaotic, dusty metropolis. We spent a 106
full day at the beginning of the tour, and another at the end, in Cairo, at the same hotel. On the first day we saw the Egyptian Museum and Tahrir Square; on the last, we visited the pyramids. After an hour’s flight south from Cairo we embarked on the River Tosca at Luxor, site of the ancient Egyptian capital of Thebes. Many of the great sites of Egyptian antiquity are within a short bus ride of Luxor, including the temples of Karnak and Luxor, with their rows of massive columns. Only a bit farther away, on the Nile’s west bank, lies the Valley of the Kings, burial place of Egyptian rulers over five centuries. The tombs showcase chambers with well-preserved paintings and hieroglyphics. From Luxor we sailed to Aswan, a little more than 100 miles south. We took a ride in a felucca, one of the nimble boats with triangular sails that have plied the river for centuries. On the way to visit a Nubian village, we stopped at a small sandy beach, where I walked down a plank lodged against the boat and waded into the cool, clear waters of the Nile.
In British colonial times, Aswan’s Old Cataract Hotel (cataract is an old-fashioned term for waterfall) was a favorite stop for tourists, including Agatha Christie, who wrote Death on the Nile there. We dropped in for high tea and a tour before returning to the ship. These days, Aswan is the southern terminus of Nile cruising — the Aswan High Dam, built with Soviet aid in the mid-20th century, cuts off river traffic there. Aswan is also the jumping-off point for what might be Egypt’s most spectacular ancient site. And no, I don’t mean the pyramids. A short flight south took us to Abu Simbel, the cliff-side temple complex built by the pharaoh Ramses II nearly 3,300 years ago. Sixty-foot-high statues of Ramses guard intimate temple chambers carved from solid rock. Even more amazing is the temple’s recent history. When the construction of the high dam threatened to submerge the temple beneath Lake Nasser, the whole complex was carved into pieces and reassembled nearby on higher ground, grafted onto artificial cliffs custombuilt to hold it. It’s an engineering feat to rival anything the pharaohs accomplished.
But the trip’s most memorable moment didn’t involve a temple, tomb or pyramid. On the last full day of the cruise, in late afternoon, we had the top deck to ourselves. The setting sun painted the western sky pink and blue behind streaks of clouds as we cruised north toward Luxor. Red, sandstone cliffs rose in the distance. A light breeze took the edge off the fading heat of the day. The only sound was the thrum of the ship’s engines. We sipped our drinks, read and watched the riverbank panorama for at least an hour, perhaps two. Then, from the direction of the rising moon, the Muslim call to evening prayer sounded, first from one brightly lit minaret in a riverside town, then another, and finally a chorus of rhythmic, fervent chanting. It was a sound that had been heard at this time of day, in this place for more than a millennium. And the pharaohs of Egypt had journeyed down this stretch of river two millennia before that. Perhaps there was a pretty sunset and a gentle breeze for their cruise, too. 107
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إلحق بركب الثورة امليكانيكية- أيروين51 ساعة سواتش سيستم 51 ها هي ساعة سيستم، بعد أن إشتهرت بكونها الساعة األوتوماتيكية املناسبة للجميع. باإلصدار املعدين51 ساعة سواتش سيستم ) الجديدة تربز اليوم بكونها الساعة األوتوماتيكية املناسبة لكل من يقدّر التصميم النقي والكالسييكIRONY SISTEM51( أيروين .واملمزوج بأسلوب سواتش العرصي فاألخرية تستخدم املعدن الصلب ذو األداء العايل لتقدّم. أيروين51 وسيستم51 يشكّل املعدن الفارق األسايس بني ساعتي سيستم .إىل هواة سواتش وأولئك الذين تستقطبهم هذه العالمة التجارية حديثاً رؤية متط ّورة وأنيقة لتصميم ساعات سواتش األوتوماتيكية أيروين تتسم بالربغي51 فساعة سيستم،صممت هذه الساعة لتتناسب مع غرفة اإلجتامعات أو مغامرات عطلة نهاية األسبوع غري أنها، كافة51 براءة إخرتاع قيد التسجيل متاماً عىل غرار مناذج سيستم17 ، ساعة90 طاقة إحتياطية تدوم حتى،املركزي الفردي . ّ تتمتع مبظهر وجاذبية أكرث تطورا
“NURTURE YOU KID’S BRAINS WHILE PLAYING WITH FANTASY WORLD’S AMAZING STEM TOYS COLLECTION” Fantasy World is proud to be the first to introduce the concept of STEM toys to Kuwait. This highlights its social responsibility towards the local community where it operates, offering customer’s products that not only entertain them but also broaden their knowledge. In continuation with its on-going commitment to offer toys that support children in choosing their careers in future. STEM is the abbreviation for the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Kids may find these subjects intimidating; hence introducing toys that will help them understand the discipline using friendly, hands-on approach and simplified mechanics. For two decades, Fantasy World has been an innovative trendsetter that surpasses its competitors. Introducing the STEM concept in Kuwait proves it being dedicated and responsible towards the future of the nation as well. Harvey Dulku, Fantasy World’s Retail Director, said: “As we believe kids truly deserve the best, the brand’s philosophy is to help broaden children’s knowledge while playing. Toys that integrate an educational basis aid a child’s early education and development. Inducing kids to play with these toys tends to be very crucial at an early age where parents can discover their child’s hidden talents. For example, teaching children the basics of electronic circuits and nanotechnology, solar and wind power and how they are converted into energy. Parents can enjoy the peace of mind as their children grasp the foundations, inspiring them to become the next generation scientists, tech gurus, and engineers, or even mathematicians who may transform the world in the future.” Burhan Kazi, Fantasy World’s Marketing Specialist, added: “This is an opportunity for parents towards the end of the summer break to get their children back in school-mode and refresh their memories on the core subjects for the upcoming academic year. Additionally, these toys can also be used as their project assignments in the school. Morever, STEM toys encourage family time as adults can play those games with their kids. Put simply, STEM toys fortify family bond; they are engaging and fun to play and give children the chance to learn something useful in the meantime.” Customers are invited to visit Fantasy World’s The Avenues store to see and experience the wide array of STEM concept toys that are offered. Voice any inquiries and concerns by visiting Fantasy World’s social media platforms on Facebook: fantasyworldtoyskuwait, Instagram @fantasyworldtoys and YouTube: fantasyworld Kuwait.
DOCU-MONDAYS AT THE PCC Every Monday at 7pm from the 19th of September till the 10th of October, The Promenade Culture Centre will be hosting Docu-Mondays, a 4 week series of documentary movie nights. Grab a bean bag and a snack and come along to enjoy a free screening of compelling documental cinema, while taking in a breathtaking panoramic view of Kuwait City. The Promenade Culture Centre is located on the 2nd floor of The Promenade mall, situated on the 3rd Ring Road, opposite Qadisya. Call 9559 5123 or follow @promenadeculturecentre to find out more.
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EMBARK ON AN ASIAN CULINARY VOYAGE WITH DEAN & DELUCA’S NEW TASTE OF ASIA MENU DEAN & DELUCA, Kuwait’s destination gourmet café and grocery store has launched ‘Taste of Asia’ – an exclusive all-day menu inspired by the fusion of refreshing Asian flavors, derived from signature Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian, Vietnamese, Malaysian and Korean dishes. Customers will be able to treat their taste buds to exotic Asian flavors from August 31st till October 29th, enjoying carefully curated delicacies created using authentic spices and blends sourced from all over the Far East. The highlights of the all-round Asian dining experience feature aromatic soups and starters such as the Malaysian Vegetable Laksa – a traditional Malay-styled creamy noodle soup with spicy undertones, slow-cooked with snow peas, asparagus and wood ear mushroom – for the more adventurous Asian cuisine enthusiast. The Thai grilled Chicken Satay served with peanut sauce, on the other hand, is a seamless option for those who favor more subtle Asian flavors. As for customers wishing to embark on an Asian crustacean galore, the Grilled Shrimps, marinated and served on a bed of spicy and creamy Japanese mayonnaise, will certainly dazzle them. The main courses are a feast to the senses with dishes such as the Five Spice Hoisin Ribeye Steak, marinated in a Chinese style BBQ of five spices, hoisin, and miso, and accompanied with a Thai red curry-flavored mashed potato. The Asian Style Salmon Laksa is a journey into South-East Asian flavors featuring a sambal oelek coated baked salmon that comes with spicy and creamy Malay style Laksa with asparagus and assorted mushrooms, topped with crushed cashew nuts. Another must-try is the Lamb Massaman Curry with Potatoes, which consists of a lamb shoulder braised in a traditional Thai curry and slow-cooked in tamarind, cardamom, cinnamon and coconut milk. For those who enjoy richly spiced Indian cuisine, the Malabar Chicken Curry is a treat of its own. This spicy coastal chicken curry, flavored with coconut milk, traditional coastal spices and fresh herbs, is served with the perfect accompaniment of coconut and pandan rice. An Asian culinary voyage is incomplete without the classic Japanese sushi which is also featured on the menu. The selection includes lava maki stuffed with Tempura shrimps and topped with spicy crab, salmon and tuna Sashimi pieces, and the traditional salmon, tuna and avocado Nigiri combination. Head to Dean and Deluca in The Avenues to try the limited Taste of Asia range! Keep up with D&D online at www.deandeluca.com or on Instagram @deandelucame.
MAKE YOUR OWN RULES WITH CENTREPOINT’S BACK TO SCHOOL COLLECTION Centrepoint, the region’s largest family fashion retailer, has just launched its back-to-school collection that has everything you need to stay on trend for the school year! The new collection includes everything from backpacks and water bottles, to pencil pouches and stationery items in an array of attractive designs and affordable prices. Moms can relax this Back to School season, as Centrepoint covered with all your back to school shopping needs in one destination. Plus, the brand will have your children lining up to do all their homework and chores in exchange for its coveted character collections. Babyshop’s selection of Back to School merchandise is every child’s dream; featuring popular characters such as Superman Vs. Batman, Minions, Frozen and Marie the Cat. The entire showcase also features the widest range of licensed character merchandise across ages with a huge selection for both boys and girls. Backpacks have been revamped this season with four exciting new shapes that make going to school comfortable and stylish. Character themed collections add to the fun with insulated backpacks, stainless steel bottles, tritan bottles and spacious lunch boxes for your child’s special meal. Stationery items also include fun-shaped erasers, 3D hard case pencil boxes, and colorful gel pens and markers. The latest collection of Ferrari, Spiderman, Minions and Cars branded school merchandise will definitely be high on the shopping list for fun-loving little lads. For the football fanatics, the collection this year includes an exciting collection of Read Madrid, FC Barcelona and Manchester City gear amongst others. For little girls, Babyshop’s Disney Princess collection is always a hit along with products from Hello Kitty, Frozen, Marie the Cat and Sofia the First that continue to reign popular with our trendy tots. Shoe Mart’s offerings makes back to school shopping easy, with an eclectic range in black uniform shoes and white sporty kicks. One can get a complete pair of shoes, socks and backpack by leading brands like ‘Puma’ and ‘Kangaroos’. Brands like Marvel, Barbie and Disney have imprinted children’s favourite characters like Spiderman, Marvel Heroes, Minnie, Elsa & Anna and Barbie; on this season’s footwear. Girls will get to rock the classy school look featuring floral accents, perforations, glaze-matt contrasts and embossed effects. The boys will be spoiled for choice with an impressive range that’s durable enough to sail through the action-packed year. High on comfort and style, the specially designed range features all leather Velcro strap ultra-light shoes. White canvas sneakers take care of sporty days and are designed to withstand active lifestyles. The Back to School collections are available at all Centrepoint stores located in Al Rai, Avenues, Hawally, Salmiya, Fintas, Jahra, Fahaheel, Sulaibhikhat, Kuwait City and Khaitan.
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سابني كروجر ومادونا الجميل لطاقم مستشفى طيبة.انضامم د سابني كروجر استشاري األمراض الجلدية والتناسلية من جامعة فري يف برلني – أملانيا إىل قسم. عن انضامم د،أعلن مستشفى طيبة عاماً ىف20 ملا تتميز به من إمكانيات وخربات ممتدة ألكرث من،األمراض الجلدية والتناسلية والليزر يف طيبة لتضيف خربات جديدة وتقوم الدكتورة سابني بعمليات يك. والقيام بالجراحات الجلدية بأنواعها،تشخيص وعالج كافة أمراض والتهابات الجلد للكبار واألطفال وكذلك الخيوط غري الجراحية،PRP وكذلك حقن البوتكس والفيلرز وامليزوثرايب والبالزما للوجه والشعر، وعالج الجلد بالتربيد،البثور . وعالج البرشة عن طريق الديرمارولر والديرمابن والتقشري الكيميايئ.لرفع وشد الوجه والرقبة حب الشاب والوردية وأمراض املناعة الذاتية مثل البهاق، الصدفية،تتميز الدكتورة سابني بتشخيص وعالج إلتهابات الجلد مثل األكزميا وشد، وحب الشباب والندب، وعالج الكلف والتصبغات والتجاعيد، فيام يتمتع القسم بأحدث أجهزة الليزر إلزالة الشعر.والذئبة .ونضارة البرشة والتي انضمت لتضفي ملسة، خبرية التجميل والعناية بالبرشة إىل قسم رعاية وتجميل البرشة،كام تم انضامم السيدة مادونا الجميل ، حيث يوفر القسم جلسات تنظيف وتفتيح وتقشري البرشة وعالج البقع والكلف وأثار الحبوب.جامل وخربة يف مجال العناية بالبرشة إضافة إىل القيام بجلسات تقشري وتفتيح، وتفتيح املناطق الداكنة يف الجسم،وعالج الهاالت السوداء والتجاعيد واإلنتفاخ حول العني .البرشة الحساسة والكريستال وفيتامني يس سابني كروجر والسيدة. أعرب السيد راشد الفضالة نائب الرئيس التنفيذي يف مستشفى طيبة عن سعادته بإنضامم د،وبهذه املناسبة لتكتمل املنظومة العالجية يف قسمي األمراض الجلدية ورعاية وتجميل البرشة مبا يتامىش مع سياسة املستشفى يف،مادونا الجميل .تقديم كافة العالجات يف جميع التخصصات NEW TANGLE TEEZER PUG LOVE COMPACT STYLER Introducing the limited edition of Tangle Teezer Pug Love Compact Styler. Designed especially to celebrate Tangle Teezers favourite dog breed. This cute brush is a must have accessory. Tangle Teezer Pug Love is big on style and the removable cover is genius to protect the patented and intricate designed teeth from dust and dirt. The combat brush is simple to hold in the palm of your hand, giving control and ease whilst brushing those knots away. Hair is left preened and polished with a brilliant shine and super smooth. Exclusively distributed by beau-tique cosmetics international. Call 2225 1285 for more info or visit www.beau-tiqueonline.com. ACK STUDENTS CONCLUDE INTERNSHIP AT ALGHANIM INDUSTRIES The Alumni & Career Placement Center at the Australian College of Kuwait (ACK) has received an award from Alghanim Industries during the Internship Graduation Ceremony in conclusion to a monthlong internship program with the esteemed company. The internship consisted of 6 students from ACK’S School of Engineering that were split up to groups. These groups were ranked in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place based on business evaluations throughout the program. The internship started with a tour of the X-cite Alghanim showroom at the Avenues mall, as well as visits to the Kuwait Insulating Material Manufacturing Co. (KIMMCO) and the Kirby Building Systems facilities in Mina Abdullah. The internship took place throughout the month of June over a 4-week period and witnessed participants from local and international universities. Students in each group were given an assignment for each business model, which they had to prepare a presentation for. The students were evaluated on overall performance, communication and comprehension, attitude, work habits and presentation skills. Commenting on this accomplishment, Dr. Zeina Nehme, the Manager of the Alumni & Career Placement Center at ACK said: “I would like to thank Alghanim Industries for giving such an amazing opportunity to our students providing them with exposure to the real world and to work in teams with students from other universities in Kuwait and abroad. It was indeed a great learning experience for all the students, and I am very proud to proclaim that ACK has provided the largest number of participating students this year out of all the other universities.” For more information on ACK, check them out online at www.ack.edu.kw, visit them at block 5 in Mishref, or call them on 2537 6111. NESTLE TOLL HOUSE The rich history of Nestlé is woven into the brand's lifestyle and dream to make the world a better place, spread the love, and enhance lives with their scrumptious cookies. From the beginning, Nestlé Toll House Café by Chip was destined to be more than just a bakery - it's a passion for those sweet moments in life. Check out the Nestle Toll House online, on Facebook: Nestlecafekwt and Twitter/Instagram @NestlecafeKw. Better still, go visit them at Marina Crescent, The Village, West Mishref co-op, Alliwan mall and Sama mall.
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OFFICIAL ALBUM RELEASE: “9ARAT” BY FLIPPERACHI & DAFFY 9arat is an album by hip-hop artists Flipperachi (Bahrain) and Daffy (Kuwait), both of whom are signed to Outlaw Productions. The album release followed the surprise drop of the music video of the single “EeLaa” by Flipperachi on July 6, which featured several familiar faces from the region and has passed 1 million views on YouTube three weeks after its release. “Ee Laa” has also topped the iTunes MENA top 10 songs charts, hitting the No.1 spot on both the overall chart and the hip hop chart a day after its release. A fusion of hip-hop and elements of Arabic music, “9arat” introduces a new sound to the local and regional music scene. The mixture of sounds makes the album stand out to an international audience while still being locally relate-able. The content of the album is varied and includes lyrical rap songs, humorous hip-hop tracks, soulful RnB and club bangers, including hit single “Samboosa”. The album is produced and mixed by Bahraini hip-hop music producer and Outlaw Productions’ founder, DJ Outlaw. It also features the work of a couple of regional and international producers and songwriters including Trippy The Astronaut, Kajmir, and Lil Eddie who has written songs for the likes of Usher, Janet Jackson and Jessie J among others. The mastering of the album is done by world-renowned mastering engineer, MazenMurad from Metropolis Studios, London, who has mastered major albums for Sade, M.I.A, Björk, Muse and The Rolling Stones to name a few. The album is now available across all digital stores, including iTunes US, Spotify, Google Play, Tidal, and more. For more information on the artists or the label, contact info@djoutlaw.com or +973 3682 9292. Follow the whole team on Instragram- Flipperachi @flipperachay, Daffy @kingdaff11, DJ Outlaw @djoutlaw and Outlaw Productions @outlaw_productions.
KEY TRENDS FOR H&M STUDIO AW16 – FEMALE POWER, FOLKLORIC ROMANCE H&M Studio for AW16 is an elevated collection of individual pieces rich in detail, from the precision of cut to the embroideries that appear throughout. Tailoring has oversized shoulders and a fitted waist, an hourglass shape which contrasts with Swedish folkloric influences in both silhouette and embellishment. Meanwhile, long-sleeve draped dresses bring glamor and softness. “There is a new femininity in this H&M Studio collection. It’s about female strength and power, with a fresh look at folklore and romance. It’s very elevated, and also very real,” says Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M’s creative advisor. The collection will be available at selected H&M stores across the Middle East from September 6. Themes: powerful tailoring creates an hourglass silhouette from an oversized shoulder and fitted waist in both coats and jackets, Swedish folklore inspires silhouettes, prints and embellishments, such as folkloric blouses, or a long sheer dress printed with the Swedish lynx. Coats play with shape, from oversized utility styles that wrap the body, to double-breasted wool coats with a rounded short sleeve. Crisp white shirts are a wardrobe essential, especially with exaggerated sleeves, while lace brings femininity with layering slips. Pants are cut high and fall wide, pooling at the feet. A contrast of materials reveals the complexity of character, from shearling coats to velvet tailoring. Long-sleeved dresses follow the line of the body to the floor, like the blue velvet wrap dress with a pinstripe of silver lurex. Silver chain embellishments bring attitude to night, both creating embroidered patterns as well as being left loose for fringing. Fabrics: Wool for coats, as well as a broken pinstripe tailoring wool for suits. Lace is perfect for a long dress, tops and in folkloric blouses. Velvet brings softness to tailoring, as well as glamour to a long draped dress. Shearling adds contrast and a sense of Swedish heritage. Cotton gives crispness to white shirts, allowing them structure and fit at the waist, as well as volume in the sleeve. Details: Corset stitching creates a shaped waist, rich embroideries evoke folkloric patterns, beading and crystals add three-dimensional embellishment. Colors: Black, red, white, blue and a variety of neutrals. Key looks: Hourglass coat, folkloric blouse, wide pants, short-sleeved double-breasted coat, pinstripe suit, white shirt and velvet dress. Key accessories: Gaucho hat, cowboy boots, small cube bag with thin strap, long silk scarves and round pendant necklaces. Keep up with H&M online: Pinterest.com/hm, Facebook.com/hm, Twitter & Instagram @hm, Youtube.com/hm and Snapchat @HM_snaps.
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البنك التجاري الكويتي ينظم حملة للتربع بالدم بالتعاون مع بنك الدم املركزي قام البنك التجاري الكويتي مؤخرا ً بتنظيم حملة،يف إطار الفعاليات اإلنسانية التي تجسد مفهوم العمل اإلجتامعي التطوعي ويف تعليقها عىل تنظيم البنك لهذه. شارك فيها عدد كبري من موظفي البنك عىل اختالف مستوياتهم الوظيفية،للتربع بالدم أماين الورع "لقد جاء/الحملة قالت مساعد املدير العام – إدارة اإلعالن والعالقات العامة يف البنك التجاري الكويتي – السيدة تنظيم هذه الحملة للتربع بالدم بالتعاون مع بنك الدم املركزي انطالقاً من إمياننا برضورة رفع مخزون الدم اإلسرتاتيجي لدى بنك ال سيام يف ظل الحاجة املاسة للدم من قبل املؤسسات،الدم وتغذية املؤسسات العالجية بالكميات الالزمة منه إلنقاذ حياة املرىض ."الصحية واملستشفيات عيل املوىس/ أماين الورع أن تنظيم هذه الحملة قد حظي بدعم كبري من قبل رئيس مجلس اإلدارة السيد/وكشفت السيدة حيث حرصا عىل زيارة ومتابعة املتربعني وشكرهم عىل تلبية الدعوة التي أطلقتها إدارة اإلعالن والعالقات،واإلدارة العليا بالبنك .العامة بالبنك من أجل التربع بالدم أماين الورع مبينة أن البنك التجاري الكويتي يحرص عىل تكريس مفهوم العمل اإلجتامعي التطوعي بني موظفيه/وتابعت السيدة حيث قامت إدارة اإلعالن والعالقات،بدعوة املوظفني للمشاركة يف العديد من الفعاليات اإلنسانية والخريية ومنها هذه الحملة العامة بتوجيه رسائل للموظفني للمشاركة يف هذه الحملة والتي ساهمت يف تعزيز وعي املوظفني حول ثقافة التربع بالدم من مؤكدة يف نفس الوقت أن البنك ينظم من وقت آلخر،خالل التعريف بالفوائد الناتجة عن التربع بالدم لكل من املتربع واملتربع له .حمالت مشابهة للتربع بالدم لرتسيخ مفهوم املسئولية اإلجتامعية التي يدعمها البنك أماين الورع ترصيحها متوجهة بالشكر ملسئويل بنك الدم املركزي الذين بادروا بإرسال طاقم طبي متميز أظهر/واختتمت السيدة .تعاوناً ومهنية عالية ومشيدة باإلقبال الالفت من قبل املوظفني للتربع بالدم والذي ساهم بدون شك يف إنجاح هذه الحملة
AVAILABLE FOR A LIMITED PERIOD: 911 TARGA 4S EXCLUSIVE DESIGN EDITION The 911 Targa is the modern classic in the 911 range. Porsche Exclusive has now further refined the vehicle’s distinct style by developing the 911 Targa 4S Exclusive Design Edition. This novelty version of the model is presented in the special Etna Blue exterior colour, which is derived from the 356 B (T5) of 1960 and 1961, with numerous elements accentuated in White Gold Metallic (satin-gloss). The unique colour combination of the exclusive Targa is also reflected in the model’s interior, which features exclusive equipment and a range of handmade details in high-quality finish. Powered by a 420-hp bi-turbo boxer engine, the special edition is available for a limited time. Throughout the vehicle, a range of exterior details such as the front spoiler, covers for the headlight washer system, the “targa” logo on the wide bar, rear apron and model designation are all coated in the vehicle’s unique colour. The black LED headlights at the front provide an eye-catching contrast, whilst the Targa bar, 20-inch RS Spyder wheels and the decorative Porsche side logo glisten in White Gold Metallic. The rear lid grille and quadruple sports tailpipes deliver dynamic contrasts with their striking black finish. The interior of the 911 Targa 4S Exclusive Design Edition features door entry guards that are made from black, anodised stainless steel, bearing the name of the special model. Luxurious comfort awaits the driver and passenger on the inside, thanks to a high-quality, Graphite Blue leather interior with decorative stitching in Provence Blue. The headrests of the adaptive Sports seats Plus, with 18-way adjustment, are embossed with the Porsche crest. A 911 Targa silhouette adorns the cover of the storage compartment in the centre console, while the lettering “Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur” on the dashboard’s trim highlights the vehicle’s origin. The seat’s decorative piping, air nozzle slats and floor mat leather edging are presented in Provence Blue. The interior’s comprehensive refinement also includes leather trim on the seat backrests, steering column casing, parts of the dashboard and air nozzles. Following their assembly, all vehicles are hand-finished on the Porsche Exclusive production line in Zuffenhausen. For 30 years, Porsche Exclusive has strived to deliver individuality straight from the factory and boasts a long-standing tradition of crafting limited vehicle projects. With each car, the customer receives a specially designed indoor cover as well as a photo album documenting the production process. Every photo book features the individual vehicle identification number (VIN). The 911 Targa 4S Exclusive Design Edition from Porsche Exclusive is available for order as of today for a limited time only. Visit the Porsche Center in Al Rai, on the 4th ring road. Call them on 1870 870.
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INTRODUCING 5 NEW FRAGRANCES GUARANTEED TO MAKE EVERYDAY A PERFECT DAY! Golden sunshine. Picnics in the park. Bonfires on the beach. Throw on your sunglasses, grab your friends and get ready for your best day ever! Bath & Body Works’ new collection of fragrances celebrates those perfect moments. Fragrances: Sweet Escape Strawberry Picnic: Fresh picked Strawberries, Juicy Melon, Pink Wildflowers, Sun-kissed Oak, Dewy Musk. Sunshine Days Bright Sunflowers: Wild Sunflowers, Golden Delicious Apple, Sweet Summer Berries, Vanilla Flower, White Woods. Get Happy White Peach Sangria: White Peach Nectar, Fresh Tangerine, Sweet Hibiscus, Golden Sugar. Live Fresh Seaside Breeze: Coconut Water, Juicy Nectarine, Beach Blossoms, Fresh Air, Sun-kissed Musk . Beach Nights Summer Marshmallow :Toasted Marshmallow, Sea Salt Breeze, S'mores Accord, Beach Driftwood, Creamy Vanilla. The Perfect collection of fragrances is available for a limited time only at Bath & Body Works stores across selected markets in the Middle East. You can find Bath and Body Works in Kuwait at The Avenues, Marina Mall, Al Fanar Mall, Souq Sharq and The Gate Mall.
PHILLIPE CHARRIOL GENEVE “L’ART DE VIVRE LA DIFFERENCE” More than 3 decades ago Frenchman Philippe Charriol rapidly achieved international success with his eponymous luxury brand of timepieces and jewellery, housed in Geneva, Switzerland. Inspired by early Iron Age Celtic metalwork, Charriol uses innovative technologies and materials to create the iconic “twisted cable” design, globally patented and internationally recognised as the hallmark of the brand. Delivering heritage, high quality products ensures the success and growth of Charriol. With the brand now lending its iconic style and distinct heritage to leather goods, Charriol continues to expand into new products and territories in the Middle East. The first of the impressive new Charriol accessories boutique stores opens in Avenues Mall Kuwait in late August 2016. Featuring travertine inspired marble the interior design reflects the strength and history behind the Charriol Celtic cable sitting beautifully alongside the brand’s rich use of color. The boutique at the Avenues will display leather accessories including handbags and wallets, watches and jewellery. Showcasing Fall Winter 2016 the collection features the iconic “Celtic” bag made by the finest luxury leather goods artisans to be found in Florence Italy. You can find Charriol Boutique at The Avenues Phase II, or call them on 2259 7477.
SEVENFRIDAY HOT ROD In collaboration with Prime Retail Company, the official distributor of SEVENFRIDAY watches in Kuwait & Beidoun Trading Company, the latest limited edition of 450 watches named “HOT ROD” was launched at Al Hamra Luxury Center, all displayed beside an actual hot rod car with press & media, social media influencers, watch collectors & cars clubs in attendance. For more on SEVENFRIDAY and their latest products, visit www.sevenfriday.com or visit them at Al Hamra Mall, Marina Mall, Avenues Mall and Symphony Mall.
EASTPAK KICKS-OFF NEW SCHOOL YEAR WITH “PIN MY EASTPAK” BACK-TO-SCHOOL CAMPAIGN As back-to-school season approaches, Ali Abdulwahab Al Mutawa Commercial Co. (AAW) lifestyle brand, Eastpak, the world-renowned brand specializing in the design, development and manufacturing of bags, backpacks, travel gear and accessories has announced it will be hosting a back-to-school campaign, “Pin My Eastpak”, offering all customers three pins of their choice with every purchase of a backpack from Eastpak. The back-to-school campaign, “Pin my Eastpak” commenced on August 23 and continues until stock lasts in-store at Carbon Fiber stores located in Salmiya and The Avenues Mall. Supplying 3-free pins with every Eastpak backpack purchase, pin designs will include quotes, comic book sound effects, vectorials, funny animals, and the Eastpak logo. Eastpak products can be found at Carbon Fiber stores located in The Avenues Mall, Anfal Mall - Salmiya and Kuwait International Airport. Delivering an array of bags directly to the market, Eastpak will soon open its first flagship store at Boulevard Mall, Salmiya.
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LIBRA SEP 23 – OCT 22
TAURUS APR 20 – MAY 20
Take a mental-health day from work this month and visit a favorite bookstore. Good news comes over the phone. Romance is tricky this month. Search further than words for the truth. Honesty equals power. A Scorpio is holding back on you. Your financial situation calls for a reality check.
Don’t let your stubborn side get the best of you. It’s time for common sense to prevail. Take a long lunch at work, if it means keeping your temper in check. Dress sharp in the office. A Capricorn will notice. A social celebration at the end of the month helps lighten your mood.
SCORPIO OCT 23 – NOV 22
GEMINI MAY 21 – JUN 21
Don’t jump into relationships without thinking. Passion mixed with stubbornness can lead to poor decisions in love. Visit a distant family member this month. It will take patience and trust to rebuild broken bonds, but it’s worth your while. Tension builds at work.
Exercise, exercise, exer-cise, Gemini. This month will wear you down without it. Friends and colleagues call on you from all angles – be prepared. A Virgo comes to you for career advice. Share the benefits of your experience. Make plans to see old friends now.
SAGITTARIUS NOV 23 – DEC 21
CANCER JUN 22 – JUL 22
An old schoolmate invites you to a big celebration this month. Bring a date. Maybe the Libra who’s been catching your eye at work? Go for it. Dress to kill. Take time out this month to catch up on letter writing and phone calls. A Scorpio plays a role at this time.
Take a chance on a blind date. Don’t jump the gun and rush to judgment; there’s more there than meets the eye. Tolerance is called upon by a female Aquarius now. Listen carefully before you offer advice. Start plans rolling for a tropical vacation later this fall.
CAPRICORN DEC 22 – JAN 19
LEO JUL 23 – AUG 22
It’s time to let those around you know just how much you appreciate them. Make a special trip to the stationery store and buy some greeting cards, or better yet, make your own. Relaxation is key at home. If you’re planning a special event, remember to schedule some breaks.
You seem to be caught up in things that make others happy, while putting your own interests on hold. Romance is a concern now. Use your sensitivity, charm and your inner lion’s courage to change your situation.
VIRGO
AUG 23 – SEP 22 Things could seem crazy at home and you might have to put your own needs on the back burner for a while. Prepare for an athletic competition this month – don’t neglect sleep. Watch your diet, especially now. Stay away from junk food and caffeine.
AQUARIUS JAN 20 – FEB 18 A spur-of-the-moment night out will set a relaxing tone for the rest of the month. You’ll pledge to take life less seriously. News of a friend’s good fortune will provide inspiration. A Scorpio’s actions will effect you in some way later in the month. Keep a tight hold on finances.
PISCES FEB 19 – MAR 20 This is a month with ups and downs. Don’t let a sour mood ruin a good time. Pay close attention to a loved one’s needs. A special date puts a smile on your face. Dress to thrill. Leave a weekend open for impulsive plans. Try to spend more quality time with family.
ARIES MAR 21 – APR 19 It’s time to stop wallowing in self-pity. Things are not as bad as they may seem. A Leo friend helps you unload at this time. Be careful not to reveal too much. Exercise helps get anxiety out. Watch not to overspend on a shopping excursion this month.
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