Bahrain International Design Week 2013: Photo Gallery

Hello. We are not in 2013 anymore. But that's okay.

So, at the cusp of the new year (yeah I said 'cusp'), a small organization of design-loving and passionate Bahrainis decided to start the annual Bahrain International Design Week.

The pre-event roadshows took place from Dec. 1 to Dec. 4, and the exhibition itself finished off the week from Dec. 5 to Dec. 7. Exciting.

I get excited just saying Bahrain International Design Week. With the launch of this and Bahrain Music Conference, we're on our way to awesomeness. We, being the country, not we blog-writers. You know.

We'd love to get into the nitty gritty of our review of BIDW, but this post is long overdue as it is and we've yet to receive the press releases with all the nitty gritty details we need (names of participants at the pre-event roadshows, namely. )

Heh, namely.

We're sad that we can't give you the details we should be giving for this event. It was a great event, with the expected amount of flaws any new venture would have, and the organizers are already well on the way to improving the next event for the 2014 BIDW.

With constant improvement, this could be huge for Bahrain. We see bright lights in our future. Hopefully. Pretty bright.

Here are some great quotes we managed to take note of during the pre-event roadshows. Won't be able to tell you exactly who said them, but anonymous quotes feel deeper anyway so we're doing you a favor.

Tips:

"Look at your market, and see the average woman. What does she like to wear? What are their personalities like?"

"You need to understand who you're designing for. That's 99% of your design." 

"I didn't know how to draw. I can't sketch. But this shouldn't ruin your design because it's all in your head. So I used to do extremely simple sketches, and I didn't give up. I went off to study and took a course on basic sketching and it was extremely helpful."

"When you show someone a design it will create a reaction; the more you understand what creates certain reactions the better your design will be. Don't limit what you study to just 'design,' learn everything else and it will go into your design." 

"Contracts are key. Because while you're doing business, things change. You need a good foundation and solid base to save your business relationship."

Just wisdom:

"We don't have an official organization that brings fashion designers together. It would be great for designers to have somewhere to go."

"We have some problems with entrepreneurial development. We have a lot of support to start up your own business, yes help us start up but what about after the start?"  

"Bahraini tradition is actually a collection of our neighbors' ideas, materials, and technology present at that time. I've seen Muharraq Souq in Africa. A lot of design items came together globally to create our identity, and it's a beauty." 

"Sustainability is that sense of collaboration; when you give back to the people around you and you sustain each other, that's how you survive."

Hope you enjoy the gallery, and definitely make it to the next BIDW!