Design Diary: Dubai-based brand to help rebuild Beirut
Custom No.9 was born from founder Amy Grace Mill’s desire to curate furniture creatively
Bespoke furniture brand Custom No.9 has launched a limited-edition off-cuts collection with all profits going to Beb w’shebbek’s objective of rebuilding 3,000 of the homes devastated by the Beirut Port blast.
Custom No.9 was born from founder Amy Grace Mill’s desire to introduce a more creative approach to curating furniture for the home; by putting the customer in the designer’s seat.
Through steel, wood, marble and glass, the brand works with customers and clients to bring their design to life. Furniture or structures for commercial spaces, F&B concepts and home accessories; every piece they create is 100% made in the UAE by a team of creative craftspeople who have a keen eye for design and a passion for what they do.
WHAT IS THE OFF CUT DROP?
In keeping with their sustainability goals for 2020, Custom No.9 recently launched a monthly programme to combat material wastage from their bespoke custom furniture pieces. Having built up ‘stock’ of leftover material off cuts from production, the team have spent the last couple of months prototyping a range of simple, contemporary household and home decor products with the materials.
Instead of launching them all at once, Custom No.9 decided to focus on one product every month, using surplus materials available from recent production runs. In keeping with their name, the new limited run product will drop on the 9th of every month. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. To keep customers informed, the next drop will be communicated at the beginning of the month.
BOARDS FOR BEIRUT
With its September Off Cut Drop just around the corner, Custom No.9 will donate 100% of the profits to support the collective efforts of Beb w’shebbek — a Beirut based, community driven initiative that is committed to rebuilding homes devasted by the August 4 blast.
“Our hearts and thoughts have been with the people of Beirut, knowing that for those countless homes and offices that were displaced within minutes, the journey to restoration will be a very long one with ongoing help needed. We have been thinking of meaningful ways in which to help,” says Mill.
“After speaking to the incredible ladies from Beb w’shebbek, we were truly touched by their courageous hands-on approach to help families move back into their homes safely so that they can start to move on with their lives.”
Not only is Beb w’shebbek rebuilding Beirut one home and family at a time, they are steadfast in their commitment to restoring Beirut’s glory. Faced with the challenge of ensuring the windows and doors of all homes respect the way they looked before the tragic explosion, the initiative is rallying the support of the design community in the region to donate material, advice and on-ground support to help preserve the architectural heritage of Beirut.
September’s off-cut drop, ‘Boards for Beirut’. gives our community an opportunity to directly support an initiative making a tangible impact, with the purchase of a beautiful limited-edition product.
The collection will feature Custom No.09’s in-demand serving boards and will be available on September 9 as a pre-order. With the intent to maximise the donation potential, this collection has been made available until the end of September.
Initially available in their classic signature Terrazzo, cloudy blush marble and grainy charcoal travertine marble, Custom No.9 will continue to add new materials in the course of the month, after having sourced off-cuts that would otherwise have gone to waste. Customers will also be able to choose the material for their limited-edition board.
If you would like to pre-register your interest in ordering the boards, drop an email to boardsforbeirut@customno9.com to be the first in line to purchase your limited edition piece.