Interview with Chantal and Daisy El Jurdi

Our brand's name is "saQué" which is a combination of French and Lebanese. The word “sac” means “bag” in French. And the pronoun "é" means “mine” in Lebanese. Hence “saQué” means “my bag” in spoken Lebanese. Our handbags are all handmade using genuine leather and gold and silver plated accessories. They also have a specific function and unique shapes.

Design is creating visually appealing products or projects that also serve a specific function. Design is bringing a creative solution to a problem or answering a need in a way that is visually appealing.

We like to design projects, handbags, jewelry and everything that presents a challenge to us and that allow us to use our creativity and explore our imagination.

Our favorite design is a handbag we have produced called "Al Wafi". This bag can be worn as a backpack, a shoulder bag or a handbag thanks to its adjustable and removable straps, but it's most prominent feature is that it opens from the back when worn as a backpack, thus protecting the women's belonging from theft.

The first thing we designed for a company was a residential villa.

Our favorite material is leather thanks to its flexibility that allows us to create different shapes.
Our favorite platform are the social media tools that allow us to reach a wide audience and be up-to-date with the latest trends and news from around the world.
Our favorite technology is all the tools that allow us to create, produce and sell our bags.

We feel the most creative when presented with a challenge we need to resolve.

We focus on designing a product that will aesthetically please the consumer but that will also be practical when being used.

Designing makes us feel high and focused. It brings us a unique kind of pleasure that we experience when we are in touch with our creativity.

When our designs are realized and recognized, it give us a proud sense of accomplishment and content.

A design is successful when it is unique, different from the rest and that also can be practical. A beautiful design that can't be used becomes aimless.

First we consider the idea behind it and what was its purpose. If it was able to achieve its purpose, it earns positive points. If its also different from the rest, we then consider it a good design.

The designer's responsibility is to produce products that will serve society while trying to have the least impact on the environment.

The design field is becoming more and more influenced by technology, but also by bringing solutions to consumers who are becoming more Eco-conscious. And we think that these two fields are the future of design.

Our last solo exhibition was held in our atelier in Beirut last December, for the launching of our 2016 Collections. Our next Exhibition is going to be in Amman Jordan, where only a handful of Lebanese Designers were selected to participate and us among them.

Our sources of inspirations are endless. We can be inspired by nature, books, various objects around us. There isn't one definite source.

Our design style is modern and experimental as we tackle issues that haven't been previously worked on.

We live in Lebanon, a country that has a very rich heritage and where the cultural and artistic scenes are very active despite some of the chaos that reigns. This has taught us to persevere and be courageous and bold in our ideas in order to differentiate ourselves. It also influenced some of our designs, where we use Arabic Patterns on some of our Handbags.

We work with distributors companies who buy our products in wholesale and then sell them in specific retail shops while respecting the price points we have allocated for the area.

Good designers can be judged on the quality of the work they produce, their ability to handle problems and come up with creative solutions. They can also be judged on their ability to constantly reinvent themselves in their own unique way and always be up-to-date with the latest trends. Companies working with designers should be aware that creative people don't function nor produce like the other types of personalities and therefore should create a system that will allow the designer to create while respecting the company's objectives.

When identifying the goal we need to reach, each one of us retrieves to her own desk space and starts researching or brainstorming on the idea while listening to the music she likes. Sometimes we also light candles or incense depending on the mood. We then meet again when we have come up with a design and discuss the best way to blend the two ideas together.

Buthaethinol chimneys that are beautiful and practical as they can moved anywhere and be put outside or even inside.
Lighting Fixtures
Statement Sculptures
Plants
Rugs and Wallpapers

After beating the morning traffic, we usually sit together to discuss the latest news or what needs to be done for the day around a cup of coffee. Then each one of us retrieves to her office and our workday begins interrupted by several emails, phone calls and the unexpected matters that occur daily and that make us have several small get-together throughout the whole day. We usually finish our day by meeting some mutual friends for dinner.

Perseverance is key in order to make it in. Also, some knowledge in business is becoming a necessary part of success along with cultivating your talent and getting as much feedback as possible. They should also strive to always find ways in order to improve themselves and their work.

Some positives of being a designer is exploring the world of creativity and embracing your vivid imagination that can take you to unexpected places.
Some of the negatives are the ups and downs of the business where you always need to have a plan B in order to survive the hard moments.

Our "golden rule" in design is to always be different.

The most important skill a designer needs to learn is the ability to let his/her imagination run wild without constrains. Tweaking what comes up with him/her in order to please the client or the company they are working for is another and important ability they need to have.

We have sketching papers and all sorts of pens and pencils. We also have our computers where we mainly use AutoCAD and Photoshop.
We also have lots of design books on our shelves along with the endless researching on the internet.

Since we are sisters and entrepreneurs, we can manage our lives in order to be productive yet have some time to relax and attend to our other engagements. The fact also that we are 2 makes it easier since we help each other out and share our tasks in order to lessen some of the burdens.

It takes us around 2 months

The most frequent question we are asked is what is the favorite handbag or project you have designed?

So far all of our job experiences have been important to us since they are all part of our learning curve and are all teaching us new things.

Most of our clients are female friends and connections we have in our entourage but also female consumers from the Middle East and Europe

We enjoy all types of design work as long as there is a need to use our imagination in order to come-up with a creative and functional solution.

Our future plans are to develop our Collections even more and design new and innovative handbags (and maybe other accessories)

We work as a team in order to combine our individual ideas and produce an end result based on team work.

We are currently working on expanding our "Form Collection" by designing a smaller and slightly different version of the Subha, a bag ornamented with Arabic Patterns

People can send us an email on saque.beirut@gmail.com or info@saquebeirut.com.
They can also call us on 00961 3 911 661