Vintage furniture space La Brocante supports artists and networks people
- 07 Aug 2021
Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer
La Brocante is an authentic, homegrown community space, inspired by the French word that means “The Flea Market.” It focuses on unique, vintage, pre-loved and upcycled furniture, while providing a platform for local artists and vendors to showcase their work. A homegrown concept by Natasha Fownes, it was inspired by the time she spent in her childhood at Portobello Road. (Portobello Road is a street in west London. It is home to Portobello Road Market, one of the city’s notable street markets, known for second-hand clothes, pastries and antiques).
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Fownes’ goal is to bring people together to enjoy coffee, check out local art and possibly get their hands dirty working on some furniture. “And who knows, maybe make some friends,” she adds. La Brocante has bi-weekly pop-ups in Al Quoz, Dubai, and Fownes eventually plans to have workshops for DIY furniture refurbishment and every kind of pop up that will match the style of the artist with the feel of the place. The next pop up occurs on August 13 and 14, with Pia Desai, who will teach how to paint old pieces of furniture. A previous pop up featured art that was curated by Ambika Vohra.
Fownes chisels her answers to Gulf Today
Why did it have to be furniture?
I was born in my grandfather’s palace in Pakistan surrounded by heirlooms, antiques and beautifully crated furniture; so it’s in my genes so to speak. And when we realised, back in November 2020, that there was a big turnover of people leaving during the pandemic, it got us thinking how can we create a homegrown space for people to come together to browse for an eclectic mix of unique, high end furniture and accessories from different eras at affordable prices.
Why did an Englishwoman strike on a French word for her company in Dubai?
My mother, who has a passion for using French words and enough joie de vivre to light up the Burj Khalifa, coined the term “La Brocante” to describe our weekend jaunts browsing antique stalls in Portobello, whilst I was growing up in London. Because browsing for me was always about finding unique gorgeous pieces that were no longer available in the readymade stores, I decided to launch La Brocante in Dubai, which translated into English means Flea Market.
Do you have formal training in furniture making?
I wish, but to be honest, why would I put amazing talented craftsmen out of work? La Brocante was created to give a platform to artisans, carpenters and craftsmen, so that we as a community can get our creative juices flowing again.
Do you catalogue your pieces? They could be collectors’ items some day …
That is not our objective. We started La Brocante so clients can look for bespoke, uncommon treasures to uplift their homes. As they say, one man’s junk can be another man’s treasure; therefore we feel all our pieces are collectors’ items and taste is subjective.
How do pop-ups create love of art and culture? They don’t seem connected to high seriousness …
High seriousness is not the intention at all. Our objective is to create an awareness of sustainability, recycling, up-cycling and craftsmanship. La Brocante is a place where you can view, buy or sell pre-loved furniture in a fun and safe environment, focusing on sustainability and creating a circular economy for an affordable pre-loved market in the UAE.
Tell us how Portobello Road influenced your art and cultural consciousness.
London is a culturally rich melting pot and because browsing for me was always about finding unique gorgeous pieces that were no longer available in the readymade stores, we decided to launch La Brocante in Dubai. Our love for antique, vintage and pre-loved markets, compelled us to create our own in the city that we call home.
Isn’t a flea market a rather bohemian concept, given the formality of the UAE’s art world?
I am bohemian.
How different is La Brocante from a second-hand furniture shop?
We are a community. Our bi-weekly pre-loved furniture pop-up draws lovers of the unique and the intriguing to us in their hunt for hidden gems of design and decor.
To keep things interesting, we change the layout and displays each time - and we’ve made access to the display easier for artisans and designers by providing them with a space to showcase their wares. Throw in coffee from Loose Unicorns and the chance at discovering locally produced art ahead of trend, and you have something you can attend every other week, because each time will be different from the last.
La Brocante seems more a business venture than an art and cultural initiative. Comment.
As mentioned before, we are building a home grown community. We are giving local artists, carpenters and craftsmen a platform to showcase their work without taking a commission. Ultimately, we know that ideas like this organically evolve into authentic friendships and networking opportunities based on mutual interest - and that’s the most rewarding part of this entire exercise, that’s our way of giving back.
What is your opinion of the local art scene?
There is definitely an emerging local art scene in UAE. However, we still feel there are not enough platforms for these artists to showcase their work. That’s why we feel at La Brocante we can and will support them. Our doors are open to all artists.