For three years Zeina Abou Chaaban, then a logistics planner for Procter & Gamble in Dubai, nurtured her idea for a social enterprise that would combine fashion and heritage.
Finally in 2009 she visited Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut, her first brush with refugee life, to pursue her goal of finding women who could embroider.
"100,000 people were living in one square metre, almost on top of each other," Ms Abou Chaaban recalls.
"The infrastructure was very poor; it was the same for water, electricity, garbage collection and there were no job opportunities."
Despite the harsh living conditions, she found the women she needed, and with their help launched a social fashion house called Palestyle.
It employs Palestinian refugee women to produce handbags, dresses and abayas, investing five per cent of its total sales into development projects for Palestinians.
For the 100 women in Jordan and Lebanon whom the fashion house has employed, the project has been a boost to their incomes and their national pride.
"They were proud to keep their heritage alive, and it was a job of course," says Ms Abou Chaaban, a Palestinian who grew up in Dubai.
The 30-year-old and her brother Ahmed, 25, who joined her in 2011, design the products and choose the colours of the thread.
The refugee women then trace patterns in cross-stitch, the signature Palestinian embroidery style, on chiffon and ship them to Palestyle.
What makes embroidery unique, says Ms Abou Chaaban, is that it speaks the language of a culture.
A prevalence of red threads in a piece means the embroiderer is a married woman; intricacy in details might point to a well-off woman, pictures of pines and rivers talk of the fertile northern regions of the Palestinian territories, and tents point to the drier south.
In 2010, Palestyle moved to incorporate women in the Al Baqa'a refugee camp because of the richer embroidery tradition among the women there. The camp on the outskirts of Amman is Jordan's largest, with more than 104,000 refugees.
At any one time, Palestyle employs 10 to 20 women (most are middle-aged, the youngest is 31), depending on the type and number of products needed.
This year, the product range will expand to home decor, such as pillow covers, wall hangings and menswear. There are hopes to employ more people.
With plans to expand across the Arabian Gulf, Pakistan and even the United Kingdom, Ms Abou Chaaban knows that mentors are valuable in the lifespan of a small enterprise.
"When it comes to operations and finance to make it sustainable, this is where small companies need support," she says.
How Palestyle helps the community has been measured by Consult and Coach for a Cause, or C3, a social enterprise that helps similar ventures maximise their effect on the community.
"Using social impact measurement is a must for young companies as it is the best way to differentiate themselves and to know if they are changing things via their activities, whether positively or negatively," says C3's founder and chief executive, Medea Nocentini.
In 2011, Palestyle helped plant 244 olive trees in the West Bank in association with the Arab Group for the Protection of Nature. According to C3's assessment, that led to a cumulative increase in monthly income of Dh1,250 for the olive farmers.
Palestyle's second project - replacing and repairing water tanks at the Al Baqa'a camp, where the average family size is eight - began last October.
So far 100 families have new tanks and the pumping station for three schools has been changed, easing life for students who previously had to leave the classroom to use a toilet outside the school premises.
For a company that started out with just Dh50,000 as an initial investment, it is an uplifting start. The fashion house, which sells its products in five Dubai stores including Bloomingdales, O' De Rose and S*uce, broke even last year.
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Company%20Profile
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The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Honeymoonish
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Company%20profile
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
Scoreline:
Barcelona 2
Suarez 85', Messi 86'
Atletico Madrid 0
Red card: Diego Costa 28' (Atletico)
SPECS
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Company%20Profile
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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West Asia rugby, season 2017/18 - Roll of Honour
Western Clubs Champions League - Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners up: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens - Winners: Dubai Exiles; Runners up: Jebel Ali Dragons
West Asia Premiership - Winners: Jebel Ali Dragons; Runners up: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Premiership Cup - Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners up: Dubai Exiles
UAE Premiership - Winners: Dubai Exiles; Runners up: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
The%20specs
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Company%20Profile
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Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Specs
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