www.homeclubme.com brings to our reader’s advice and opinion pieces from the region’s leading home lifestyle professionals, including interior designers, and organisation and D.I.Y mavens. Who better to dispense with insider information than these hand-selected experts who live and breathe their craft? Our panel recognises how important it is to create a harmonious and personal home environment– Our editorial team will always be on the hunt for the latest interior inspirations, decor trends and news to bring to our readership. However for in-depth knowledge of critical aspects of all things ‘home lifestyle’, we will rely on the expertise of our interior and home lifestyle professionals. Tap into their expertise in our ‘Ask an Expert’ section of the website.
Mohammed Aldhahouri
Gardnening Expert
Local Roots
Locally born in the Eastern Region Mountains of UAE, Mohammed grew up with a passion for gardening as his ancestors taught him. He studied in Tasmania, Australia to become a certified geologist, and currently works for the Ministry of Environment as an Environmental Specialist. Mohamed is also a certified organic gardener and the owner of Local Roots, where he focuses on teaching the community how to grow their own sustainable, organic food right from the comfort of their own home. His mission is to spread knowledge of growing plants by using sustainable methods and techniques which are 100% organic. His aim is to help the environment and the community by creating more gardens in the UAE. As we live in a harsh desert climate and face difficult growing situations in the UAE, everything he does is personally tried and tested from many, many generations.
Anam Clarke
DIY Expert
Founder - The Designers' Studio
Anam Clarke, founder of The Designers’ Studio, has in excess of 10 years of interior design experience, 9 of those in the Middle East including running her own practice. Born and raised in London, her grandfather and mother were both architects and designers. Her passion for art, architecture and design was rooted in her from the very start.
She developed her passion and studied Architectural Interior Design at the prestigious Inchbald School of Design in Chelsea. She worked with the royals at David Linley Interiors during her career in London and moved to Dubai 9 years ago. Her portfolio includes Residential, Commercial, Hospitality and Food and Beverage projects all over the world. She has won awards for her design work and has been featured in magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar and Gulf News to name but a few. She speaks annually at the Index exhibition in the UAE and writes media columns for regularly.
Anam has a personal passion for all things DIY within the home and will be bringing our readers, easy to execute and fun DIY tutorials on a monthly basis.
Selma Abdelhamid & Susan Syrek
Budgeting Experts
DIRHAM STRETCHERS
Budget friendly duo, Selma & Susan are co-founders to the UAE’s leading money saving platform in the UAE, Dirham Stretcher. As mumpreneurs and consumers at the same time, Selma and Susan appreciate the daily needs of families in the UAE as well as the importance of grocery shopping at the right place or organising affordable but fun outings with the kids.
Dirham Stretcher provides a go-to arena for real-time deals and steals in the region, whilst fostering an environment for sharing cost friendly hidden gems in the UAE. The multi-cultural pair, who between them bring the wealth of four different cultures and 6 different languages, work tirelessly to secure deals with top local retailers providing their community with discount codes and bargains beyond belief. Together they will be providing our readers with all of the above and more.
Rukhsana Kausar
Sustainability Expert
Founding Partner at Liquid Of Life
Lets face it, currently, there is no planet B, not matter how tirelessly Elon Musk works to try and get us there. We have this planet and everything we do has an impact on the environment. As Founding Partner of Liquid of Life, Rukhsana has been instrumental in raising awareness about the issues surrounding plastic pollution and the actions we can take to reduce and limit the negative impact we have on the environment.
Born in Bradford, UK (aka Bradistan), she has always had an entrepreneurial instinct, starting her first ‘business’ running the school tuck shop at the age of 8 selling toast and later diversifying to selling ice-cream in the summer months. She was always interested in nature and the environment, however in the 1990’s the only job prospects related to the environment involved joining Greenpeace, protesting and getting arrested which would not have gone down too well with the family so she pursued a career in a ‘respectable’ profession called the Law.
She relocated to the UAE in 2008, just as the global recession also hit the sandy beaches of Dubai. Against this background she was finally able to combine her two passions in life, being an entrepreneur and her passion in protecting our planet. She established Liquid of Life in 2009 and despite challenging times, has grown the business to provide a range of filtered drinking water solutions as an eco-friendlier, healthier and cost effective alternative to plastic bottled water.
Her knowledge is not just limited to issues surrounding plastic pollution, but has a broad understanding about the steps we can all take to live more sustainably. She believes our home is not just the roof we live under, but that our planet is our home and we need to do more to take care of it today and for future generations.
When she is not saving the planet, she’s a homebody and enjoys switching off and relaxing at home. Rukshana will be bringing our readers lots of tips and advice, on how you can become more socially conscious in the home and reduce your waste, water and energy consumption.
Rachael Bruford
Health & Nutrition Expert
Integrative Health Coach, Founder of Chasing Zest
Rachael Bruford, the Founder of Chasing Zest, an online platform that inspires others to be active and get outdoors, is an Integrative Health Coach and a freelance writer.
Impressively, Rachael is a keen distance runner, having run 10 marathons and 3 ultra-marathons to date, as well as countless half marathons and other sporting events both locally and internationally. By bringing together her passion for health, wellness, and fitness, her aim is to spark transformation and empower women in Dubai and beyond, towards their own personal health and wellness goals.
Rachael will be bringing our Home Club ME reader’s features and content related to nutrition and health within the home environment and beyond.
Joelle Moaccad
Foodie Expert
Vlogger @chefjujimo
Joelle is A Dubai based 28 year-old foodie, bringing her Syrian roots and penchant for a healthy lifestyle to her Instagram cooking page @chefjujimo. Whilst her happy place was always in the kitchen with her mother growing up, as an adult, Joelle strives to keep the value of a home-cooked meal alive alongside her 45-hour week work life. Her page addresses the skill of cooking nutritionally healthy meals that take under an hour to prep, cook and cool that even a cooking novice could master. She combines a variety of cuisines, from traditional Levant dishes, Asian inspired flavours, Italian, Greek or even French cuisine to suit the pickiest of taste buds.
Joelle will be bringing Home Club ME readers, lot’s of yummy recipes and food inspo’ whilst addressing the limitations of a modern city life.
Bjorn Fagerlind
Home Maintenance & Lighting Expert
Founder - Handy Scandy
From Sweden (hence the name), Bjorn comes from a family of entrepreneurs with a base in construction and maintenance. Following his arrival to the Emirates in 2015, Bjorn immediately spotted a gap in the market for a high quality, affordable maintenance company that provides an expert eye for detail and a well-trained hand with ease of communication and thus a year later, Bjorn started Handy Scandy, quite literally from the back of his car.
With the strength of Dubai’s word of mouth marketing the business grew rapidly and in 2017, Bjorn met his business partner and Handy Scandy’s Co-Founder, Tom De Vries from Dutch Engineering, an Abu Dhabi based company with background in Electrical and Light Design. In 2018, both companies merged to provide everything from small handyman services, to pool and villa renovations.
Bjorn will be sharing his expert experience, tips and advice in the field of home renovations, maintenance and lighting, so watch this space!
Simone Osswald
Feng Shui & Wellness In The Home Expert
Owner & Founder of SO FENG SHUI DESIGN FZE
Regarded as the first and only FENG SHUI WELLNESS DESIGNER©, Simone has worked in International furniture and décor trade shows in Milan and Paris whilst continuously building upon her Feng Shui discipline in combination with the SECOND NATURE© concept.
Simone combines her three expertise; Feng Shui, Interior Design and Wellness to create spaces that are in harmony with their inhabitants. The clients who appreciate this unique level of service have included VIP’s, corporate entities and hospitality and government organizations. Simone strives to combine the best of traditional with the latest in contemporary to produce stunning results in a culturally connected approach to design. Her international experience and fluency in 4 languages provides a balanced perspective when working within spaces within the residential, commercial and hospitality arena.
Simone will be bringing Home Club ME readers, unique and insightful content into the world of Feng Shui and how its principles can be applied to your home life alongside providing home and wellness tips.
Ash Young
Home Decor & Interiors Expert
Interior Stylist & Writer - Adore Decor DXB
Initially studying Law, Ash retrained as an interior stylist after having her 3 children whilst living in London. Ash and her family moved to the UAE 5 years ago where she started her popular social media platform, Adore Decor DXB, as a way of sharing her passion for design. Ash is a firm believer that beautiful spaces don’t have to be expensive ones and is evangelical about the transformative power of paint; in Ash’s words “the darker the better”! She lives in Dubai with her husband (who often wonders when their home will ever be ‘done’) and their three gorgeous children (who know that every cushion has its place).
Ash will be bringing our readers lots of fun and inspiring interior content as well as her top interior decor picks and interior styling tips and tricks. Watch this space!
