The issue came to a final conclusion when Ms. Abeer Fakhriddin, Director of Communications & CSR at ATICO Fakhreldin Group, announced this year that SHE was going to manage wreathing Christmas AT ALL THE OUTLETS! Mind you it’s a task she had chosen to stay away from only just recently. You see, she had been committed to taking care of creating a wonderful Christmas setting for ATICO Fakhreldin Group for over 19 years!
So it was not very long ago, that Ms. Abeer burst out with the idea of doing it herself, without the support of any event company!! WoW! That was breaking news! But she had a solid plan it seemed. Her first reach was to her long time working pal and dear cousin, Mr. Farid Fakhriddin, a rising local artist. And then I came in. I didn’t own my time and I was asked to help when I could.
The duo-thinking tank huddled over coffee and herbs and quick Italian delicious meals from Trattoria until the idea to create a‘tableau’ of the sort came to life. As Mr. Farid took a step back, he held his hand to his jaw with a discerning look and with a final deciding oomph he said that each outlet would have a unique scenic festive backdrop; a perfect painting of Christmas. And that’s how the ideas continued to explode like frantic popcorn.
The sketch was a large one. There were 5 Wish Trees (a yearly charity initiative with SOS Children’s Villages) at AlQasr Metropole Hotel, Fakhreldin Restaurant (Levant cuisine), Ren Chai (Chinese), Yoshi (Japanese/Asian), Wild Jordan Center (local, traditional wholesome cuisine). Each had a theme and style. The Nub, Amigo and Vinaigrette (International cuisines), Trattoria (Italian), Copas Central (Latin based cuisine), and Kebab Express (fast Arabic food) would have their own special patterns and layouts to fit their own characteristics.
So that’s how the scenes were doodled. They were dabbed with designs, stroked with compositions and drafted with an artful eye. The storeroom became our atelier. With cartons filled with an impressive collection of ornaments. We could pick and choose from masses of trinkets and accessories to create whichever painting we eventually would decide on.
By Huda
