Maryam Khaled AlKhalifa is an award-winning Bahraini product designer & a graduate of Parsons School of Design. With a focus on furniture, housewares, and fashion, Maryam is very hands-on in her design work; often designing through the manufacturing process. She continues to challenge herself by taking on projects as an opportunity to explore materiality and methods of manufacturing.
Complementing her studies she has work experience in both The New School and St. Christopher’s School of Bahrain as a technician and has also been commissioned internationally to produce design work for an array of clients.
As well as working alongside AlRiwaq as a local course coordinator for their Majal Program and has conducted workshops with them.
Through her work for her design studio, Camel in the City, a wide range of her designs have been featured in exhibitions throughout the world including Comic-Con, Art BAB, and multiple shows for New York Design Week.
Camel in the City Design Studio
From large-scale exclusive one-off furniture items to more intricate and playful pieces, everything created in my studio is versed with a multifaceted generational melting pot approach. The ingenuity of each product release pays homage to traditional designs while incorporating modern production methods. Freeing the misconceived stigma of rigidity of ‘tradition’ and playfully challenging the status quo, to show the capability of the crossroads between old and new — honoring the past and welcoming the future present.
This is not exclusive to borders or generations, as I created Camel in the City Design Studio to bring people together while highlighting the beauty found in my homeland. My designs and creations in essence celebrate Bahrain, Khaleeji, and Arabic culture while utilizing Western products; allowing locals to display their pride and visitors to carry a part of Bahrain back home with them
These products have been featured around the Island: in the Bahrain National Museum Gift shop, Made in Bahrain Stores, and the AlRiwaq Concept Store delighting locals and visiting tourists alike.