Concept store shows Afghanistan in a whole new light.
Running from December 1st – December 10th, ISHKAR’s
Baker Street concept store is designed to inform, surprise
and delight.
Returning from Afghanistan after living there for three years, two
young entrepreneurs – Flore de Taisne and Edmund Le Brun -
founded ISHKAR, a social enterprise selling the result of
collaborations between top international designers and craftsmen in
war-torn countries.
Their first ever pop-up shop in Baker Street’s ‘The Koppel Project’,
features pieces entirely made in Afghanistan, ranging from a carpet
designed by Zaha Hadid, right through to a dazzling pyramid of glass
from Afghanistan’s last remaining glass workshop.
In their curated collection high-end jewellery pieces designed by
British designers Pippa Small and Alice Ciciolini sit alongside hand-
felted slippers made by craftsmen in the mountains of central
Afghanistan. The collection is diverse, but united in its message.
In the wake of Brexit, Donald Trump’s election and a mounting
refugee crisis in Europe, ISHKAR believes that it’s never been more
important to show sides to countries like Afghanistan which are
rarely seen in the news. That’s why their concept store is more than
just a shop: the space also includes film and an interactive app
designed to educate viewers about Afghanistan’s rich heritage.
Underpinned by a belief of the power of craft to create positive
social impact, ISHKAR has partnered with West London based
design and build social enterprise, Goldfinger Factory, on the shop fit-out.