Buy a Bokja cushion to help Lebanon

Last year, Lebanon’s October Revolution began just as Maria Hibri and Huba Baroudi, the founders of Bokja — a Beirut-based design studio that produces unique pillows and furniture made from fabric embroidered by local artisans — began designing their most recent collection. Hibri and Baroudi would go to a protest, and then run back to their atelier to finish their designs. Inspired by the atmosphere of collective purpose, the duo decided to build the collection around the theme of Solastalgia, a neologism put forth in 2005 by the philosopher Glenn Albrecht to reflect the emotional distress people feel as a result of environmental change.

One pillow is embroidered with a bird riding across a river on the head of an alligator, another is covered with the branches of Lebanese pine and cypress trees. A dozen pieces from the collection became available this month at Manhattan’s ABC Carpet & Home, just days before more urgent demonstrations, sparked by the deadly explosion in the city’s port on Aug. 4, led to the resignation of the current regime. Now, these pillows offer more than just physical comfort: A portion of the proceeds will be donated to various Lebanese NGOs feeding the nearly 300,000 Beirut citizens who are now homeless because of the blast. From $250-$450 US

Take a tour of Maria Hibri’s Beirut home hit the link below