Award-winning Levantine designer and mother-of-pearl inlay artist Nada Debs is based between Beirut, Dubai and Kobe. Trained as an interior architect at the Rhode Island School of Design, she embraces the craft as a means of reconnecting with her Arab roots while fostering a dialogue between cultures. Her pieces explore intricate craftsmanship and geometry as universal languages that transcend geography and time. Nada is committed to advancing craft-led design from the global south through active engagement with cultural and design institutions. She has collaborated with the Institut du Monde Arabe, Design Doha, Downtown Design, the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation, INAASH Association, Irthi, Maison de l’Artisan and FBMI.

The piece presented at Homo Faber 2026 is an object of resin art, the result of a collaboration between Abed Daaboul, Nada Debs and MARIAGROUP. It builds on Nada Debs’ previous experiments in which plexiglass served as a base for mother-of-pearl inlay. This development has allowed craftspeople to engage with a material that is lighter, more versatile and more aligned with contemporary production and aesthetics than traditional wood. It extends the life of the craft by giving artisans new possibilities to explore, thereby becoming a bridge between tradition and the present.