I interviewed Fatma and I wanted to ask more about Fatma personally we shared our emails and WhatsApp numbers for the interview.
- Hi Fatma, can we discuss the interview before the class? Are you available at 1:00pm (London time?)
- Hi, Fatma I’m sending these questions through WhatsApp just in case the email wasn’t sent properly.
- Heyyy I received your email. Thank you sooo much for the answers.
- If you have had to reflect on yourself, would you reflect as a ‘performance of self’ or ‘presentation of self?
I guess I would say presentation of self, I think presentation of self qualifies more to me when I reflect on how I see myself because I am very self-critical and I tend to evaluate my actions, my words and my overall behavior.
- How would you identify yourself, besides your career?
I am a creative individual that loves creativity and I love to live my life with intention and purpose. I would identify myself as a good person, a kind heart that wants to help and make the world a better place in the best way I can.
- I saw your company’s slogan in a pdf file, what is your motto or slogan?
I don’t have a personal motto, but I believe in this famous quote by Henry Ford “Whether you think you can, or you can’t – you’re right”.
- Why did you choose that motto? Why is it important to you?
I think it’s important to me because every time I think about this quote it guides me to a more positive way of thinking. I do believe that you are what you think, and if you think you can then you can and if you can’t then you can’t. And I do strongly believe that we do live in an environment that is constructed by our own reality and to be able to function and move forward and achieve things in life, one must be able to control one’s thoughts. This is something MUCH easier said than done and being now in my 30s I think I definitely am starting to understand and adapt to this concept.
- What is your aim for MAIP?
I honestly love studying about different cultures and societies and just wanting to know more about how people live and communicate with one another. I started my brand in 2012 because of my love for creativity and art, however I als o wanted to signify that we are from Dubai, and I wanted to highlight my culture and traditions through pop-cultural are and that was one of the main reasons that I wanted to pursue MAIP.
- Do you have a goal at the end of this course? Or by the end of this course, what do you want to achieve?
I want to be able to delve more into the idea and origins of culture and how popular culture has had such a huge effect on people’s thoughts and life in general. I would want to finish this course with having a better and more understanding knowledge as I believe that it will definitely help me develop my style and fashion label.
- If you have a chance to collaborate with other individual artists, what kind of artist (ex. An artist who aim…) do you want to collaborate with?
I would love to collaborate with an artist like Kanye West, to understand his impact on fashion in popular culture. I would love to create a collaboration with him in the sense of creating something futuristic and cultural. I honestly can’t even think about how beautiful the outcome might be.
- What kind of story do you want to build?
The story of the collaboration is of two collaborating and intertwining culture, I want to showcase my artwork and designs and I think if Kanye takes it to the next level of how things will be worn and shown etc., that would be a dream come true.
- What would you look like after 5 years? (What kind of person will you be?)
I hope to be a more intentional person, in my actions and thoughts, I would love to be more poised and have a sense of balance in my life. I am hoping that my art develops as I develop as a person, and I can be able to appreciate myself and my creativity much more.
- Could you tell me one of your stories or episodes of how you were able to make your dream come true?
I think I am still in pursuit of my dream becoming true, I did face many challenges, time being the biggest challenge when so many things are going on in my life. I am a mother and a wife so balancing my personal life with work life could take its toll on anyone really, and for a while it did on me. I remember one day I went to pick up my son and back then I had recently done a collaboration with Toyota, where I designed their entire interior for their latest cruiser car for an art exhibition called Dubai Design Days. I went to school to pick him up and I heard him talking to his classmate and his teacher about how he looked up to me and how he loved my designs and how creative he thought his mom was. Later, when we went to the car, I asked him how his day was and he immediately responded by saying, “I’m very proud of you and even sometimes when you are busy, thank you for always trying your best to put me first”. That was honestly the best day of my life because I felt how my son appreciated me and understood that some days are busier than others. I also felt much better because I carried the mom guilt over my shoulders for a very long time, and that day I felt as if the weight had gone, and I appreciated how mature my son was and how he saw that I really was trying my best.
- I asked you more about yourself than as a woman or as a mother. Is there a difference being as a mother and as a CEO of your company?
Of course, there is a big difference between running a company and being a mother, being a mother is much more difficult I believe. Also, there is this constant guilt and worry with being a mother, it doesn’t go away really however the intensity varies. Running my own company however, I can make decisions with my mind mostly and not my heart, some decisions are difficult but must be done, it doesn’t really take a toll on me as much. Being both never was easy for me; I struggled a lot between managing my business and being completely present at home. Lots of times I overlapped them, but as much as I can I tried my best to give myself a break.
- How different it is to keep a balance between the two?
It’s very difficult to be in balance, as an artist you need to be in the zone, in a kind of flow for you to be able to execute your art. For me this flow never really has a specific timing, and that’s why the balance was and to some extend still difficult to execute because most of the time I feel that I am not completely in control of my time. However, my priorities of course lie with my son, and he always comes first.
- Thank you for your interview. Did you like the interview questions?
Yes, I loved the interview questions, I thought you were very curious and attentive. Thank you so much for putting in the time.
- Do you have any opinions?
Not really, I truly wish you all the best dear.
- Thank you so much for your lovely answers! I really appreciated it. Every single answer really touched me, and I’m fully inspired by it. I’m so glad that I’m taking the same course as you.