Offering authentic and unique art

Our Correspondent/ Emirates Business

Saeid and Luisa Momtahan, founders of Craft By Two, have explored different sectors that
could include elements like designing, photography, plumbing, and craftsmanship. Now working together for many years, the duo have been in the creative field for the past 20 years.
The couple has a background of
engineering and computer science, where their passion has always been for creativity.
Saeid Momtahan is architectural photographer, and Luisa Momtahan is an interior designer and space planner. After living in the UAE for nearly 17 years, the couple moved to Iran and then Philippines, where they got involved in craftsmanship out of an interest to stay creative.
In Iran, they lived in an orchard and Saeid did all the plumbing and
electrical work. As the duo had an easy access to the raw material of plumbing spare parts and electrical wires lying around, Saeid started using pipes to make lamps a couple of years back. The Coca Cola Bottle Lamp is one of his first creations.
Saeid, co-founder, Craft By Two, said, “We were also one of the early adopters on biddi.com and that has proved to be a very effective portal for selling online. We’re especially happy with their A-Z service when it comes to administrative and logistics, which leaves us free to do our creative work.”
They also involved with crafts in the Philippines. Saeid and Luisa regularly took part in weekend markets and both started using wood and glass as well as metal in their crafts. Those materials lend themselves well to their style of crafting.
In 2015, the couple moved back to the UAE and started their crafting business. They came across ARTE, the Makers Market and very quickly, it became their favorite market.
The market has been proven to be a fantastic venue to showcase their work, meet new clients and network.
“Our work is about making things that will be around for many years. There is no built in obsolescence. Everything is made to last. It is made to show its age as years go by, but also to keep functioning as it was originally intended,” said Saeid.
Craft By Two keeps its products as elemental as possible and often use rescued and recycled wood in its products. As much as possible, the raw material used is wood with all the cracks and holes, making it more realistic.
One aspect of the company is that the business is expanding rapidly in industrial furniture and lighting for commercial spaces and private homes. The designs provide dare to implement and have just finished lighting, shelves and display units for a boutique. The corporate gifts sector is another area where Craft By Two’s business is flourishing. Saeid deems that there seems to be a shortage of original and unique gifts in the market and they are happy to be able to fill a small corner of it with their products.
“I think one contributing factor to our success in such a short time has been the fact that we are designers as well as crafters and fabricators. Many times when the client conveys their idea to a designer, the designer then has to convey those ideas to the fabricators and much of the energy and the synergy is lost in that step. We design what we make, often with input from clients. We love and understand the Industrial Design. Therefore, developing ideas and implementing them come to us naturally. We are thrilled to be back in the UAE. After having traveled and tried our hands at doing business in a few other countries, we really do believe there is no place like the UAE for opportunities,” said Saeid.