Paola Sakr

Questionnaire: Paola Sakr

Describe yourself in a single sentence?
– Light-hearted, feral and barefoot - spiritual being having a human experience (for now).

What was your last thought before falling asleep last night?
– Stop pulling the cover!

What is the first thing you think about when you wake up?
– I give myself the luxury of a 30 minutes reflection to ponder on the crazy dreams I had during the night. Yes, I dream every single night and I find the symbolism behind it to be very relevant.

If you could give your younger self any advice what would it be?
– Don’t give up on your ballet classes! (age 7) Don’t give up your contemporary dance classes! (age 15) Pick up an instrument! (any age really)

What are you working on right now?
– Mostly on myself and my inner peace. But also been diving into the world of pottery ever since I created a ceramics collection for Kvadrat and especially after partly moving to Dubai. Several furniture pieces for private clients around the world, an unconventional candle collection that is proving itself to be more challenging than I thought, some wall-mounted vases for a restaurant, another vase collection (I like flowers), and a secret project I’ve been concocting for a few years… Also, in my spare time, I like to press flowers as well as create (and paint with) natural earth pigments from rocks I find in nature.

How do you know a project is worth realizing?
– When I can see it clearly in my mind’s eye as if it were already executed. It’s all in the guts.

What have you learnt from your parents?
– Not to fuss on the little things, letting go of what I have no control over. Keep moving forward. That’s my dad. My mom taught me transparency, communication and acknowledging my feelings.

To what extent do you trust people?
– Hmm. I’d love to lie and say that I am cautious when it came to trusting but I always expect people to be good-natured and I only see red flags when I want to.

What would you do if you inherited a million dollar?
– Definitely donate to the many causes close to my heart such as the Lebanese community who’s really going through hard times at the moment, animal rights (!!!), women’s rights, famine… I’d also like to travel the world. Also, I’d invest in my studio and hire more people. Or maybe I’d build myself a nice house next to a river somewhere and get off the grid. I honestly don’t think a million is enough for all that I want.

What historical event fascinates you the most?
– The building of the great pyramids. How did they do it? And Woodstock! I wish I was alive and in age to experience it.

Is talent something you’re born with or something you can learn?
– You can definitely be born with talent which I personally view as hints from the universe on where you could be needed in this life, but it’s far from being everything! Anyone can learn anything and fully master it if the will is there.

What do you do when nobody looks?
– Look on the Internet for answers to weird or random questions I have.

Name your favorite restaurant?
– I can’t think of any specific restaurant I’ve been to but it would definitely be in a place that makes me feel at home, surrounded by good company, around a table with great food and tasty wine under a cloud of interesting conversations and laughter.

Is there anything else you would like to tell us?
– Be kind. The world needs more light.

Photography by Paola Sakr, Beirut, October 2021.