Van Cleef & Arpels, in partnership with Tashkeel, has unveiled the winners of the 11th edition of the Middle East Emergent Designer Prize: Joud Malhas and Rachel Antoun. The annual initiative continues to spotlight rising creative voices across the Gulf, challenging designers to translate thematic concepts into functional works rooted in innovation, culture and sustainability.

This year’s theme, Blooming Poetry, inspired the duo’s winning installation, Where There Is Uns – a luminous piece reinterpreting Bedouin traditions of hospitality. Drawing on the symbolic act of lighting fires to welcome travelers, the design blends storytelling with material experimentation. Cardamom husks, typically discarded, are transformed into bioplastic sheets, forming layered, semi-transparent structures that diffuse warm light and evoke natural harmony.

Activated by proximity, the installation intensifies its glow as viewers approach, mimicking a gesture of welcome. Combining sensory design with cultural narrative, the piece reflects the UAE’s spirit of openness and diversity. The designers will further their journey through immersive courses at L’ÉCOLE School of Jewelry Arts in Dubai and Paris, with the work set to debut in a public exhibition later this year.