Wael Farran

I was a kid, maybe a teenager, when I first uttered this statement. While it might have been a way to shed mystery around my person at first, today, the unknown is the element that brings light and clarity into my life. Its powerful mystique fascinates me still and brings me solace.
Wael Farran.

Born in Tyr, South Lebanon, Farran, spent his early school years in Saudi Arabia, before returning to his native land at the age of ten. He grew up raised by illusions and reality and molded by the music of the world, as he likes to describe his upbringing. To the tunes of the latest western music, and with the roman ruins as his playground, Farran experienced the volumes in monuments, the textures in stone, and the grandeur of life. Feeling that the city could not contain him anymore, this young avant-guard spirit found his escape in the infinite world of nature. Spending time in his father’s vast garden and on the shore of the meditereanan sea, Farran’s connection to the universe began to form, unbeknown of him. He basked in the creative and giving nature of the land, connected to its smells and texture and allowed for his imagination to grow limitless.

Nothing mattered as long as I was following my heart.

Farran’s academic journey began in big anonymous lecture halls getting to know the law. His heart, however wasn’t beating to the same rhythm as the legislative rules. The spaces, volumes and textures that filled his childhood were calling him. Soon, he shifted majors and universities, joining the Interior Architecture program in Lebanese American University in 1996. Attending his first class, his heart told him he was home.

And oh! how well the heart knows. His academic journey was a success and he graduated with high colors. He landed his first solo job, a 350m2 residential project in Beirut during his senior year and all unfolded from there. Jobs came one after the other to a point that self-doubt took over him. However, his pull towards the unknown brought his confidence back. Today, the more projects I handle, the better I work, he explains with a smile.

Every designer is a thief

Said by one of his professors, this sentence resonated with Farran. He understood that design was all about interpretation and hence began interpreting. He saw everything in the language of design; a leaf on the pavement, a messy hair bun or a random sound everything was design. In this new-found perspective, he realized that design had always been an intricate part of him and he just gave it a language to express itself. That is why, Farran believes he has never worked a day in his life, he simply turned his nature into a profession.

In the unknown I never sensed dangers and secrets.

As his professional life was soaring, Farran had to deal with many personal setbacks. It began with a heavy financial downfall for his family, and ended with the death of a close partner, passing by a serious health scare. Armed with his love for the unknown, he kept on going. In fact, these obstacles became the basis on which he built his strength and growth. They paved the way to, not only understanding his physical limitations, but also to a journey of gratefulness and wider perspectives. These obstacles opened up my capacities, and created more awareness within my character. I saw my inner power in action.

A whisper in my ear Yoga

Life continued to unfold while Farran built his career and dealt with his hindrances. He was in the midst of a client meeting when he heard it first, soft, sweet and sharp. Yoga. A single word. He didn’t give it much attention, then, he heard it again, this time, alone in his home Yoga. He knew his beloved unknown was sending him yet again into a blissful path. It didn’t take long for him to join a class, and he was hooked. This spiritual path brought him peace, focus and a new outlook on life.

As I grow with life, I revise my design process.

This new-found perspective translated into his designs. Every year or so, Farran reevaluates and rethinks his creative process. What remains, however, is his lack of attachment to a certain style. Sticking to a style, means repetition, and that is something I refuse to do. In my deep connection with nature, I learned that nothing is similar in its creation. Life is in constant movement, so why would our own creative process be repetitive In repetition, we become static. I want to keep on growing, he explains. While the trend today calls for a signature and a style, Farran’s conviction is that a master of design is a creative who can do anything, without repeating himself.

It was always there my love for furniture

Farran’s only hobby, aside his work, is travel. He traveled around the world getting acquainted with different perspectives, watching what the designers of the world were creating, and taking in the inspiration in the museums, on the street and among people. One thing, however, always pulled his focus, and that was furniture design. He contemplated the designs, devoured books about it, and let his imagination run wild Till he found FORMITABLE

I was answering a need in the market  It ended up being a calling.

Working on his projects, Farran noticed a need for tables that would enhance the space it inhabits. When he couldn’t find what he was looking for, he decided to create it. FORMITABLE was born. The line of unique, one of a kind tables gave an added value to the spaces designed. Little by little, FORMITABLE turned into a format for conversation, a way for Farran to spread his language and views into the world. The pieces transcended from a mere furniture piece into a talking and thinking point that were shared with the world in international exhibitions such as Venice Biennale and Milan Design Week among others.

Conversing in design a continuous exercise

There is something poetic about a space. As an interior architect, I feel that we are in constant conversation to bring out a certain harmony that allows us to co-exist together and design is key in this equation. Keeping the conversation alive is my mission, my calling my true passion. concludes Farran with a smile.

DESIGNERS