More than glass

Boustany,33,who moved to India about a year-and-a-half ago with her husband,a diplomat with the Danish embassy,had been an art director back in Lebanon,designing sets for television series and commercials. Chandeliers happened around the same time. Each of Boustany’s chandeliers are made of unusual elements—apart from the customary glass and crystal there are beads,plastic rings,feathers,even earrings,necklaces and key holders—and each piece comes with a name of its own. Having a diplomat for a husband also means frequent travels and curios from new countries. “I make one piece of each design,so each one is a stand-alone. Which is why I like giving them names. It adds a personal touch. For instance,I made Copenhagen when I was still in Beirut,and then when I moved there immediately afterwards,I felt it was worth the name. It’s quite like the city. The other thing that I try and do is to recycle products as much as I can. Usually my emphasis is on using materials which facilitate the inter-play of lights,” she says,pointing at Cynthia’s Kitchen,another chandelier,replete with crystals and silver spoons.

Since her move to India,Boustany admits that she has not had the chance to dabble with her hobby too much. “It’s difficult with two young boys to raise,” she says,pointing at Markus,her eight-month-old baby fast asleep in a corner. Most of her customers in India have been friends from the expat community in the city,like Greco-Lebanese fashion designer Alecca Carrano,who used chandeliers and jewellery made by Boustany for her show and stall at the Delhi Fashion Week last month. Boustany is now looking to take up personal assignments. “Doing corporate assignments right away will be a problem,because I still haven’t figured out where to get bulk raw materials from,” she says.

In the meanwhile,she has started designing children’s clothes,and with the response it has generated among her friends,she is on the lookout for retail options. “It’s difficult to find clothes for little boys,and most of the clothes that I find are done in a way to make the kids look grown-up. So I thought I would do a few on my own,and now they seem to have worked out well,” she smiles.