Satellite Voices

Dubai

Inside/Out: Hussein Abdul Rasheed

April 28, 2011

Founder of new concept design boutique The Zoo gives an insight into his unique store

• Text by Kate Hazell

Hussein Abdul Rasheed runs a unique property in Dubai that goes against the grain of malls and dubious high end luxury. The Zoo is a boutique that celebrates the independents - locally and worldwide. It's the essence of a playful craft with a serious intent to support Dubai's up-and-coming creative talent.

Satellite Voices: What’s your occupation... a) during the day & b) at night?
Hussein Abdul Rasheed: I’m a Zoo Keeper by day. I recently launched The Zoo, which is the newest stand-alone design concept boutique in Dubai. I am a firm believer in the old saying ‘work hard and party harder’. Nothing can cure a stressful week like a fantastic dinner and a good night out with friends and loved ones. I enjoy trying out new restaurants so we’ve made it a Thursday night tradition to try a new restaurant and give it our own rating every week.

SV: Where do you live and what inspires you about that area of town?
Hussein Abdul Rasheed: I live in the Um Suqqeim. It inspires me because it is one of the only few remaining villas in an area swarming with high-rise cloud touching towers. It’s a great feeling to be able to get to my car in 30 seconds while knowing that my friends who live three minutes away are still waiting for the elevator to come up to the 50-something floor. The close proximity to the beach is another huge source of inspiration.

SV: What makes Zoo a unique concept for Dubai?
Hussein Abdul Rasheed: I personally have a mall-phobia and I’m sure a lot of our customers do too. So I came up with the idea of setting up a one-stop lifestyle destination with easy accessibility. We stock everything from quirky household accessories, limited edition G-Shock watches or Super Sunglasses to fun t-shirts, gifts and dresses. The slogan of The Zoo is: “Where Everyone Comes To Play” and we take that very seriously!

SV: Where did the idea for the store come from?
Hussein Abdul Rasheed: I have always been an avid collector of everything! My room is almost a replica of my store. Ever since I was a child I always loved buying knick-knacks and anything that I thought looked nice. The Zoo was initially supposed to only be a t-shirt shop. But I guess as the concept and I developed and the ball started rolling there was no stopping it or looking back.

SV: Where do you do your buying for Zoo?
Hussein Abdul Rasheed: We literally source our products from all over the world. But we’re also very keen on promoting local and regional talents and have numerous startup designers displaying their products in The Zoo. We believe that everyone deserves a chance and as long as the product is well designed and quality is great then it doesn’t matter if you have been in the business for one month or 10 years.