The smallest of dreams, the tiniest of ideas, and the slightest bit of hope are all you need to start your journey. But, when you add an incredible passion to the mix, that’s when you watch your dream bloom – it comes to life. You have to start somewhere! Our little dream started out as a way to bring people together. We wanted to live our dream through the eyes of our customers. It’s the most beautiful and gratifying part of what we do! The Design Lab is a hub of skills and creativity. It brings all 10,452 squared kilometers of Lebanese land together! How? By creating a business built on the initiative to support small businesses. The past year has been pretty rough for local and small businesses everywhere. We have to help each other out – stick together! We have to make a difference! And that’s exactly how The Design Lab started.
This is our story and our beginning.
We all like to live a fairytale every now and then. But, let’s be honest, fairytales don’t come by so often. That doesn’t mean we can’t make reality a little bit better! When the master design of the Design Lab was in progress, we wanted to create a brand that brings out the reality of our existence. We tried to find a way to add some good-natured Lebanese spirit into everything we make. Our business is a brand that has its own mind, character, and identity! We wanted to create a brand that speaks for itself, in all its Lebanese glory. It was all about baby steps at first, catering to friends and families only. The idea was to spread so much happiness through customized clothes and bring out the best of us all. But we knew we couldn’t do it alone. That’s where the idea to support small businesses came to life. We decided to join forces with incredibly talented people and help each other grow. We found the key to business growth and a way to help us all survive the worst! It was pretty easy from there: support small businesses, and watch each other bloom!
Small businesses have spirit, ambition, and motivation that drives them forward. They are the building blocks of any country’s economy. And God knows our economy could use some help – a lot of it. Small businesses thrive in overcoming the most significant obstacles. It’s different than stable companies. Their passion drives them, and that’s why they create unique beautiful products. They don’t have much to lose when they’re just starting out. That’s why they take greater risks and come up with excellent results. This is why we all need to take part to support small businesses and keep them alive.
So, let’s just take a look back at the year 2020. Needless to say, it wasn’t all that great. The pandemic struck, and a lot of small businesses took most of the hit! It’s a disease that affects humans and industries alike. Not to mention if you’re small commerce located in Lebanon. It would be a miracle if you managed to pull through the year on your own! One of the beautiful things about being Lebanese is that when times get tough, we work together and find a way. No matter what the universe keeps throwing our way, we find a different path – change the rhythm. When you support small businesses, you support dreams, lives, and futures. This is why people need to support small businesses to keep the dream alive.
Our mindset to support small businesses started way back. When you’re small commerce in Lebanon, it’s pretty much of a struggle without a worldwide pandemic and lockdowns. We know the feeling. The Design Lab began as a simple startup and then created a whole team made up of different businesses. We chose to support small businesses by showcasing their skills in everything we make – from embroidery to hand-painting and design. Everything is made through the support of small businesses.
How does it work? We wanted to do something different. It isn’t just about a shootout or mention of other brands. To support small businesses, we must fully use their resources in all our products to highlight their tremendous skills. We wanted to use our brand to help people who are less fortunate in the industry. Every startup goes through struggles. When you support small businesses, it could make all the difference in the world to them! That’s how The Design Lab works. We find people who have a story they want to tell through their work. Forget about big brands and chain branches. It’s all about the local support of small businesses to grow. Even our delivery carriers are startups and small commerce!
We created a team made out of specialists who do their own thing. It’s a lengthy process, but it is extremely rewarding. It is beyond gratifying to see how something so simple could yield impressive results just because you support small businesses.
It has been about five years since we first started The Design Lab. Now, all these years later, we are a tight-knitted team of amazing people working together to make a difference. Our brand of customized apparel has all the Lebanese flare and each individual’s own twist. The step to support small businesses is what brought us here today.
We had our first significant order from Dubai after the Beirut port explosion’s tragic events in August. They wanted to show love and support to Beirut – love, and support to Lebanon. Our need to support small businesses put us on the map and set us apart from other brands.
It brings us great pride and joy to say that our brand resulted from teaming up with people who have amazing stories to tell.
This is our story and their story. We tell it together.
And now, after all this time, we’ve finally kick started our adventure hand in hand. We launched our brand new website for The Design Lab and have all our plans on the move. It’s time for us to tell the story we’ve been writing for so long. Check out our website and meet the fantastic team behind all the beautiful designs. Get a chance to tell your own story through your very own personalized item. Every single piece that comes out of our lab is ultimately one of a kind—That’s what you get when you support small businesses and work together. You get the raw human factor – the factor that makes everything so unique.
We put love, passion, and downright Lebanese spirit in everything we create. So, become part of the movement!
