In a conversation with Pomellato, we speak with actress and Pomellato Global Ambassador Hande Erçel and Dania & Duna Alajlan, the sisters behind Emirati design studio One Third Studio. They come together for The Art of Iconic Craftsmanship, a Dubai project celebrating regional design in dialogue with the Italian jewellery maison.

The conversation explores how tradition and modernity can work together. Erçel shares her experience of curating the project, while One Third Studio sheds light on how it gives new life to Emirati palm-frond weaving through contemporary design.

Hande Erçel

As Pomellato's Global Ambassador, you've developed a close connection with the Maison. How did the curation allow you to express a different side of your creativity, and what guided your selection of the five regional designers?

As an actress, I usually give life to someone else's story. Curating was the opposite: I had to listen, observe and choose, and find a harmony between very different voices. It was a new kind of creativity for me, quieter and very personal. I approached it almost like composing a scene: each designer needed her own space, but together they had to create a rhythm, with volume and light, curves and raw matter, heritage and technology. Pomellato and I wanted guests to move from one work to the next as if following a single story.

Your personal passion for carpet weaving gives you a unique appreciation for traditional craftsmanship. How has this hands-on experience shaped the way you view artistry, and what qualities do you look for in a piece that tells a meaningful story?

Weaving changed the way I look at objects. Once you have spent hours on a few centimeters, you can never see a carpet, a jewel or a chair in the same way again. You start to notice the details, the small irregularities, the decisions of the person who made it. For me, that is where the story lives. I look for personality: a work that is not trying to be perfect, but that carries a trace of the person who made it.

One Third Studio draws inspiration from Emirati heritage, reinterpreting traditional motifs through a contemporary lens. What particularly resonated with you about the studio's creative approach, and how do you see their work connecting with you and the brand?

I was touched by the way Duna and Dania give new life to something so local and so humble: palm fronds, pressed, dyed and arranged by hand. It is a slow, almost meditative transformation, and it reminded me of weaving. They were the first Emirati studio to introduce khoos, the traditional weaving of palm fronds, reinvented as marquetry, and yet their work never feels nostalgic; it feels completely of today. That is also what I love about Pomellato: a deep respect for craft, expressed with a contemporary, unconventional eye. In their work, as in an Iconica jewel, tradition is not something to keep behind glass, but something to keep alive.

This project brought together women from different creative disciplines and cultural backgrounds. What do you hope guests took away from this exchange, and how has collaborating with emerging regional talent influenced your own artistic perspective?

I hope guests felt the energy of these women. Each of them comes from a different place and works with a different material, but they all share the courage to follow their own vision. Meeting them in Dubai and hearing them speak about their work, inspired me a lot. Their curiosity, their freedom with materials, the way they move between traditional craft and new tools… It reminded me that creativity has no single path. It made me want to be even braver in my own work, both as an actress and with my weaving.

What is your message for female artists in the region? And a message for all your fans in the region.

To female artists, I would say: trust your hands and trust your voice. Your story, your roots and your sensitivity are your strength, not something to hide. Take your time, because what is made with care lasts.

To my fans in the region: thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Your love has always made me feel at home here, and being in Dubai for this project with Pomellato made that feeling even stronger. I carry you with me.

Dania & Duna Alajlan — One Third Studio

One Third Studio is deeply rooted in Emirati heritage and the preservation of traditional crafts. How do you balance the responsibility of honouring these traditions with the desire to push creative boundaries and introduce something entirely new?

For us, heritage is not something to preserve in the past, but something to carry forward. Through Khoos marquetry, we explore how traditional Emirati craftsmanship can take on new forms through contemporary design. We want to honour the knowledge behind the craft while allowing it to evolve, creating pieces that reflect both where we come from and how we see the future.

Your work shares a strong connection with Pomellato’s philosophy of craftsmanship and bold contemporary design. What parallels do you see between jewellery-making and your own design practice, particularly in the way materials, techniques and cultural stories come together?

We see a strong connection between jewellery and our design practice in the way both bring materials to life through craftsmanship, precision and storytelling. Jewellery often carries personal meaning and emotion, while our work draws on the stories, memories and traditions embedded in Emirati culture. Through Khoos marquetry, we transform date palm leaves, a material deeply connected to everyday life in the UAE, into contemporary pieces that reflect our heritage. For us, every material holds a story, and design becomes a way to preserve it, reinterpret it and share it with new generations.

As part of The Art of Iconic Craftsmanship, your work was selected through a curatorial collaboration involving Hande Erçel. What does it mean to have your creative vision presented in dialogue with an Italian jewellery Maison, and how does this experience open up new conversations around Emirati design?

It is an honour to have our work presented alongside Pomellato, a Maison that shares our appreciation for craftsmanship and individuality. This collaboration creates a dialogue between different cultures and design traditions, allowing us to introduce Emirati heritage to new audiences and explore how traditional crafts can find new expression in contemporary design.

As female designers working collectively, how do your individual perspectives influence the studio’s creative identity? And how important is it for you to champion the women in the region and artisans who continue to keep traditional Emirati craftsmanship alive?

As co-founders, our individual perspectives complement each other, allowing us to challenge ideas and develop a shared creative vision. We are passionate about celebrating the women and artisans who preserve traditional Emirati crafts. Their knowledge and skills are essential to our heritage, and we hope our work helps ensure these traditions continue to inspire future generations.

Dubai has become an increasingly important meeting point for international design and regional creativity. How do you hope collaborations such as this one will shape the future of Emirati craftsmanship, particularly when it comes to bringing local heritage to a global audience?

We believe collaborations like this create meaningful opportunities for cultural exchange, introducing Emirati craftsmanship to new audiences. By reinterpreting traditional techniques through contemporary design, we hope to encourage a deeper appreciation of our heritage as a living practice. Ultimately, we want Emirati craftsmanship to have a distinctive voice in the global design conversation while continuing to evolve for future generations.