Adapting modern design to new uses and the changing lifestyles of Moroccans is the challenge that Ali Bennani gave himself, by creating White Space, a 100% Moroccan furniture brand. This former multinational executive, who decided to abandon the comfort of employment to embark on the adventure, by creating his own company, wants to position himself in a market where franchises, big brands and informality coexist, by offering a quality modern design offer at an accessible price. His primary target? Urban, active individuals looking for an original design with a traditional touch.
Revisiting traditional know-how while drawing on refined concepts of contemporary design are the hallmark of the first collection unveiled last week, in the dedicated showroom, in Dar Bouazza, in the suburbs of Casablanca. Composed mainly of sofas, coffee tables and rugs, the collection is available in three universes which complement each other harmoniously: Comfy, Tradi and Pop. Classic, for the first, the furniture is designed for purchase in front of the television and to meet everyday needs.
These are sofas with simple and clean lines but without sacrificing anything to the imperative of contemporary aesthetics. Tradi furniture is a different take on the Moroccan living room. “We do not have the ambition to change the Moroccan living room, which is a space and a multi-centenary universe, but we want to offer an alternative, in response to the new constraints of living space,” explains Ali Bennani. The only infidelity to “Made in Morocco”, the Pop line is signed by the Croatian furniture publishing house: Prostoria, winner of several awards in the world of contemporary furniture. Everything else is made in the brand’s workshops.
The furniture is designed by a team of designers and made by a dozen master craftsmen “whom we took a long time to select, then train to international design norms and standards,” explains Bennani. “The workshop is managed today like a factory, we have a production capacity of 30 sofas per month which we will very quickly double,” confirms the boss of White Space, who is already eyeing export. “We have the know-how and all the assets to establish a strong Moroccan brand, of high quality, but which is located in a mid-range with accessible prices, in a market that we estimate at around 10 billion DH, half of which is in the informal sector,” concludes Bennani.
source: leconomiste
