Saying goodbye to friends isn’t easy especially when they are moving to another country and you’re not sure when you’ll next see them. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to stay in touch—Facebook, email, video chats, snail mail—and it’s always nice to have someone to visit when you go on holiday. But for that special friend who has left an imprint on our hearts, sometimes we want to give them something to remember us when we can’t chat with or visit them. So we’ve picked out a few unique, handmade items that would make lovely farewell Qatar gifts. These gifts are all lightweight and can be easily packaged for travel.
OMMI
Ommi’s khaliji-inspired fabric dolls are a beautiful gift for children or displayed on a shelf. The dolls are available in various sizes and forty different character designs, including men, women and children. You can mix and match sizes and characters to make your own little Ommi family. They also offer round pillows, pocket-sized notebooks, prints featuring the character designs.
Contact: facebook.com/ommiqatar, instagram.com/ommiqatar
DOHA DESIGNS
Lovers of modern design will flip for Doha Design’s brightly coloured graphic prints of Doha’s skyline, West Bay, a Doha “subway sign”, Souq Waqif, dune bashing, local animals and more. If a poster is too much to pack, their designs are also available on postcards. T-shirts are also available in various colours and sizes.
Contact: dohadesigns.com; facebook.com/DohaDesigns
CHATEAU DANDY
These design-to-order framed camel prints make genuinely personal gifts. You select 35–45 words, a font and colours which are then used to produce a word cloud in the shape of a camel or dhow boat. This would also be a great classroom gift to give a teacher if you included the names of all the pupils in the class.
Contact: facebook.com/chateaudandy, instagram.com/chateaudandy_doha
DOTS AND CURVES
The range of gifts on offer from Dots and Curves is impressive. You can buy magnets, bookmarks and printed mugs. We especially love the hand-painted khaliji salt and pepper shakers and heart-shaped bamboo decorations, hand-painted with the colours of the Qatari flag. Bright and colourful paintings are available in different sizes and can include customised names and phrases in Arabic calligraphy. Recent work includes paintings of Souq Waqif.
Contact: facebook.com/Dots.and.Curves, instagram.com/dots.and.curves
