JOIN THE TRIBE
This store has become the number one destination for bohemian interiors and wanderlust accessories
Handmade and unique, you will be spoiled for choice at Tribe, located in a picturesque courtyard. Curated by Australian designer Jo England, Tribe brings together coastal elegance with a global-chic edge.
What prompted you to launch Tribe?
I have background in complete redesign and planning floor space in renovation projects. I started curating furniture pieces that were exactly what I wanted and the growing collection of rugs, homeware, decor and lighting turned into what is now Tribe. It organically grew from my passion for finding products that weren’t readily available on the market.
Tell us a little bit about your background,
My career as a senior art director and conceptual designer in London, Sydney and Kuala Lumpur naturally transitioned into interiors and designing hand-crafted furniture and features. I embarked on largescale renovation projects which became a thriving business, transforming derelict buildings into light-filled, contemporary homes with indoor trees, plunge pools and sunken living rooms.
After a country move to Dubai, I felt the spark for what was to become Tribe.
Do you work with any regional creatives?
Yes absolutely. Our store and warehouse are both based in Al Quoz, where we are surrounded by a wealth of creative knowledge and craftsmanship. It’s an incredibly inspiring place to run the business as there’s always someone on hand to help with special projects. We custom make all our upholstered and wooden collections. We’ve also most recently created a stunning collaboration with Dubai-based photographer Akemi Hoshi, studying the beauty of the natural elements of Dubai. Our custom Byron sofas are crafted locally using certified organic cotton, and are proving to be a popular choice with our clients.
What is Tribe doing to be more sustainable?
The core ethos of our business is based on sustainability and we always strive to do more. Not only do we work with natural sustainable materials like rattan, bamboo, hemp, abaca, jute, and raffia, but we also look for likeminded people to collaborate with.
We push the boundaries of our design projects – for example we designed an incredible range of chairs that stack, saving space and money, all made from sustainable, biodegradable and recyclable materials. We also created the PEG+ furniture collection, entirely made from salvaged wood from the UAE. Our forests are in fast decline so we don’t want to contribute to this by depleting resources more – there’s always something you can do to help, the whole collection is made in-house and the ecological footprint was kept in mind throughout each part of its design. We further support this by planting hundreds of trees with onetreeplanted.com – a non-profit organisation tackling global deforestation. We also sponsor a child from Shanti Bhavan a wonderful charity that looks to empower children from the lowest socio-economic communities in India. You can find out more about these wonderful charities on our blog, which will be launching soon.
Is there a part of the world you still want to explore for unique craftsmanship?
There are endless opportunities to support artisans globally. It comes down to time spent travelling to meet these artists versus running the business and engaging on all the projects we currently have. I have some amazing trips planned for the next 12 months, reaching far into regions that are very difficult to get to and this will bring beautiful new collections to our store.
When you’re not busy designing, where do you love to hang out in Dubai?
Generally in the ocean. I spend many weekends on our family boat, swimming and waterskiing, but we really enjoy mooring beside the mangroves and spending time spotting turtles and watching birdlife.
What’s next? We are very passionate about what we do and embrace new opportunities and creative briefs. There are so many exciting projects we are working on as well as new collaborations that inspire new directions.