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Ancient Egyptian designs mingle with Scandinavian minimalism

A hands-on program brings Danish design students to workshops in Damietta and the Nile Valley.
Cairo, EGYPT: TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY CLAIRE ROSEMBERG Egyptian workers make furniture at al-Manasrah area in Cairo 31 January 2007. Furniture industry in Egypt is the fourth biggest industry in the country and it's seeking to come out of the woodwork to carve out a place on the global scene, with the help of the world's top designers. The industry employs a million people in some 200,000 companies, big and small. Egypt's furniture-makers are setting their sights on expanding exports, in the last two years

When it comes to furniture, Egypt is rarely seen as an innovator or cutting-edge producer.

Even in 2019, the 35,000 registered workshops in the Nile Delta city of Damietta are churning out pieces largely based on models from the 19th century — in a style contemporary designers sometimes refer to derisively as “Louis Farouk,” known for its gilded and ornate features.

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