Instructors - fabrica design platform

Get to know our talented instructors!

We’re excited to introduce you to the imaginative minds guiding our pottery classes.

We’re excited to introduce you to the imaginative minds guiding our pottery classes. At the core of our team lies a collective enthusiasm for the art of pottery and a commitment to inspiring others through the medium of clay. We believe that the process of crafting with clay goes beyond creating aesthetically pleasing pieces; it encompasses embracing the therapeutic and meditative aspects that pottery inherently offers. Our team is a mixture of diverse experiences, styles, and techniques, with each instructor contributing a unique perspective to the dynamic fabric of our studio. We encourage you to acquaint yourself with the individuals shaping our pottery community. In doing so, you’ll not only discover our skills but also our distinct personalities and stories, fostering a profound connection with everyone embarking on this artistic journey with us.

Nicole Abou Farhat

Nicole completed a professional certificate program at l’Atelier Chemins de la Céramique. Rooted in Beirut, Nicole established her own brand, drawing inspiration from her profound appreciation for architecture, volumetrics, and a vibrant palette of colors. Recognized by her distinctive designs, Nicole seamlessly integrates various volumes, architectural elements, and a rich spectrum of colors into her creations. Her artistic expression embodies a captivating use of distortion and the masterful creation of elegant ruffles. Each of her pieces contributes a vibrant, lively, and sophisticated touch to contemporary spaces, adding substantial value with their unique aesthetic.

Patricia Assaly

Patricia Assaly is the creator, designer and craftswoman behind her brand. Following a career in design and advertising in Lebanon and New York, she moved to China in 2015, where she learned the art of ceramics and became fascinated with the vast world of pottery and the unpredictable nature of the medium. In 2020, after moving back to Beirut, she set up her studio and launched her brand of handmade homeware. Drawing inspiration from regional architecture, culture and styles, she creates functional pieces that add a personal and unique touch in a world increasingly dominated by mass-produced items.

Zeina Bacardi

Zeina Bacardi Sakr is a ceramic artist and maker at heart, based in Beirut, Lebanon. In 2015, she graduated with honors from the American University of Beirut with a BA in Fine Arts and Art History. Rooted in an affinity for clay, in 2016 she launched B. by Zeina Bacardi, a line of handmade fine ceramics, ranging from unique tableware, sculptural vessels and lighting. A storyteller of ceramics with experimentation at the core of her practice, Zeina Bacardi is a self-taught ceramist, pushing the boundaries of clay to create truly one-of-a-kind pieces.

Michel Basha

Michel specializes in studio art, ceramics, and sculpture, he graduated in Studio Arts from the American University of Beirut, held residencies in Ceramics and Sculpture and served as Atelierista and Resident Artist at the American Community School in Beirut. At the core of his artistic journey lies Michel’s dedication to his private studio, where he passionately creates while also imparting knowledge through art classes. Michel’s creative pursuits are anchored in an exploration of earth and clay textures, fluid-like forms, the elegance of simple shapes, and the dynamics of motion and movement found in natural elements such as trees, waves, and leaves.

Zouhair Dabbagh

Established contemporary sculptor and painter, Zouhair Dabbagh was born in Aleppo in 1953. He pursued and earned his Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts in 1977 from the Damascus University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Sculpture Department. He has participated in several exhibitions in his hometown, Beirut, Singapore, Istanbul, London, Paris, Geneva, Bulgaria, and Luxembourg since 1970. Dabbagh examines humans and animals in sculptures and renders them worth both naturalistic and unfinished qualities. The flesh is both decomposed and coming together, as though we are witnessing conception itself. Movement is paused, allowing the artist to skillfully study anatomy, emotion and soul. In his paintings, he studies, experiments and plays with colour. Colour becomes an active participant in his oeuvre, it is liberated and worked with as a free-standing element, producing effects of motion, dynamism and timelessness. Approaching paintings as he would sculptures, his canvases become markers of the body and of movement, layered with versatile texture and pigment. Dabbagh’s artworks are in the permanent collection of the Damascus Museum, as well as in private collections in Ankara, Dubai, Germany, KSA, Paris and Canada.

Aline Koyess

Aline Koyess is a Lebanese and International Artist known for her expertise in oil painting on porcelain. She honed her artistic skills at Alba Fine Art and achieved specialization in porcelain painting through immersive studies in Italy and Portugal. With a passion for sharing her knowledge, Aline has imparted her artistic wisdom to hundreds of eager students. Her dedication and talent have not gone unnoticed, as she has garnered numerous prestigious prizes and awards as well as took part in exhibitions in France, Italy, Portugal, and the United States. Aline’s creative journey is marked by her unique ability to bridge the gap between modern and classical art, exploring the harmonious fusion of these two worlds in her work.

Mira Melki

Mira is the creative force behind CERAMOUR, a brand that embodies the pure fruition of Lebanese soul craftsmanship and Mediterranean breezy vibes. The whole concept emerged after she became a blessed mom of an identical set of twins, living on a pine hill overlooking the Mediterranean. Her designs are an expression of earthy organics with a twist of traditional style, seamlessly combining ceramics with olive or oak leaves and incorporating prints of traditional rattan. Just like her beloved motherland, her creations are a captivating mix of emotions and a mosaic of culture. Join her on a journey that captures the essence of Lebanon and the Mediterranean through her unique ceramics. Experience the beauty of her creations and the soulful craftsmanship behind them.

Graham Stevenson

Graham is a potter & ceramicist who learned to make pottery in the early 1970s at Cheltenham College of Art and Design in the UK in a studio run by a very experienced potter who made a wide range of thrown domestic ware. A visiting tutor, James Campbell, went on to become a well-known British potter making decorative jars, jugs, and platters with painted landscape scenes in colored oxides. Both were a strong influence on his own work, which was a mix of slab-built and thrown stoneware, all reduction-fired in a large gas kiln. In time, he became a competent ceramicist and took two breaks from his career as a landscape architect to commercially produce domestic earthenware in Italy (1978) and stoneware in the UK (1979). Since moving to Beirut in 1995, he has intermittently made personal domestic and decorative ware and has taught pottery classes in two private studios.

Alain Vassoyan

Born in 1966, Alain Vassoyan is a Lebanese-Canadian artist based in Beirut. He studied Sculpture at the Ecole de Ceramique Bonsecours in Montreal and Art History at Montreal University. He’s currently teaching sculpting at the Academie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (ALBA) and the Saint Joseph University of Beirut. Vassoyan’s work has been showcased in collective and individual exhibitions around the world. He held solo exhibitions at “Salle du Gesu” in Montreal, Canada (1995) and at Galerie Janine Rubeiz in Beirut, Lebanon (2009, 2011, and 2017). His artworks were part of several collective exhibitions: “Constantin Brancusi Cultural Center” in Montreal, Canada (1995), “Goethe Institute” in Beirut, Lebanon (2005); “Sursock Museum” in Beirut, Lebanon (2006 and 2018); “Beirut Art Fair”, Lebanon (2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015); “Art 14” in London, UK (2014); “Abu Dhabi Art” in the UAE (2014); and “Break all Frames” at Beit Beirut, Lebanon (2014). In 2005, he participated as a contestant in the international contest of “Hyogo Prefector Museum” in Kobe, Japan.