Two major studies released Sunday show that many people with breast and lung cancers may forgo chemotherapy and still live longer, signalling a waning need for what was long seen as the standard of cancer care.

The findings were released at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago, the world’s largest annual cancer conference.

The first study, described as the largest breast cancer treatment trial to date, found that the majority of women with a common form of breast cancer may be able to skip chemotherapy and its toxic, and often debilitating, side effects after surgery depending on their score on a genetic test.

As many as 65,000 women in the United States alone could be affected by the findings.

Until now, women have faced considerable uncertainty about whether to add chemo to hormone therapy after a diagnosis with hormone-receptor positive, HER-2 negative breast cancer when found at an early stage, before it has spread to the lymph nodes.

“With results of this groundbreaking study, we now can safely avoid chemotherapy in about 70 per cent of patients who are diagnosed with the most common form of breast cancer,” said co-author Kathy Albain, an oncologist at Loyola Medicine in a Chicago suburb.

A 21-gene test called Oncotype DX, available since 2004, has helped guide some decisions on proper care after surgery.

A high recurrence score, above 25, means chemo is advised to ward off a recurrence, while a low score, below 10, means it is not.

The current study focused on those whose scores were in the middle range, from 11 to 25.

More than 10,000 women, aged 18 to 75, were randomly assigned to receive chemotherapy followed by hormone therapy, or hormone therapy alone.

Researchers studied their outcomes, including whether or not cancer recurred, and their overall survival.

“For the entire study population with gene test scores between 11 and 25 – and especially among women aged 50 to 75 – there was no significant difference between the chemotherapy and no chemotherapy groups,” said the findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The results show that all women over 50 with a recurrence score of 0 to 25 can be spared chemotherapy and its toxic side effects.

For women under 50 with a score of 0 to 15, chemo can be skipped.

However, among younger women with scores 16 to 25, outcomes were slightly better in the chemotherapy group, so in those cases doctors may urge patients to consider a chemo regimen.

The results “should have a huge impact on doctors and patients,” Albain said.

“We are de-escalating toxic therapy.”

According to first author Joseph Sparano of Montefiore Medical Centre in New York, “any woman with early-stage breast cancer 75 or younger should have the test and discuss the results” with her doctor.

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide, causing some 1.7 million new cases annually and over half a million deaths.

The study’s primary funding came from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The second study tested a form of immunotherapy against chemo, in the most common lung cancer worldwide, known as non-small-cell lung cancer.

It found that Merck pharmaceutical’s drug Keytruda (pembrolizumab) – which famously helped former US president Jimmy Carter stave off advanced melanoma that had spread to his brain – helped lung cancer patients live four to eight months longer than chemo.

More than 1,200 people enrolled in the study, the largest clinical trial to date of pembrolizumab as a stand-alone therapy for lung cancer. The drug was approved in 2014 for melanoma and in 2015 for lung cancer.

“These are responses that are unlike anything we have seen in the past for non-small-cell lung cancer,” said lead author Gilberto Lopes, a medical oncologist at the University of Miami Health Centre.

Still, he acknowledged that most patients with this form of advanced cancer will die within months, and “we need to do a lot more work.”

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide, taking 1.7 million lives per year.

John Heymach, a professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre who was not involved in the Merck-funded study, described it as a “true milestone” and “a real important advance for patients”.

“We are now leaving an era where the only choice for non-small-cell lung cancer patients was to start with chemotherapy,” he told reporters at the ASCO conference.

“Now, the vast majority of patients can potentially receive benefits from immunotherapy instead,” he added.

“Immunotherapy is here to stay for the vast majority of non-small-cell lung cancer patients as a first-line treatment.”

For most women, a diagnosis of breast cancer means weeks of chemotherapy, radiation and in many cases a lumpectomy or mastectomy with no guarantee that the disease won’t return down the line.

For those with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, the prognosis is particularly worrying, as the drug of choice, trastuzumab, used both with and without chemotherapy, is often too expensive for the patient to afford.

However, under the leadership of Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn, Thais afflicted by HER2-positive breast cancer will soon be able to receive a biologic trastuzumab monoclonal antibody treatment at an affordable price as Thailand moves towards industrial-scale production of the treatment. It is expected to become widely available within the next three years.

For the past decade, dedicated scientists with the Biotherapeutic Research Centre of the Chulabhorn Research Institute (CRI) have been focusing on the development of biologics and establishing know-how in the design and construction of recombinant DNA, cell line engineering and process development on a commercial scale.

For the first product in the pipeline, CRI has developed a biologic for the treatment of breast cancer patients who are HER2-positive.

The biologic is bio-similar to the trastuzumab monoclonal antibody, a man-made antibody that has proved effective in women over-expressing the HER2 protein in the tumour cells. About 25 per cent of breast cancer patients carry this gene and are considered HER2-positive.

The institute started from the design of the DNA encoding trastuzumab and achieved a cell line that produces a highly similar monoclonal antibody to trastuzumab and with good yield.

Now the institute is ready to boost the process to an industrial scale. For this it will partner with the National Biopharmaceutical Facility at King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, which has experience in the process development of biologics at an industrial scale and also boasts a production facility that complies with Good Manufacturing Practice standards. Clinical studies will follow to ensure the biologics are indeed safe for human use.

Extensive quality control assays are implemented at every production step to ensure the productivity, recovery and quality of biologics and that the product meets relevant international standards and guidelines.

Thailand currently imports most biologics and in 2012 spent Bt20 billion on them. For this reason alone, the successful production of the trastuzumab monoclonal antibody will play an important role in firming the country’s national drug security while also reducing the cost of biological drug treatment.

A biological product is defined as a product that contains bio-molecules, especially protein and carbohydrate. Such products include vaccines, blood product, cell or gene therapies, and recombinant protein.

Princess Chulabhorn, herself a prominent scientist, founded the Biotherapeutic Research Centre to focus on developing biological products. For this, she sought collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States and has since led researchers and senior officers to study the work of MIT and other leaders in the production of biological drugs in India and the US.

Products in the pipeline at CRI include novel biologics for the treatment of many cancers, as well as infectious and rare diseases.

This is the second success in Sea Life’s in-aquarium breeding programme following 2017 and its only baby named Happy.

This year, the aquarium welcomed a group of fluffy toddlers and recently celebrated with a special photo shoot featuring Racing, the toddler son of Napapa “Pat” Tantrakul, dressed up as a baby Gentoo for the occasion.

Closely supervised and monitored by experts at Sea Life, the proud parents were well looked after during the breeding process right through to the hatching. Gentoo penguins lay eggs in rounds, just like hens. Without breeding, the eggs will not develop into chicks. Gentoo eggs are 55-60 millimetres wide, 70-75 millimetres long, and weigh around 120-140 grams. Once the eggs have hatched, Gentoo parents take turns in keeping the eggs warm and feeding the newborns until they are one-month old.

Meet the fluffy toddlers today at Sea Life Bangkok on floors B1-2 of Siam Paragon. Entrance is Bt990 for adults and Bt790 for kids aged three to 11.

For more information, visit http://www.SeaLifeBangkok.com or Facebook.com/SEALIFEBangkokOceanWorld

The famous Ghost Festival features a two-day religious ceremony, traditional rituals and a parade of local folks wearing oversized masks made from coconut-tree trunks and topped with wicker sticky-rice steamers to make them taller and grotesque.

Visitors can show off their creativity in the mask dance competition and enjoy a market selling handicrafts as well as musical and cultural performances.

Find out more at http://www.TatNews.org.

All loved up and ready to wed

Couples can enjoy a complimentary five-night honeymoon in Sunset Coast Samui’s One-Bedroom Villa when booking their wedding at any Avani Hotels & Resorts property before the end of the month.

Valid through December 15 for s wedding with at least 200 guests, romantic destinations include the Avani Riverside Bangkok, the Avani Atrium Bangkok, the Avani Hua Hin Resort & Villas, the Avani Pattaya Resort & Spa and the Avani Khon Kaen Hotel & Convention Centre.

Set up your special day at http://www.AvaniHotels.com.

Island in the sun

Phi Phi Island Village Beach Resort welcomes the green season with a full-board package that continues through October.

Guests can enjoy luxury accommodation surrounded by lush tropical gardens, a welcome drinks and fruit on arrival, daily breakfast, free Wi-Fi, lunch and dinner and one beverage during lunch and dinner, including local beer, soft drink, mineral water or juice.

Book your stay by calling (075) 628 900 or email reservations@phiphiislandvillage.com.

The billionaire’s escape

Pink Sands Club on the Caribbean island of Canouan celebrates its new chapter as a Mandarin Oriental hotel with a Land & Sea in Luxury package that’s available until May 31.

Starting at US$62,000 (Bt1.98 million), the package includes a four-night stay in a two-bedroom Patio Villa, a private yacht charter for seven-night island hopping with Churchill Yacht Partners, Wi-Fi, Pirates Kids’ Club access, watersports and fitness activities with daily honour bar.

Check out the best rates at http://www.MandarinOriental.com.

Best offer in Bali

Vacationers can save up to 30 per cent when using the promotional code StayNSave to book a consecutive two to four-night stay at Movenpick Resort & Spa Jimbaran Bali this Ramadan.

Guests will be rewarded with daily breakfast, complimentary Wi-Fi and an exclusive US$20 restaurant voucher.

Online booking can be made at http://www.Movenpick.com/en/asia/indonesia/bali/jimbaran-bali.

“One of the environmental problems close to home includes rubbish from plastic straws, which is now a serious environmental issue on the world stage and has a dramatic effect on marine life as well as coral. Statistics indicate that the number of plastic straw rubbish thrown away into the oceans across the globe, in the current year, totals 513 million tons among 20 countries worldwide,” says Usara Yongpiyakul, chief executive officer of Siam Piwat Retail Holding.

Thailand is ranked among top 10 countries that the worst marine pollution. And studies done by Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) show that due to marine waste segregation, plastic straws are found most, secondary to plastic bags.

To raise people’s awareness, 5,000 stainless steel straws will be given away to customers from tomorrow onwards while all the shops at Siam Discovery will join by not using plastic straws throughout this month. To get a stainless straw, interested people are required to take a photo of any product at Ecotopia zone on the fourth floor and share it on social media with hashtag  #Ecotopia SiamDiscovery #Strawlesschallenge.

A series of DIY workshops to produce chic stuff from debris will also be held on weekends. The topics include making a organic lipstick, DIY a wallet and key ring from wasted sacks, painting an auspicious doll with black spinel, enjoying natural indigo tiedyeing, upcycling your favourite jeans with used clothes, learning how to make bath cream from tea leaves and natural salt, and making a key ring from cocoons.

Laguna Phuket’s senior assistant vice president  service Anthony Loh led more than 150 volunteers, a combination of the resort’s associates, schoolchildren, community members and government officials in the planting activity and also released 250 live mud crabs and blue crabs to conserve the village’s mangrove ecosystem.

Supported by the initiative’s strategic partners such as Marine and Coastal Preserving Group (Paklog), Mangrove Station 23 (Phuket) and Station 21 (PhangNga), this annual tree planting event is a part of the resort’s initiative that aims to raise awareness of global warming, help build greener communities and inspire the next generation of environmentalists.

To date, Laguna Phuket has planted nearly 30,000 trees in Phuket and neighbouring provinces, with more than 1,300 associates and 700 community members participating in the activity since 2007.

Aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in climate action, life below water and life on land, “Greening Community” activity is one of many initiatives set up by Laguna Phuket to support its wider goal in environment preservation.

For more information, visit http://www.lagunaphuket.com/CSR or follow Facebook @LagunaphuketCSR.

For more information about the UNSDGs, visit sustainabledevelopment.un.org

DRESSED IN an old straw hat and navy braces, Abo Tawila pedals around a southern district of Beirut. A rare sight in modern-day Lebanon, the young barber-on-a-bike is looking for his next customer.

Everything he needs for a trim on the pavement is in a handmade trunk attached to the back of his pushbike: scissors, combs, electric razors and brushes.

“It’s a beautiful idea because it’s a really old one,” says the dapper 18-year-old as he makes his way through the buzzing district of Burj al-Barajneh.

His real name is Mohammad Khaled Jahjah, but he prefers the name Abo Tawila – “the Tall One” in Arabic.

“People like this, and I love everything old. If I ever have the chance to open a barbershop, it’ll be a vintage one,” he says.

Lebanese Mohammed Jahjah who works as a roaming barber rides his bicycle with box containing his shaving kit at the street in the Bourj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp, southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. /AFP

Mobile barbers were once ubiquitous in Beirut, but regular salons have since become more popular.

Abo Tawila works in both, spending most of his day in a barbershop before hitting the tarmac on his bike.

Some stop him for a haircut, but others hail him down to catch up or introduce themselves.

“I used to love watching the barber near my parent’s house. I’d come back from school, drop off my backpack, and go to his shop,” Abo Tawila says.

“He told me to come to the salon after school if I like this job. But I decided to leave school altogether to work with him. He taught me the trade and introduced people to me.”

Mohammed, a roaming Lebanese barber better known as “Abo Tawila”, gives a client a haircut on a sidewalk in the Lebanese capital’s southern suburbs. / AFP 

The handsome hairdresser has become something of a celebrity in southern Beirut. He is slender, stylishly dressed, and has a sharp wit.

“I’m so happy he’s here,” says Abo Saeed, one of his favourite curbside customers.

“He’s talented and always available. When I have some time, I call him and he comes immediately, so I never have to leave work to go to the barber,” he laughs.

“On top of all of that, he reminds us of the barbers of the old days.”

Abo Tawila wakes up at 9 every day, puts together an outfit and goes down to the coffee shop near his house before beginning his day at the salon.

In his free time or when his shift is done, he heads out on his bike to find customers, grooming between five and 30 people a day.

“The situation changes depending on the day,” he says.

“There’s not much work now during Ramadan, because people are waiting for Eid”, the feast which marks the end of the Islamic fasting month and triggers a flurry of trade.

“Before Eid, we have three days where we don’t sleep from all the customers coming in,” he says.

While he dreams of opening his own shop, Abo Tawila insists he’ll stay loyal to his bike.

“If I open a salon, I’ll still keep it, because that’s what got me here,” he says.

BAAN LAE SUAN FAIR, one of the country’s grandest home and decoration fairs held annually at the end of the year, has now launched a smaller-scale expo that shines the spotlight on furniture design.

The five-day affair, dubbed “Baan Lae Suan Fair Select”, features just 300 booths from furniture producers and a small zone for home decorative items and crafts at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre.

“While the annual fair is home to more than 2,000 booths offering a complete range of products and services for home and garden decoration and construction, the sister fair ‘Select’ mainly focuses on the development of furniture by local designers,” says Damrong Leewairoj, editor of Room magazine, one of the home and decoration magazines published by Amarin Printing Group, which organises the fair.

Echoing that statement, 30 outstanding chairs by local designers have been put together by the editors of Baan Lae Suan and Room magazines for a show titled “The Chairmen of Thai Design”. Every piece comes with a QR code that visitors can scan to see video clips of the designers talking about their inspirations.

“The chair is a piece of furniture that has probably the closest association with our bodies. Every house has more than one chair, and the chair we sit on can reflect our lifestyle and taste. A chair also embodies the arts of engineering, practicality and imagination and it’s a challenging task for most designers to conceive new and inspiring products. That said though, there are countless, innovative pieces on the market,” he adds.

Anon Pairot’s 3D printed concrete chair “Fluctuation of Precision”

The new 3D printing technology is making tremendous waves, revolutionising everyday life on a previously unimaginable scale from small items and components to industrial construction. Noted furniture designer Anon Pairot has been working with Siam Cement Group (SCG) since last year to produce a 3D-printed cement set for outdoors. Called “Fluctuation of Precision”, it comprises three concrete sofas, a coffee table, a curved partition with a two-seater sofa, and three concrete rock-like sculptures.

On view at the fair is a sofa fabricated from layers of concrete to which Anon has added some curves to give it a feminine touch.

“Each layer of cement is a little like weaving textile. It binds quickly enough that it can be printed with dramatic curves and twists, and it can remain freestanding while drying without the need for any support. I don’t want my design to look complicated, but raw and strong while at the same time being accessible and affordable,” says Anon.

The special cement formula is of comparable strength for the structure and will absorb high pressure. The cement is allowed to set for an appropriate time so the injection of additional layers will integrate seamlessly, forming a perfect piece without the need for a supportive steel frame.

Extrusion printing is the system used for formulating the shape and involves the injection of liquefied material in layers to create products with a strong structure. This also enables exceptional detail in each individual layer to give the end product a smooth and curvy design.

“Rush Chair” by Piti Amraranga and Jutamas Buranajade from o-d-a

While Anon opts for innovative technology and new materials, Piti Amraranga and Jutamas Buranajade from o-d-a (object design alliance) go back to basics with their practical “Rush Chair”. The chair is made from abandoned branches cut into 50-centimetre lengths while the seat is fashioned from woven water hyacinth.

“Everyone can be a chair maker and this chair is a visual representation of that,” says Piti. “When sitting, we become a part of a chair and if we’ve made it ourselves, there’s an additional element of belonging. Our previous workshop showed that both children and adults can make this kind of chair thanks to the availability of the raw materials and the very simple techniques.”

Deesawat’s elderly-care stool “The Brace” designed by Jirachai Tangkijngamwong

Established brand Deesawat has expanded its product line to encompass designs that meet the needs of the greying generation and the handicapped. On show here is an elderly-care stool called “The Brace” designed by Jirachai Tangkijngamwong that won the Design for Wellbeing award in Hong Kong in 2014.

The teakwood brace stool is a support stool for elderly people and those with back and knee problems who find sitting down or standing up a challenge. It has an armrest on one side and an ergonomically angled arm on the other that the user can grasp for support when they want to sit or stand. The angled arm is also useful when the body is seated at a right angle, allowing the user to move forward to the table or the wheelchair. In addition to easy mobility, the seat height and splayed legs are designed for maximum stability and support.

“With our design we want to fill a gap in lifestyle products and help improve the well-being of the elderly and the disabled. I am convinced that all designers should be looking into this trend,” says Jirachai.

 “Sora” – a mediation stool by Ratthee Phaisanchotsiri of Satawat Design 

Ratthee Phaisanchotsiri of Satawat Design, meanwhile, opts for a small single-leg stool designed to celebrate the act of meditation. Called “Sora”, it can support a user in a meditative pose of kneeling while alleviating pressure on the lower legs and feet.

“When I am doing something stressful, I look up at the sky and get lost in the void. It’s my way of meditating. I usually design large items of furniture but this time I’ve opted for a small, minimalist object that doubles as a sculptural piece and can be placed in any space to inspire a peaceful mind,” says Ratthee, whose Sora stool won the Bronze Leaf Award at the 2017 International Furnishing and Design in Japan.

Made from a single piece of ash wood, it has one solid leg designed for weight balance while the top is a curved surface that’s both lightweight and ergonomic and shows off the beauty of the wood grain.

“Gom” stool by Chayanin Sakdikul and Nutdanai Siribongkot from Hari Ora brand takes inspiration from the interlocking patterns of basketry.

Inspired by the interlocking pattern of basketry, Chayanin Sakdikul and Nutdanai Siribongkot from Hari Ora brand have come up with a wooden stool titled “Gom”, the word used for a small stool in the Northern dialect.

Designed for any compact living space, Gom consists of four individual narrow stools that can be integrated into a box-shaped stool with a wider seat. The contrasting natural shades of oak and ash add extra appeal.

The stackable stool “Bangkok Taxi” by Wuthichai Leelavoravong and Siriporn Kobnithikulwong of Everyday Studio recalls the chaotic Bangkok streets.

Bangkok’s multi-coloured taxis get a new interpretation in a colourful, stackable and surprisingly comfortable stool designed by Wuthichai Leelavoravong and Siriporn Kobnithikulwong of Everyday Studio.

Simply titled “Bangkok Taxi”, the stool boasts a stainless steel support and seat upholstered in different shades from yellow, green, to pink, red and blue. Each is stackable to save space and comes with an add-on top to change its function from stool to table.

“Bangkok’s roads are filled with vehicles in a wide variety of colours. It’s chaotic yet fun and represents the diversity of the city. We bring in the colourful vibes but tone down the shades for a softer look. And we know by looking at the behaviour of consumers that a piece of furniture is often used for different purposes. The Bangkok Taxi stool can be stacked to form a chair or have a top placed on it to make a high or low table,” says Wuthichai.

The multi-functional bench “The Placer” by Pitchaya Maneerattanaporn of Whoop brand.

Another multi-functional piece is “The Placer” by Pitchaya Maneerattanaporn of Whoop brand. Also suited to those with limited space, the multi-purpose bench can function as a seat and as storage for shoes and other items. The vertical rack can support two bicycles or be used to hang shopping bags, towels and hats. The hooks can be adjusted up and down or rotate to left and right.

And even though the physical fair wraps tonight, it will be shortly continuing in cyber space through a virtual fair featuring the editors’ choice of 30 shops.

“After the fair, people always ask us how to contact the shops, so we decided to develop the Baan Lae Suan website as a portal service for home and design. Each shop will offer the same special deals as at the fair. The virtual fair also meets the need of consumers who want to take their time deciding whether or not to buy a large piece of furniture or those who simply prefer online shopping,” says Praphatsorn Mangsiri, Amarin’s online content department manager.

The virtual fair is expected to come into operation next Sunday and will initially run for a month.

COMFY CREATIONS

Baan Lae Suan Fair Select continues until tonight at Plenary Halls 1-3 of the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre.

Find out more at http://www.BaanLaeSuan.com/fair.

AMERICAN FURNITURE firm Herman Miller sets out to encourage collaboration at work with the launch of Sabha Collaborative Seating, a range of modular fittings that are designed to facilitate knowledge-sharing, break down artificial barriers and empower end-users through accessibility, variety and freedom of choice.

Derived from the ancient Hindi language, the word “sabha” translates as “gathering”, and it is this philosophy that underpins the range’s collaborative design.

After conducting research in the US, India, Australia and the UK to better understand the status and methods of collaboration in the workplace, Herman Miller found that although end-users want better engagement, it is becoming increasingly difficult to systematically make successful collaboration happen.

Sabha C Cove

The research also showed that more intelligent and user-centric design approaches could and would facilitate more fruitful collaboration between employees. Indeed, 70 per cent of collaboration in surveyed countries occurs at desks and, while on average these collaborative events tend to be short they are also simple, consisting of two or three people requiring little in the way of tools.

By offering workplaces increased collaborative environments, Sabha Collaborative Seating offers end-users the power to choose the method and environment best suited to their individual working habits.

The company’s president Andy Lock flew to Bangkok for the launch of the collection by its distributor, high-end brand Chanintr Living.

Andy Lock

“Herman Miller is more than 100 years old. It started as the Michigan Star Furniture Company. In the 1960s, the De Pree family decided to move into modern design, engaging with such big names in the design world as Gorge Nelson and Ray and Charles Eames, and moved away from the residential to the office,” Lock explains.

“We developed the first-ever office furniture system, ‘Action Office’ in 1964. It adopted a new approach to dividing up the office spaces, enabling the workers to have more flexibility. It was very radical at the time but became immensely popular.

Sabha Hero complete with stools fills the room.

“If you look back, you’ll see that most product development happened in North America and the products were quite North America-focused. Over the last 20 years, that has changed a great deal. Today we not only manufacture our products around the world, we also design them on a global scale. We also have a very capable Research & Development team based in China and India and their jobs are developing products that are tailored to the Asian market. Sabha has been developed in response to the specific needs of that market,” Lock continues.

Herman Miller is well aware that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to business. People work in a different ways, so the aim is to provide all end-users with tools that can be adapted to different needs.

 Sabha linear set

Sabha Collaborative Seating does exactly that, offering a flexible solution, right down to the accompanying free-standing occasional elements. Power fit

tings, storage elements and integrated lighting set the scene for creative interactions and intimate moments for focused collaboration.

“The ‘living office’ does not need to be adapted culturally. We believe that most of the settings can be applied universally regardless of cultural differences. The ‘living office’ will work anywhere. We know from our studies that 70 per cent of collaboration happens at an individual workspace. So if we can give people in offices a variety of settings to move about, life becomes easier. The job will be done more efficiently and the staff will be happy at work.

“Having an ergonomic chair is important. Most cases of office syndrome are caused by not having the right relationship between your body, the keyboard and the

monitor that you’re using. We work with a specialist who has great deal of expertise in posture and support in designing our new chairs.

“The other big trend we are seeing is what we call ‘Resimercial’ –a combination of the words ‘residential’ and ‘commercial’. These days the office looks like home and vice versa. There’s more seating, lots of break out areas and more collaborative spaces. I don’t see that changing,” he says.

“Sabha is very modular. So there are different components that can be brought together to suit different requirements. It also has a power capability, so you can use wi-fi and charge your devices at the same time.”

DRESSED IN an old straw hat and navy braces, Abo Tawila pedals around a southern district of Beirut. A rare sight in modern-day Lebanon, the young barber-on-a-bike is looking for his next customer.

Everything he needs for a trim on the pavement is in a handmade trunk attached to the back of his pushbike: scissors, combs, electric razors and brushes.

“It’s a beautiful idea because it’s a really old one,” says the dapper 18-year-old as he makes his way through the buzzing district of Burj al-Barajneh.

His real name is Mohammad Khaled Jahjah, but he prefers the name Abo Tawila – “the Tall One” in Arabic.

“People like this, and I love everything old. If I ever have the chance to open a barbershop, it’ll be a vintage one,” he says.

Lebanese Mohammed Jahjah who works as a roaming barber rides his bicycle with box containing his shaving kit at the street in the Bourj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp, southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. /AFP

Mobile barbers were once ubiquitous in Beirut, but regular salons have since become more popular.

Abo Tawila works in both, spending most of his day in a barbershop before hitting the tarmac on his bike.

Some stop him for a haircut, but others hail him down to catch up or introduce themselves.

“I used to love watching the barber near my parent’s house. I’d come back from school, drop off my backpack, and go to his shop,” Abo Tawila says.

“He told me to come to the salon after school if I like this job. But I decided to leave school altogether to work with him. He taught me the trade and introduced people to me.”

Mohammed, a roaming Lebanese barber better known as “Abo Tawila”, gives a client a haircut on a sidewalk in the Lebanese capital’s southern suburbs. / AFP 

The handsome hairdresser has become something of a celebrity in southern Beirut. He is slender, stylishly dressed, and has a sharp wit.

“I’m so happy he’s here,” says Abo Saeed, one of his favourite curbside customers.

“He’s talented and always available. When I have some time, I call him and he comes immediately, so I never have to leave work to go to the barber,” he laughs.

“On top of all of that, he reminds us of the barbers of the old days.”

Abo Tawila wakes up at 9 every day, puts together an outfit and goes down to the coffee shop near his house before beginning his day at the salon.

In his free time or when his shift is done, he heads out on his bike to find customers, grooming between five and 30 people a day.

“The situation changes depending on the day,” he says.

“There’s not much work now during Ramadan, because people are waiting for Eid”, the feast which marks the end of the Islamic fasting month and triggers a flurry of trade.

“Before Eid, we have three days where we don’t sleep from all the customers coming in,” he says.

While he dreams of opening his own shop, Abo Tawila insists he’ll stay loyal to his bike.

“If I open a salon, I’ll still keep it, because that’s what got me here,” he says.