At Time Out nothing makes us happier than supporting local talent. From craftspeople to clever cooks, canny creatives and those intent on helping us all and bringing about positive change in the region, there are so many brilliant local businesses in the UAE that deserve to be lavished with love and attention.
Here we shine a spotlight on seven of our favourites (it was a tough call).
Booktopia
Book lover Malarvizhi Balaji’ started her Booktopia journey with Facebook groups, school book fairs and market stalls. Thanks in no small part to her wide-ranging knowledge and zeal for not just the written word, but for spreading the joy that results when people young and old fall in love with reading, there are now two community-focused, family-run Booktopia stores in Dubai.
Pay them a visit and you’ll find an array of well curated, affordable books from literary classics to the latest page-tuners and something for all ages: little dots, older children, tweens, teens and adults included. What’s more, staff are hugely knowledgeable and take genuine pleasure in making recommendations and guiding customers around the stores.
While reading books on digital devices has its (largely convenience-based) benefits there is such pleasure to be hand in wandering around bookstores like Booktopia, scanning blurbs and flicking through pages as you select your latest read. We salute Balaji for helping to keep that valuable tradition going.
Dubai Festival City Mall and Dubai Festival Plaza Mall. mybooktopia.com. My Booktopia also holds story time sessions and Meet the Author events – follow them on social for updates: @mybooktopiauae
Frying Pan Adventures
Infectiously enthusiastic, entirely authentic, absolutely passionate about what they do, hugely knowledgeable and with impressive appetites to boot; there’s a reason why sisters Arva Saleem Ahmed and Farida Ahmed have done so well with their homegrown company.
Frying Pan Adventures began life as a small start-up offering bespoke walking, talking, storytelling and eating tours of old Dubai. Participants (both residents and tourists) lapped up the opportunity to uncover an entirely new side to the city and sample delicious food from lesser-known spots while doing so. As a result, the company has blossomed into an extremely well regarded (oft imitated, but never bettered), internationally renowned one with a range of different tours and experiences to choose from – all of them food-related, of course.
No one deserves such success more than the hardworking, forward-thinking Frying Pan Adventures team.
fryingpanadventures.com
Koala Picks
When Aya Assaf, Omnia Abdelhalim and Ahmed Mobasher began looking for nutritious after school snacks and lunchboxes fillers for their children the result was fruitless (in more ways than one).
Spotting a real gap in the UAE market for snacks that parents could feel good about feeding to their littles ones (i.e those that were free from preservatives, artificial colours, flavours, refined sugars and trans-fats) and yet still went down a storm with kids, the idea for Koala Picks was born in 2019.
In the few years since then the business has gone from strength to strength and now boasts a range of goodies that not only includes tasty snacks (think rainbow breadsticks, oat cookies, vegetable crisps and crackers) but cereals and granolas, all-natural nut butters and jams and biscuits designed specifically for weaning-age babies. Products are made from scratch using UAE or GCC-sourced ingredients where possible and all products must be approved by Koala Picks’ in-house nutritionist before launching.
For busy parents looking to answer those oft-relentless demands for snacks, this company could well be a game-changer.
koalapicks.com
Made By Dad
Made By Dad is a brilliant, born out of lockdown small business from husband-and-wife team Natasha Smoljo and Ghofran Sobhy. Specialising in custom wooden crafts for little people, the Made by Dad offering includes interactive Busy Boards (created using upcycled materials and capable of keeping toddlers amused for hours), lovely wooden playhouses, toy boxes, beds and bookshelves, as well as ‘helper’ steps (perfect for keeping little kids safe when they want to assist in the kitchen), safety gates, bespoke on-demand pieces and more.
All of these can be customised to order (names, colours etc) and are handmade by dad Ghofran in his dedicated workshop with absolute attention to detail.
If you want to support a family-run business just setting out on their entrepreneurial adventures, look no further.
Orders can be placed via Instagram @made.bydad or via WhatsApp on 050 401 6229.
Rock it Science
Looking for something a little bit different for your child’s next birthday party? If so, UK-born qualified science teacher Nichola Fisher and the team at Rock it Science can supply the wonder-inducing answer.
Combing 15-years of experience teaching Science in secondary schools in both Scotland and Dubai and her experience of being a mum and attending plenty of children’s parties, Fisher launched Rock it Science in 2014.
The premise is pretty brilliant: a team of qualified teachers share their love for all things science-based through interactive, engaging, action-packed parties, which can be catered to children aged between 4 and 14 years old.
Current themes include a Harry Potter-inspired Potions Party, Fizzy Flying Fun, a Who Done it Crime Scene Investigation party, Super Slime Workshop and more. They can be set up outside or indoors and the Rock it Science team supply all the safe, non-toxic equipment for the experiments and explosion. Here’s the clincher though; they also clear up afterwards, leaving nothing but some pretty fantastic memories behind.
www.rockitscienceparties.com.
Save Our World
Young food-fiend Finlay, Emirati brother and sister Ahmed and Sundos, football fan Rudi and conscientious Maria are five UAE-based super heroes on a quest to inspire young people in the region to do their bit to save the world.
The fictional friends are the creation of Colette Barr and Leona Collins, the author and illustrator behind The Eco-heroes a five-collection strong series of books aimed at primary school age children and intended to raise awareness about pertinent environmental and social issues such as food waste management, reducing single-use plastic and recycling.
Motivated by a desire to make a positive impact and do their bit to help the environment, as well as empowering other to do so, Barr and Collins founded their company Save Our World to enable them to publish, market and sell The Eco-Heroes series themselves.
In addition to producing the books, the Save Our World team visit schools in the region to give Eco-heroes-based talks simultaneously bringing the characters to life and helping to raise further awareness amongst young people.
www.saveourworld.me
Swimming Wonders
Headed up by the ever-effervescent baby whisperer Gemma Altarriba, the all-female coaching team at swimming lesson specialists Swimming Wonders are absolutely passionate about nurturing water confidence in little ones and the importance and benefits of learning to swim at an early age.
The Swimming Wonders programme includes Aquabumps sessions for mums-to-be, Baby Swimming classes and Learn to Swim courses for three-to-six-year-olds which focus on building on the basics, increasing confidence and starting to develop specific strokes.
Classes are structured, research driven and full of fun and are intended to promote bonding between parent and child in addition to equipping children with vital life skills and an early love of water.
www.swimmingwonders.com.
