Wafa started her lecture by discussing her home country of Bahrain and painting a picture of what the art and design scene was like there. She then went to discuss her culture shock going from an American style high school to a British Art school one and how shocking the crit system was to her as a student.
Moving on she described having a double life when starting her BA and working practically full time with designer extraordinaire Liza Bruce. ‘I never said no to Liza, I worked weekends/summer holidays at one point doing 6 days a week. Working with Liza and her husband Nicholas was my first experience working with designers that were passionate about what they were doing, and doing it for a living. I really felt like I was being mentored going from sales, to PR, to buying, to window display, to pricing and assisting with all parts of the running of the business.’
Having graduated Wafa then went on to create her own blog, Fashion Ambitions where she aimed to document her work experiences assisting Marko Matysik, interning with On/Off, working in fashion journalism and publishing her work with Prim and Borderline magazine. 
Wafa then went into great detail on how she managed to start up Sketchbook, with no budget; and emailing more than 200 people a day to request contributions and illustrations. ‘Everyone told me that I would never be able to launch a print publication, at the recession, with print media dying. But I did and Sketchbook was born. I also never met anyone in the first 5 months because as soon as people saw I was a 22 year old girl fresh out of university they didn’t want to work with me. I had to really sell the concept via email.’ We spent a few minutes with Wafa after she was done with her lecture. Read the rest of the interview here..
12 30 getting hair done at g salon with Maria
1 00 - first show of the day Duckie Brown. Sitting across from me are Diggy from Rev Run + Ugly Betty's nephew.
2 00 lunch with Jooj on her lunchbreak in cafe metro in times square and some mapping
3 00 le pain with features editor Luma Bashmi looking through invites, tabbing our new york guide for off shows, and emailing the girls back at sketchbook hq.
4 55 at press lounge - so crowded , food is being served , homous and cheeses , and pickles , everyone has to bring their own laptop ! London has a string of 30 macs outside the lounge. No where to sit. 5 30 answered 29 emails
6 00 queing for Farah Angsana, sore feet in heels
6 10 chatting to a reporter from seventeen magazine in row a-6, spotted Kate Lampier sitting front row with gorge white hair+Whitney Port's friend from The City
7 00 catch a cab to off schedule show on 313 bowery lane. Karoline Zmarlak is presenting in a cool grungy 
Dia Diwan is currently the only e-commerce sites providing women with a 'gateway to middle eastern chic'. Ran by founder and CEO Rasha Khouri, she wanted to create a fashion forward daily website based in the Middle East, providing somewhere for women to turn to in need of hip and trendy ideas. By creating Dia Diwan, Rasha has access to both international brands and Arab and Middle Eastern designers running alongside expert advice and opinion from the region in the shape of their online blogs and Fashionista.
Relaunching on February 4th (Definitely a date for your diary's!) Dia Diwan is soon to become Dia Boutique, an updated sleeker and much more sophisticated version of the brand, and is on a mission to become the no 1 luxury e-commerce site for the Middle East. Stocking clothing, shoes, bags, jewellery, children's wear and home wear. It's definitely worth a look as there is something for everybody.
I have taken over as the new editor for Dia - Boutique and will dropping a new issue of the magazine every week. Expect the magazine to put you right on top of the Middle Eastern curve, specialising in fashion, culture, art and trends. Providing a young take on the Middle Eastern scene. The first issue will contain reviews from not only London, but New York and Paris fashion weeks, updating you on both current and up and coming designers from all over the continent.
Working on both Dia and Sketchbook magazine is proving to be both very chaotic and extremely exciting. Although taking up the majority of my time, I am working on two projects I am passionate for. To contribute please email me on wafa.obaidat@diadiwan.com
You can now purchase parts 1 & 2 of the FASHION BLOGGER ISSUE here:
In an ever changing market of magazine and Internet fashion culture, Sketchbook Magazine brings something a little different. Original Sketchbook drawings and graphics and exclusive interviews celebrating unearthed talent and artists at the forefront of their careers, Sketchbook looks to the creative mind that wants to explore, expand and discover something new from a portfolio of fashion, art and culture.
Here are some excerpts from the first issue:
Interview with cover girl Susie Bubble by MARIAM AL BANNA / Illustrations JUNE CHANPOOMIDOLE
Vogue Diaries Feature by Fashion Editor KRISTIN KNOX / Illustrations JADE CUMMINGS
In the Name of Fashion / Photography ALBERTO NEWTON
Area Dansk / Photography LOUISE DAMGAARD
ABDUL LARGERFIELD of MYKROMAG / Illustrations JACK TEAGLE
Notes by Naive / Illustrations FLORA ROGERS
A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS: PEREZ HILTON / Illustrations CHLOE EHNINGER
Fashion Toast’s RUMI NEELY / Illustrations CLARE OWEN
A Shaded View on Fashion’s DIANE PERNET / Illustrations ANNIE DRISCOLL
SCOTT SCHUMAN’S The Sartorialist / Illustrations MATILDA HUANG
