If you have known Little Majlis for a while, you might remember us as a very different place. Back in 2012, we were an online marketplace where independent creatives from across the Gulf could sell their work. Some of you bought your first Khaleeji print from us then. Some of you sold with us (and a few of those sellers we still use for supply!).

Today, Little Majlis is a boutique design house. We design and supply our own collection of Khaleeji visual culture gifts, illustrated by Emirati creatives and made in the UAE wherever possible.

Every so often someone asks us what happened, so here is the story, told properly. Grab a karak, it is a goodie.

Where it all started

In 2012, the Gulf's creative scene was buzzing, but finding it online was hard. Talented illustrators, makers and small studios had beautiful work and very few places to sell it. So we built one, at a time when no one in the region was shopping online.

The Little Majlis marketplace brought those creatives together under one roof, a bit like a majlis: a place to gather, share and swap stories. It showed that people here and around the world wanted gifts that told real Gulf stories, not another generic souvenir, that wasn't a true reflection of the region we call home.

It also taught us a lot. Running a marketplace means being a host, a shopkeeper, a tech company and a delivery service all at once. And the longer we did it, the more we noticed which part made our hearts race: the design.

Why we became design focussed

Over time, we started creating our own branded designs alongside the marketplace to help with brand recognition (it's tricky to market a website without aa actual shop window - who remembers our caravan?). Little Majlis notebooks, greeting cards, tea towels,  and cute little cushions starting being sold at retail activations and we were getting approached by physical stores and by entities for us to design their own collections. We were loving getting back to our design roots.

So we had a choice to make. We could keep being a platform for everyone and a brand of our own at the same time, or we could focus on what we do best. We chose focus. The marketplace was sold, and Little Majlis became what it is today: a brand to showcase Khaleeji visual culture, and the region we call home to a global audience.

Being a design house means we are involved at every step. We brief the designers we collaborate with, guide the illustration and product development, choose the materials based on our sustainability principles and work closely with our lovely local makers until every sample is right. It is why we can make choices like unlaminated card that can be recycled, leather from a UAE tannery with sustainabilty at its core, and gifts designed to be used again and again. 

It also means we partner with wonderful retail partners, from Louvre Abu Dhabi to Sharjah Museum Authority, so our gifts can travel further than we could take them alone. And we get their feedback and improve products and packaging so they reflect what customers and retailers want - premium authentic khaleeji visual culture gifts!

How we work with Emirati creatives today

Supporting creatives was always the heart of Little Majlis. That has not gone anywhere. It has just changed shape.

Instead of listing other people's products, we now commission Emirati illustrators to create original artwork for our collection (a process we love!). Every illustrator is paid for their work, and every in-house product credits the designer on its packaging. They are the hero's of our products and story telling. Amna Al Saleh and Alia Al Hammadi, who illustrated our botanical postcards, are two of the talented women whose work currently fills our shelves.

Behind them is a small team of many nationalities that are locally based and who bring each piece to life, and a network of UAE businesses who print, stitch, cut and pack. Every gift supports all of them.

Are you an Emirati designer, illustrator or creative? Yalla, we would love to hear from you. Work with us

What has not changed

Some things are exactly as they were in 2012.

•      We are still the anti-souvenir. No generic skylines, no mass-made trinkets. Every gift tells a real story of the region.

•      We still champion local talent. Now through commissions, credits and long-term collaborations.

•      We are still made here. Made in the UAE wherever possible, with local suppliers we have worked with for years.

•      We still love a good story. There is one behind every gift, and we are always happy to tell it.

The story so far

So if you came looking for the old marketplace, ahlan wa sahlan, it is lovely to see you again. Things look a little different now, but the spirit is the same: celebrating the Gulf, the people who make it special, and the stories worth sharing with the world.

If you sold with us back then, thank you. You helped prove that Gulf creativity deserves a global stage, and we carry that into everything we design.

Shop the collection and find a gift with a story worth telling.