Valérie Barkowski is the Fabulous Female Founder of Dar Kawa and V.Barkowski design shop in Marrakech.
Valérie, tell me a little about yourself?
With Belgian roots, I was raised in my home country but as far I can remember I feel that I am a citizen of the world. I was never comfortable or happy at school, sold all my belongings to travel when I was 19… lived and worked in many places including Brussels, Paris, Moscow, India, Vietnam, Morocco,…
I am a ‘conceptor’ and creative director, owner of the V.Barkowski home linen brand and Dar Kawa. What drives me is to travel and to have intellectual challenges when I work. I try to live in the present and to live my life fully and to be as free as possible.
We are just passing by here…
What brought you to Marrakech ?
A butterfly effect.
I came on holidays to Morocco in 1991 and decided that one day I would live there. That day came 5 years later.
I was blown away when I discovered the medina of Marrakech, the south of the country, the desert, the Atlantic Ocean, the craft… But most of all I fell in love with the people, their kindness, their hospitality, that special mindset they have. I always suggest people should read “Arabian nights” from Tahir Shah to understand the Moroccan mind and soul.
How did you find Dar Kawa?
That is a long story. So I will try and make it short. I had a passion for the Moroccan architecture, the riads, and the kind of lifestyle in these houses. I visited more than 200 riads! Twenty-four years ago there were many properties that had paperwork problems. Also, I wanted a riad with a garden, thinking that just a courtyard would not be enough. The house that we wanted and loved was a 600sqm house, which is now Jasper Conran’s L’Hotel Marrakech https://www.l-hotelmarrakech.com. At that time the situation with official papers made it too complicated to buy it. Dar Kawa was shown to us as an architectural gem because it was built in the beginning of the 17th-century with a Saadian architecture (like Medersa Ben Youssef). The house was completely broken down but somehow we saw the beauty in it and it also had “good vibes” and a special atmosphere. We decided to buy it thinking that after restoration we would continue to hunt for our dream house convinced that it was too small… Quentin Wilbaux, the architect who restored the house taught us so much during the whole process.
Book Dar Kawa here www.darkawa.net.
Was it love at first sight?
Somehow yes, but at the same time we considered this as a first step, we really wanted to have a riad with a garden … With time I realised that it was a wise choice because winters are very cold in Marrakech and our dar is cosy and warm. A house in the medina needs a lot of maintenance, it’s like having an old wooden yacht… there is always something to repair and the maintenance is high.
Which came first, your design or Dar Kawa?
I had already started to design linens when I was living in Moscow, small scale but also with handwork. In Russia I sourced “baboushki” old women who still knew how to embroider. So, the linen collection idea came naturally to me, I knew there were a lot of “thread and needle” traditions in Morocco. What I didn’t know is that it would take me 3 years to get my collection into place… the V.Barkowski linens were sold for the first time in Europe in 2000 to Caravane in Paris.
Where did you get the inspiration for your interiors?
This is something I can’t explain. Somehow in the different fields that are covered in my work I realised that designing interiors just came naturally to me. As far as I can remember, as a child, I already had precise ideas of how and what I wanted on the walls, what colour(s), which layout, etc…
What’s your most popular room?
The 4 rooms we have at Dar Kawa are very different, so, I am not sure there is a “most popular” room. I have the feeling that people who come to Dar Kawa mainly want to be with us in the riad. They ask for a particular room but they don’t mind taking another one in case it’s booked already.
Tell me about the food at Dar Kawa, when I visited in November 2019, it was the highlight of my trip!
That is THE subject. Taking care about food is really part of the DNA of Dar Kawa. We care about the quality of the products that we buy, the first important element. We try to buy local and organic as much as possible. In Morocco the food industry has changed a lot. From very organic cultures they turned into chemical productions and fast growing… Unfortunately… So, buying good food is like hunting for it and it takes a lot of time because it’s necessary to visit many places to find what we need. We are not 100% organic but we try to get there as close as possible.
Breakfast is 100% homemade. Granola, muesli, bread, pancakes, fresh squeezed seasonal fruit juices and salads, jam, … It’s important to start the day with that pleasure and at a leisurely pace. When I stay in a hotel I also pay a lot of attention to breakfast, it’s my favourite meal actually… at Dar Kawa we try to buy the best teas, same for the coffee, etc, etc…
We try to offer a traditional Moroccan cuisine, sometimes with a twist, and lighter versions as well…
Our chef Saïda who has been with us since we opened loves to learn and she understands what people like and she still comes up with new recipes 17 years later..
We definitely are inspired by a chef like Ottolenghi or by Françoise Pialoux from Hotel les Terrasses - https://www.lesterrasses.net/en/ in Ibiza. We serve a lot of vegetarian food and I would love to add a vegan menu at a certain point.
In Morocco hospitality is really part of the tradition, so, we try to keep this alive. I learned a lot from them. The aesthetics are ours but their hospitality traditions are so generous and so refined.
A designer that inspires you
Well, many people who inspire me… not just one designer.
Isabelle Eberhardt, Agnès Varda, William Kentridge, Ogata, the new generation of chefs that is at work now (Magnus Nillson, Massimo Bottura, Sang Hoon Degeimbre,…) . I am inspired by “mindsets” more than by specific people. Some of the chefs I like are not vegetarian and I would not eat their food but I am inspired by their thought process.
Best find in the souks
There is not one best find because it depends what you are looking for… The best thing is to get lost, if possible and to be surprised. That is what I prefer and if you do it this way, what you will find becomes secondary … It’s the memory of the hunting process that becomes a moment that you will treasure.
Best coffee in Marrakech
Since Bacha Coffee (www.bachacoffee.com) opened there is no doubt that this is the best place in town. Not only for the coffee but for the whole experience.
An object you would never part with
My passport.
The last meal that truly impressed you
After these strange times the meals I remember are in Marrakech Saïda’s couscous because I really miss it. My last best meal otherwise was in Brussels at Racines, Italian restaurant. And in Morocco ILOLI, an excellent Japanese restaurant in Casablanca.
The biggest influence in your life
My first trip to India when I was 20 years old.
An unforgettable place you’ve travelled to in the past year
I can never have enough of the desert. I love the feeling of being what is essential.
Where would you like to go next?
I would love to explore the Greek islands. But not just two or three. I would like to spend a few months there and explore, that would be absolute heaven, I need to be near the sea.
What are you dreaming of?
The sea.
Your favourite website
I’m not sure I have such a thing. I am very curious and eager to discover. I love to listen to archives, interviews of painters, writers, philosophers. I am curious, I go on line when I look for a particular subject. I use it as an encyclopaedia.
What’s in your future plans for Valérie Barkowski
(https://www.valeriebarkowski.shop/)
My brand has been from the very first day a “slow concept brand”. Everything is handmade, 95% is handmade, hand embroidered. A lot of my products are made to order. I have an obsession for timelessness. When I started I refused to make seasonal collections and only now I can see that I was right. So, I will continue to work on my products the way I do it already, stop making leather bags (I am vegetarian so I want to have coherency in my way of living – be it personal or professional). We are planning to increase the space of our store of Marrakech, renovation is done at 80%, I will think of that space carefully and see how I can bring a new concept to life. That is what I like to do… I need intellectual challenges to move on.
Most of all I would like to make sure I don’t work too much and take time to live. Make sure that I work to live and not live to work.
V. Barkowski
Arset Aouzel 142 in Dar Bacha area
(between Mustapha Blaoui bazar and restaurant Dar Marjana)
Marrakech
Phone +212 624494001
(https://www.valeriebarkowski.shop/)
As far as Dar Kawa is concerned, we’ll continue our path and teach our staff to be clean and sustainable. We already make some cleaning products in-house and we’re going to look at going further with that.
And globally I feel that with the experience I have it is time to “share”. I am thinking of what I could put into place and how. That is a long process but it’s in the pipeline for a few years now.
The last music you downloaded
Well, you will laugh. I made a playlist on Spotify called “morning cleaning” to take care of the house during confinement. Music that puts you in a good mood and makes you dance.
The books on you bedside table
The Wildest Shores of Love by Lesley Blanch – not started yet.
Caroline Pauwels “Ode aan de verwondering” (a dear friend just sent me this book and it is a good exercise as well to improve my dutch…)
I want to read “Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand again this summer.
Favourite City
Cities are on the move. There are favourite cities where I don’t want to spend time anymore because they’ve became too touristy. I like to be in places where one feels that you are just living there like a local. I really feel that need. For the moment I like to spend time in Arles, mainly off season… When the city is lived in by locals. Many stores are closed but the essence remains. I love cities where good cultural events are happening.
If you weren’t doing what you do
But I love what I am doing… I would like to learn vegan cuisine with a top chef and have more time for myself. Working on that one…