Ornare
Carina Fontes graduated in Architecture in 2003 and holds a post-graduate degree in Strategic Design and Product Design from the European Institute of Design. Besides working as an architect, she has been developing interior design projects since 1996. Throughout her career, she has completed projects in Brazil, the United States, and Europe. In 2019, she had her first visit to Dubai, where she met Shalise Basso, who became her partner in projects in the Middle East.
Shalise Basso is also an architect, having graduated in both Brazil and Italy, with extensive experience in the Middle East market. She has been working for over 12 years on high-end interior design projects, catering to some of the most traditional families, especially in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. In addition to numerous projects, Shalise has worked with diverse nationalities, having visited more than 100 countries to serve her clientele around the world.
However, in 2020, with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, both of them got stuck in Dubai. This situation turned out to be positive, and they expanded their interior design projects to other Gulf countries, mainly Qatar, in addition to the United Arab Emirates.
At the end of 2020, during a visit to São Paulo, Brazil, they received an invitation to start the Ornare franchise in Dubai, the largest luxury furniture company in Brazil. Thus, the project of expanding the Ornare brand in the Gulf began. After two years of operation, the brand is gaining more and more space in the market, attracting new loyal customers. They are serving private clients and also starting to cater to major developers. With several successful projects already established in the UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait, they are now entering the Saudi Arabian market with full force, where soon the second Gulf store will be inaugurated.
