BUSINESS BAY BY SAMAR NABULSI OF BIG ON CHILDREN AND THE UPCOMING TALENTS HQ

Samar – please tell us about your family?

We are a family of four. My husband and I met in Dubai and we got married almost eight years ago but we have both been here since 2004. I have two daughters, Taya is five years old and Dasya is four years old and they go to school in Jumeirah 1.

 You live in Business Bay – what do you like about the area?

 I feel that Business Bay is central. We are so close to the downtown area and Dubai Mall and it is quite accessible from Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Khail Road. Since it is a new area (relatively) new places keep opening up. I love the fact that within a 5km radius of where I live, we have a medical centre, pharmacies, supermarkets, gyms, restaurants, an awesome running track and well the 1000s of retail shops in Dubai Mall.

You have got shops and restaurants on your doorstep – which are your neighbourhood favourites?

Between the many restaurants around our area, my most visited is definitely Claw BBQ in Souk Al Bahar. I would say I am there at least three times a week! For a more upscale dinner, I go across the bridge over Sheikh Zayed road to Okku for unbeatable Japanese cuisine. We also have a few great restaurants that serves food fast (not fast food type) like Rosso Vivo, Zaatar w Zeit, and Appetite..etc; these are all good quality food made fast and delivered to your doorstep. 

Please tell us about your businesses?

 Big On Children goes by Happy Kids Happy Parents – and well that is what we do. We put smiles on children’s faces through their personalised songs, movies, plush toys and alarm clocks to name a few. We have a kiosk in Hamleys in Dubai Mall, Kids HQ and our products are found in most play areas across Dubai and online of course! We are now happy to announce that our new concept Talents HQ is opening very soon and it is a place that offers workshops to ladies and mothers in the morning and for pre-teens and teenagers in the afternoon. Best thing about it, although it is on umm Sequim road, it is about 15 minutes away from Business Bay thru Al Khail Road ?.

 What advice would you give to someone looking to find a property in Dubai?

 Because my husband travels so much, the idea of a villa never appealed to us and we had lived in a very spacious three bedroom apartment for about seven years now. Our building has some amazing facilities. Having said that, our children (and their toys) are overtaking every inch of space we have in our apartment and we may explore the option of a villa within a gated community. The idea of moving from Business Bay scares me to be honest, but we will probably need to make that move sooner rather than later.