One grey evening, my neighbor Kathleen—who calls me her honorary niece—invited me to a magazine party on a whim. There, I met the founder of Dubai Luxury Fashion Week, a woman whose warmth matched her worldliness. She offered me something rare: the opportunity to design bridal jewelry for her runway show in Dubai. She didn’t just admire my work—she offered it a stage. A place in the light. From that moment, a constellation of Middle Eastern connections began to form around me, each one arriving with quiet precision—as if the universe itself was saying, Go on. Step into it.