KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 — Most of the Muslim artwork and products we have in the market are usually imported from the Middle East, with many bearing a very traditional, classic style and available in black or gold.

Shaking up the Muslim art scene, you have Cufica which was started by schoolmates Kamarulazhan bin Abdullah and Kamarul Akhbar bin Che Ismail. Touted as a lifestyle brand, Cufica features a unique and more contemporary take on Islamic art. This has made Cufica a popular choice among the younger crowd who prefer their artwork to fit seamlessly with the more minimalistic and modern interiors of their homes.

Kamarul Akhbar bin Che Ismail (left) and Kamarulazhan bin Abdullah are friends who started Cufica together.

Both Kamarulazhan and Kamarul who hail from Terengganu are passionate entrepreneurs who have started a few businesses even though they are both college drop outs. Their first was a GPS company in 2007 but it did not go well as handphones started having GPS technology. Their second was an event management company which they ran for a few years. “We were too particular about the designs of each event so the costs were very high,” said Kamarulazhan. Eventually, they closed that down and started Cufica in 2012.

“The market for Muslim lifestyle products is big and nobody at that time did it,” said Kamarul. Aside from artwork, Cufica also designs stylish T-shirts with Muslim sayings.

Decorate your home with this lovely piece of wooden block engraved with kufi calligraphy (left). Beautify your walls with these lovely Cufica art (right).

Kamarul studied civil engineering briefly before he dropped out of college so he has experience in AutoCAD which he uses for designing Cufica products. Both he and Kamarulazhan have a good sense of aesthetics even though they did not have a formal education in art. Kamarul picked up the the art of kufi calligraphy from watching YouTube videos. Kamarulazhan does more of the branding and marketing for Cufica.

“There are not that many Muslim lifestyle brands out there... but we have a different direction for our brand. Our brand offers apparel, home decor as well as creative services beyond the Muslim industry. We have done design work for banks, hotels and even door gifts for corporate events,” said Kamarul.

These beautiful artworks make wonderful gifts for friends.

Although Cufica is a Muslim brand, both Kamarulazhan and Kamarul feel that the focus is not a religious one. However, building this brand does make them feel more pious and that is why they wanted to do it. “It suits our personal lives and careers,” said Kamarulazhan.

“When we first started, we did it on a global scale. Within the first month, we had an order from Argentina to do a home painting. After that, we expanded to six continents, with customers from India, Japan, Europe and the US,” said Kamarul.

Wear these stylish yet subtle T-shirts with confidence.

Their modern style attracts both Muslims and non-Muslims alike because people can relate to the designs. One of their best-sellers is a Pop Art design. “People don’t dare to design like we do because they think that Muslim art should look Middle Eastern but we do it Western style. We break the barriers that it has to be conservative,” said Kamarulazhan.

The pop art range is Cufica’s bestseller.

The Cufica co-founders noticed that after they started designing contemporary style Muslim art and products, about 200 other companies started doing the same thing.

Cufica began as an online store, participating in bazaars every week. For festivals such as Hari Raya, they would book a booth in the concourse of malls like Publika and Bangsar Shopping Centre to reach out to the customers. Currently, their office is located in D7 Sentul East and you have to make an appointment before visiting.

You would never have imagined Muslim products in this form.

Their products are also readily available at LOKA, a multi-label store in NU Sentral. “We decided to change the direction of our brand, targeting to sell through resellers rather than doing it on our own. There is not much of a crowd at D7 either,” said Kamarulazhan.

Kamarul doesn’t feel surprised that even non-Muslims buy Cufica products because he feels that the customers like the design and treat it as art. “I have a Buddha head at home but I don’t see it as something religious but a work of art,” he said. People collect different forms of art, according to him. Before Cufica released their apparel collection, the price range of the products was medium to high. Now, you can get their products from RM30 onwards. A custom art work can cost from RM10,000 to RM20,000.

Contemporary and chic describes the style of Cufica.

“Our future plan is to own a shop in a mall and to be a leader in the Muslim lifestyle industry. We focus a lot on print and drawing as well as wall art,” said Kamarul.

In case if you are wondering what Cufica stands for, it is a combination of the word “kufi” and “calligraphy.”

Shop Cufica at: 5-21 D7 @ Sentul East 800 Jalan Sentul 51000 Kuala Lumpur

Website: www.cufica.co Facebook: www.facebook.com/coloursofcufica Twitter: www.twitter.com/cufica Instagram: www.instagram.com/cufica

You can also find their products at LOKA, 1st Floor, NU Sentral, KL