JEDDAH: Color Theory is an arts and crafts supply shop based in Riyadh. The term color theory is defined as a practical guide to color mixing and the visual effects of specific color combinations.
It offers a wide variety of acrylic and oil-based paints, brushes, colored pencils, oil pastels and spray paints, as well as all the necessary tools required for any given art project.
The owner of Color Theory, Ahmed Mohammed Al-Sunaidi, began to build his own business when he found that artists in Saudi Arabia needed a local art supply shop with the latest and most innovative art and design supplies.
“I began my career as an employee in the private sector. I had no prior experience in art. However, after working for a long while in an industry that was completely different from the field of art, I had a simple desire to leave my work in the private sector and start my own business,” he said.
There are always risks attached to any entrepreneurial venture, but Al-Sunaidi was confident in the art scene that was growing within Saudi Arabia.
“My circumstances gave me the opportunity to quit my job, and during my year of unemployment, I started visiting art galleries around the Kingdom. I would ask artists from where they bought their art supplies, and why they had not purchased them online.
“The artists would always tell me that they preferred to see the colors themselves. They wanted to touch the materials and feel the paintbrushes that they would use before purchasing. So I discovered that there was a need for this type of business,” he said.
Al-Sunaidi saw a colorful future ahead for Saudi Arabia and wanted to help bring it to the masses. “I believe there was a time when Saudi Arabia was gray, and now life is gaining color. Not just because I am now living among colors but also because the people themselves are becoming more colorful. They have started seeing life from a different perspective,” he said.
Color Theory is at 2656 Ash Sheikh Abdullah Al-Anqari, Salah Ad Din, Riyadh 12434. For customer inquiries, they can be reached at +966534883311. Follow them on Instagram for their latest product features and stock at www.Instagram.com/colortheoryksa
Startup of the Week: Adding colors to the Saudi cultural landscape
Startup of the Week: Adding colors to the Saudi cultural landscape
- The artists would always tell me that they preferred to see the colors themselves
How science is reshaping early years education
DUBAI: As early years education comes under renewed scrutiny worldwide, one UAE-based provider is making the case that nurseries must align more closely with science.
Blossom Nursery & Preschool, which operates 32 locations across the UAE, is championing a science-backed model designed to close what it sees as a long-standing gap between research and classroom practice.
“For decades, early years education has been undervalued globally — even though science shows the first five years are the most critical for brain development,” said Lama Bechara-Jakins, CEO for the Middle East at Babilou Family and a founding figure behind Blossom’s regional growth, in an interview with Arab News.
She explained that the Sustainable Education Approach was created to address “a fundamental gap between what we know from science and what actually happens in nurseries.”
Developed by Babilou Family, the approach draws on independent analysis of research in neuroscience, epigenetics, and cognitive and social sciences, alongside established educational philosophies and feedback from educators and families across 10 countries. The result is a framework built around six pillars; emotional and physical security, natural curiosity, nature-based learning, inclusion, child rhythms, and partnering with parents.
Two research insights, Bechara-Jakins says, were particularly transformative. “Neuroscience shows that young children cannot learn until they feel safe,” she said, adding that stress and inconsistent caregiving can “literally alter the architecture of the developing brain.”
Equally significant was evidence around child rhythms, which confirmed that “pushing children academically too early is not just unhelpful — it can be counterproductive.”
Feedback from families and educators reinforced these findings. Across regions, common concerns emerged around pressure on young children, limited outdoor time and weak emotional connections in classrooms. What surprised her most was that “parents all sensed that something was missing, even if they couldn’t articulate the science behind it.”
At classroom level, the strongest body of evidence centres on secure relationships. Research shows that “secure attachments drive healthy brain development” and that children learn through trusted adults. At Blossom, this translates into practices such as assigning each child “one primary educator,” prioritising calm environments, and viewing behaviour through “a neuroscience lens — as stress signals, not misbehaviour.”
Bechara-Jakins believes curiosity and nature remain overlooked in many early years settings, despite strong evidence that both accelerate learning and reduce stress. In urban centres such as Dubai, she argues, nature-based learning is “not a luxury. It is a developmental need.”
For Blossom, this means daily outdoor time, natural materials, gardening, and sensory play — intentional choices aimed at giving children what science says they need to thrive.
