girls explore } eves discover zeri crafts

how lucky we are to have this delightful oasis in the midst of salmiya’s hustle and bustle. situated on a quiet street overlooking the arabian gulf, zeri crafts could not have been situated in a more apt location.

Christmas time is upon us, it’s snowing on prettygreenbullet and I’m in the mood for a bit of shopping. As much as I’ve always appreciated hand-crafted items, my last trip to London, specifically the Contemporary Crafts & Design Fair in Chelsea, intensified my desire for all things handmade with passion and love. So in the spirit of Christmas shopping-and with the help of Eve-I’m going to dedicate a few posts over the coming weeks to my very gifted friends.

I’ve been an avid fan of Laila Alhamad’s Zeri Crafts since its foundation in 2010. I remember her telling me about it over brunch at PQ (where else!), and witnessing a systematic demise of our indigenous culture, it was so refreshing to hear her speak about contemporizing the age-old craft of Sadu-weaving. Last week the Eves and I visited her Open House event and it was as lovely and inspiring as ever. I had some zesty ginger tea and gobbled down three date balls, taken from Laila’s sister (and my dear friend) Sarah Al-Hamad’s date book Sun Bread and Sticky Toffee. 

laila alhamad, gracious and graceful always

these cushions have been my favorites since the beginning. i love the subtle variations in blue. and of course matt corbin bishop’s stamps round up the look very nicely

eve hangs from a mashrabiya lamp

here she is hanging from one of nedda al-asmar’s colorful porcelain mubkhars

stuck in a mashrabiya notebook. i have one of these notebooks in a light teal

Please click here to look through my Zeri Craft’s notebook.

sarah al-hamad’s books ‘sun bread and sticky toffee’ and ‘cardamom and lime’

eve tries to climp into nedda el-asmar’s silver incense burner

swimming in a basket of earth-toned notebooks is her favorite thing to do

she wants all of it for christmas

this is where we have our tea and date balls. i want to live here and so does eve

pick a color, any color