ABOUT
Autobiography
I am a British-Egyptian textile designer and a Royal College of Art graduate, based in Cockpit Arts. I established my business after winning the Radcliffe Craft Development Award in 2018, which I used to purchase my freehand embroidery machine and develop my eclectic, colourful range of embroidered luxury products. I also receive bespoke commissions, freelance for high-end fashion brands, and have created embroidered textile swatches, selling directly to companies internationally.
I focus on a combination of hand and machine-embroidered textiles. My visual research explores the environment of the Middle East, where I have spent many months creating countless memories over the years. I adopt a fusion of traditional Middle Eastern techniques, modernizing them in inventive ways with interesting colour combinations and experimentation with material and technique.
I’ve had the opportunity to stock at Cockpit Arts’ online shop, Connock & Lockie, and Messums Wiltshire. I am also featured in The Wedding Collective, Boho Wedding, and Craft Council directories. I have been featured in Love Embroidery, Selvedge, Town & Country, Dancing With Her magazines, The Times, and the Top Drawer New Talent Edit. I have exhibited at the Knitting and Stitching Show, Most Curious Wedding Fair, Top Drawer, Two More Years, Tarkett for Clerkenwell Design Week 2022, Oxo Tower for London Craft Week 2022, and Buckle Street Studios by Locke Hotels for London Craft Week 2023, as well as The Department Store and The Japanese Embassy in London.
SUSTAINABILITY
After years of experience in the high-end fashion industry, I have identified and questioned aspects of the industry that require improvement in terms of environmental, economic, and ethical sustainability. It is for this reason that I have modeled my own business with a sustainable framework at the forefront. All products are made to order, which reduces waste and minimizes the risk of overstocking.
It is fundamental to my enterprise that I offer a personable and honest approach. I am open and willing to share my behind-the-scenes development and processes with my customers, allowing them to build trust in my methods when receiving my sustainable products at their door.
I create all of my products using traditional methods in experimental ways, organically drawing with stitch and using the fabric as a canvas. Each accessory is unique in its sophisticated colour palettes, patterns, materials, and techniques, with inspiration drawn from my Middle Eastern heritage to create innovative embroidery designs.
You can purchase my made-to-order, ready-to-wear products online through my website, where PayPal and Stripe payments are accepted.
Education
Royal College of Art, Distinction: Dissertation, Postgraduate, Textiles, 2017
Loughborough University, First Class, BA (Hons), Textiles, 2015
Central Saint Martins, Merit, Foundation, Textiles, 2011
Experience
New Designers 2022 Mentor, London, 2022-2023
Embroidery Teaching and Learning Technician, London College of Fashion, 2019-Present
Visiting Tutor, Loughborough University, 2018-Present
Freelance Embroidery Designer, London, 2017-Present
Freelance Embroidery Assistant, Alexander McQueen, London, 2017-Present
Freelance Embroidery Designer, Bombay Sapphire Gin, London, 2016
Styling Assistant, Mary-Anna Kearney, London, 2016
Intern, Julien Macdonald, London, 2016
Paid Intern, Alexander McQueen, London, 2016
Freelance Print Designer, Label Lab, House of Fraser, London, 2015
Paid Intern, Diane Von Furstenberg, New York, 2014
Intern, Bay & Brown, London, 2014.
Intern, Tom Cody, London, 2013
Intern, Gather No Moss, London, 2012
Exhibitions
London Craft Week, Buckle Street Studios, by Locke Hotels, 2023
Two More Years, London, 2022
Clerkenwell Design Week, London, 2022
London Craft Week, London, 2022
Top Drawer, London, 2022
Top Drawer, On Demand, 2021
Most Curious Wedding Fair, Truman Brewery, London, 2020
Open Studios, Cockpit Arts, London, 2018-Present
Jupiter Asset Management, Zig Zag Building, London, 2016
The Knitting and Stitching show, Harrogate International Centre, Harrogate, 2015
The Knitting and Stitching show, Alexandra Palace, London, 2015
New Designers, Business Design Centre, London, 2015
Awards
Arts Council England, 2020
Cockpit Arts, Radcliffe Craft Development Award 2018
The Eaton Fund, 2017
Worshipful Company of Needlemakers, 2017
Innovation RCA, 2017
Shortlisted for New Designer of the Year, 2015
Edward Sharp Award, 2015
Directories & Features
Love Embroidery Magazine, 2023
Locke Living, Cockpit, 2023
London Craft Week, 2022
Dancing with Her, 2021
The Times & Times Property, 2021
Town & Country, 2020
Selvedge Magazine, 2020
Craft Council, 2020
Most Curious, 2020
Boho Wedding, 2019
The Wedding Collective, 2019
