Ahlan wa sahlan – A warm welcome to our new designer

Hi, I’m Anna-Maria Deml and I’m a Livelihoods Intern this summer at CRP. I’m so excited to introduce you to the latest member of our team: Aseel aljundi .

Aseel joined CRP at the end of May as the new designer for Hope Workshop, and ever since she’s been lending her skills and creativity to support the talented craftswomen there.?

As you may know, at Hope Workshop dozens of women in the CRP community make beautiful textile products–which they then sell to generate income to support themselves and their families.

Before the embroidery and sewing can start, though, someone must create designs. Aseel leads the design process, which she is developing alongside her colleagues and the skilled craftswomen themselves.

Recently, I was lucky enough to sit down with Aseel to learn about her work here. I was excited to learn that the stunning motifs Hope Workshop produces are far from random–most have a connection to the cultural heritage of the places our community hails from–including Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Palestine, and Jordan.

But enough from me–there’s no better way to bring you into Aseel’s world than to share with you her very own words.

Anna-Maria: Now let’s talk a bit about your work at CRP. What makes the work with Hope Workshop special to you?

Aseel: Honestly, the thing that feels most special to me at Hope Workshop is the work with the women. I really enjoy being with them–they inspire me and always give me new ideas. That’s what makes working with them special.

Anna-Maria: Where are you drawing your inspiration from??

Aseel: The majority of my inspiration for new products comes from the cultures of our ladies in the Workshop. Most of all we focus our designs on the Fallahi Tatreez (cross-stitch embroidery technique derived from the word “Fallah” meaning farmer or village worker) because this technique represents the overall Arabic culture. So from whichever Arab country they come from, what captures the Arabic identity is the Fallahi Tatreez.

Anna-Maria: Can you walk us through the process of designing a new product?

Aseel: With every new product that we want to start working on, the first step is to create a design that we can to apply to the textiles. We then select the colors that work with the textile. This is the process of designing the new motifs.?As for the whole product, we need to know which materials we have available either at Hope Workshop or at Hope Eco Shop–where we mostly use recycled materials (e.g. used clothing and plastic bags).?

Anna-Maria: What is your vision for Hope Workshop, specifically Hope Eco Shop?

Aseel: I feel it has a much bigger future from what it is now. There will be a higher production rate and a better amount of income for the ladies producing at the workshop. We’re working on reaching that point and hopefully we will succeed. I’m seeing indicators that already show me that we can reach that vision.

Hearing from Aseel gave me a whole new level of appreciation for the design process. A quote from one of my favorite designers sums it up best:

“Every great design begins with an even better story.” -Lorindo Mamo

Products from Hope Workshop are available for sale in the showrooms in Hashemi Shamali and Downtown, at shops and bazaars in Amman, and on Instagram.

Anna-Maria Deml

Livelihoods Intern