Marrakesh: a tale of Hassan Hajjaj and Riad Yima

I love stories  of redemption, of meteoric rises.  

Hassan Hajjaj told me that growing up his parents were so poor that they couldn't afford to buy him a single toy.  He used to comb the Moroccan beach near his home to see what the sea washed up.  He made his own toys, with the sea's discards.  

As a teenager, a low paid job for Hassan's father brought the whole family to London. They lived nine in a single room without a bathroom. 

But Hassan saw in the world something different.  He broke free and made his own way, becoming a club manager, a shop owner, a fashion designer, a lauded photographer. 

And then Hassan went back to Morocco and bought Riad Yima, his Marrakech courtyard house.

And had everything he never grew up with.

Riad Yima is also a shop, featuring Hassan's own pop modern designs.

 poufs...
Upcycled lanterns and furniture...

And, of course, Hassan's iconic photography.

If you're in Marrakech....make sure to drop by for a glass of mint tea...

 Riad Yima
52 derb Aarjane Rahba lakdima Medina
Marrakech Morocco
Tél: +212 (0) 524-391-987
E-mail: riadyima@yahoo.co.uk

Marrakech: and a tale of where to see photography in Marrakech

If I had any real money, I'd collect photography.  Preferably black and white, preferably film, preferably portraits.  In Marrakech, there's Gallerie 127, which is always showing something on the photographic front.  

Recently I was at a Marco Barbon polaroid exhibit opening (inspired, perhaps, by the lovely authors of this book who have held two polaroid retreats at Peacock Pavilions).

Nathalie Locatelli, the stylish gallery owner was there. (Nathalie's beautiful Moroccan courtyard house is in my book, Marrakesh by Design.)

And of course, photographer Marco Barbon, who had flown in from Italy. 

There was wine....

and there were treats (even pad thai eaten with handmade wooden forks)....

But mostly, there was Marco's photography of Morocco....

which was contemplated....

or even scrutinized....

The verdict?  A thumbs up....

Gallerie 127
127, Avenue Mohammed V
Guéliz - Marrakech
Tel :  +212 (0)524 43 26 67 - +212 (0) 661 33 99 53
Open Tuesday-Saturday, 3pm-7pm
{Marco Barbon exhibit showing until April 6}

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Marrakech: and a tale of a Raven & Lily Spring jewelry collection

They came with their selection of shoes

And their long legs to wear them.

And they came with their pretty dresses....

And their plans for styling them...

And of course, they came with their photographer (who doubled as a model).

But mostly, they came with their jewelry.  

{And the hopes & wishes of the women -- the marginalized, the trafficked, the ones with HIV -- who made them.}  

We dressed up Peacock Pavilions for the occasion...

with penants....

  with cushions....

And with stripey blankets...

Until all there was left to do was smile for the camera....

Raven & Lily's Spring collection is out!  So very covetable.  For those who love jewelry and the special hands that made them....

See the lookbook shot at Peacock Pavilions:  right here. And don't forget to shop.  {You'll be glad that you did.}

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Kabul and the quest for beauty: a tale of Zarif Design

Her name is Zolaykha Sherzad, and I had met her in New York in one of those instances of divine intervention.  Our conversation went something like this:

Me: Where are you from?
Her: From Afghanistan.
Me: What?
Her: From Afghanistan.  I'm a fashion designer.
Me: I'm going to Kabul in a week.
Her: What?

And so it was that I found myself in Kabul heading towards Zarif Design.  On the way over, I had a message on my Blackberry from my security detail with the rumors of the day.  It said, this:

INS are using vehicles that have the Red Cross agency logo on the doors. The INS are planning to enter KABUL City in order to conduct terrorist attacks. 

I typed Received and pressed send.  And then I was at the Zarif Design studio.  It was unmarked, as many places are these days in Kabul. Because you have to know, to know.

In a series of rooms,  the cutters, the embroiderers, the tailors were making Zolay's designs.  

I had worn a burqa before - that pleated tent-like garment donned by so many Afghan women.  From the burqa's netted window, the world was filmy, and I had no peripheral vision.  

There was none of that at Zarif Design.  

Not shapeless but shaped.
Not minimized but maximized.
Not anonymity but rather identity. 

 An oasis of color, of pattern, of beauty.

I walked out of Zarif Design with a shopping bag full of beautiful clothes.  But really, I walked out of Zarif Design with so much more.

www.zarifdesign.com

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