S3E10 of Tatreez Talk: Beading Tatreez into Jewelry with Zeina
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One of the best things about hosting this podcast is meeting all of the incredible people doing incredible tatreez things in the world who I may not have interacted with simply because we don’t live in the same place or run in the same circles.
Zeina is one such person who I just adored getting to know through this interview.
We spoke about all things from corporate burnout to the challenges (and joys) of owning your own business to making time to express our creativity that isn’t directly for the purposes of our business but just because we feel like it.
Zeina’s work ethic, vision, and energy are exactly what you need if you’re trying to start your own small business—ready to dive into her tatreez journey?!
Episode Shownotes
ZEINA IS A JEWELRY DESIGNER AND FOUNDER OF ASHERAH JEWELLERY, DEDICATED TO CELEBRATING, PRESERVING, AND RAISING AWARENESS OF PALESTINIAN TATREEZ THROUGH HANDMADE BEADED JEWELRY (@ asherahjewelleryuk). Together, we hear about her journey as a half-Palestinian, half-Iraqi artist, growing up in a culturally rich household that shaped her creative identity.
From her family roots in Ramleh to the deep influence of her mother’s pride in their heritage, Zeina opens up about how personal history led her to launch a brand rooted in love, resistance, and storytelling.
We explore the emotional significance of her work, the fusion of beading with traditional tatreez motifs, and the power of wearable art as a way to stay connected to identity across borders. Zeina speaks candidly about the challenges of creative entrepreneurship, the evolution of her relationship with tatreez, and how she hopes to spark curiosity and pride in others through her designs. Whether you’re into embroidery, jewelry, or cultural preservation, this conversation will leave your heart full and your creativity lit up.
FYI: Zeina ships her handmade pieces to the UK, US, and Canada—so you can carry a piece of heritage wherever you are.
You’ll hear about:
>> 1:28: Zeina’s connection to Palestine
>> 4:28: Tatreez: A family affair
>> 9:33: The story behind founding Asherah Jewelry
>> 15:15: The impact of starting a culture-based business
>> 20:45: Navigating the diaspora in Jordan vs. London
>> 26:40: Relationship with tatreez now
>> 30:00: The Asherah Jewelry creation process
>> 37:01: The road ahead for Zeina
>> 39:23: Zeina’s major life lessons from tatreez
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Transcript
Amanne: Hi stitchers! Welcome to Tatreez talk, where we share conversations about Palestinian embroidery. I'm Amani here with my co-host, Lina, chatting with talented embroiderers and artists sharing their stories, inspirations, and the cultural significance behind their work.
Lina: On today's episode. We are chatting with Zeina, a jewelry designer and founder of Asherah jewelry, dedicated to celebrating, preserving, and raising awareness of Palestinian Tatreez through handmade beaded Jewelry. Welcome to Tatreez. Talk Zeina.
Zeina: Salaam. I'm so excited to be here with you.
Amanne: Amazing. You're actually have you.
Lina: Yeah, you're the 1st jewelry jeweler to have on to be on a podcast so very exciting.
Zeina: Read.
Zeina: I'm I'm.
Amanne: Yes.
Zeina: See where this conversation is. Gonna take us.
Amanne: Yes, and we'll definitely talk about your jewelry line as we kind of continue on the episode. But I will tell people like definitely check out Zena stuff. I actually, I 1st stumbled upon you through your jewelry line like God, I don't know. It's been like over a year now. I think I like originally stumbled on your work, and I was like.
Amanne: this is so beautiful and so fun, too, so I'm excited to chat a little bit about your jewelry, but before we dive into that we always like to kick off the episode by letting our listeners know a little bit more about you so could you start by sharing a little bit about you and your family's connection to Falasteen.
Zeina: Of course, so I'm half Palestinian, like Lena from my mother. My mom is from Ramleh. So, Amanne, I think you're from as well right.
Amanne: Yes, we might be cousins.
Zeina: Yeah. So my mom is from Ramleh. My dad's Iraqi, although I think he's been so pro-palestinian and he's so well intertwined with the culture. You'd think he's Palestinian himself and me being raised mostly by my mom and my mom's family in Jordan. You could say that I'm really more.
Zeina: I can relate more to my Palestinian side, to my Iraqi side in terms of history. My family, like, I said, were in Ramleh, and they were ethnically cleansed and forced to leave Ramleh in July, 1948. It's actually, if you Google, it, it's known as the Lidah and Ramleh death march
Zeina: that was overseen by Rabin himself, so they had to. My mother was 3 years 3 years old at the time, and they had to walk for a few days to reach Ramallah.
Zeina: Now my grandfather at the time, was the branch manager at one of the Arab banks, so for a period of time for about 20 years they were moving a lot. So from Ramallah they went to Gaza for a bit, and then they settled in Nablus, and then during the 1967 war again. They had to leave, and they settled in Amman Jordan. So that's where I was born. I was born
Zeina: in Amman, and my grandmother and mother never really returned. They never wanted to return as long as it was occupied.
Zeina: I never had the opportunity to visit. Unfortunately.
Lina: Well, it's not too late, Inshallah! You'll be able to return and, Inshallah, we all return to, you know, an unoccupied Palestine.
Zeina: Absolutely. Yeah.
Lina: Yeah, so you are. You are not currently in in Jordan. Now, right.
Zeina: No, I moved to London 7 years ago. It started as a job opportunity, so I moved there, had a proper burnout, left my job did. My completed my second master's degree started working. And then now I started my jewelry business a couple of years ago, so I'm a bit of a jack of all trades where I have a part time job, I do my jewelry line, and I do a bit of consulting here and there. So
Zeina: yeah, that's where I am at the moment.
Lina: Yeah, okay, we should chat after.
Amanne: Stay busy.
Lina: Yeah, cause I'm I'm curious to hear how you're juggling it all because I'm in that that limbo. I quit my job. They well, my full time job in March, and still figuring out the things
Lina: I'm I've I've also done the same as well. It was this year. Well, a year and a half ago, so not much ahead of you yet.
Lina: Well, we'll figure it out together. We'll figure it out. But before we jump into your jewelry business. I obviously want to hear about your Tatreez journey. It is Tatreez inspired. But before we get to that, how did you learn, Tatreez? How did that journey begin?
Zeina: So my grandmother.
Zeina: my mother, and my my mother and my mom's cousin are very much into Tatreez. They're very serious about it. They're very dedicated about it, and so my grandmother and mother made sure that their daughters, myself, my sister, our 1st cousins, we all learned how to do Tatreez, ever since
Zeina: we were 6 or 7 years old we would start with little projects like coasters, and then we'd work on bigger things, like maybe pillowcases or runners or wall hangings.
Zeina: and my grandmother was very insistent about this, like she would say, like every year sorry. Once we graduated she would make this big wall hanging for us, and she would threaten us, and she would say, If you stop doing, Tatreez, I'm not going to gift you this wall hanging
Zeina: so we had to show her all the time the projects that we were working.
Amanne: Hi.
Lina: To talk to her, too, because I aspire to be that woman in my family.
Zeina: Honestly show you some of her work. It's breathtaking she would. At the end of her life she started. Instead of gifting people things that she would buy. It would all be all handmade gifts, you know. So like either Quran covers or coasters, or something for the little babies. So yeah, I mean. Tatreeze has always been there with me since I was a child.
Zeina: I mean it was, I think, one way of my grandmother and my mother instilling this connection with a homeland that we've never that we have never seen or been to before. So that was one way for them to instill that passion for Palestine.
Amanne: Yeah, yeah, I mean, it's such a gift to be able to learn at such a young age, especially living in diaspora, and to learn from your grandmother, too. I'm curious like. What are some of the.
Amanne: I guess. What are some of the things that your grandmother instilled in you when it came to Tatreez. Whether it was kind of like the mindset, or even like rules that she gave you guys around Tatreez.
Zeina: Oh, my God! She was such a perfectionist, sorry, perfectionist, free.
Amanne: Love, her.
Zeina: She had to. She taught us that every stitch she had to, you know, like how one stitch had to be over another, that all of that had to be uniform. She would look at the back and make sure. You know that the back wasn't messy and all that, and and for me as a kid, it's like, just let me work on my work.
Zeina: You know. What's important is the output, not the process, but but she really did instill that in us, and to this day, whenever I do cross stitch I do. I still, despite the fact that you know, for it's no longer for me just about the output output. It's also about the process, and making sure that the front and the back are very well presented and done properly.
Zeina: I think you can relate to that a lot, Amani.
Amanne: Yes, I'm like, Oh, your your God! She is right there with me, that woman right here. We're on the same page. I love it.
Zeina: Be it so.
Amanne: And so it was.
Amanne: Maybe it is. I think you know what rumbling women are a little crazy, and it's the best way possible.
Amanne: And so it was like, kind of a family affair. It seems like like that is being as a family. Is that something that you guys are still, like you guys still do that as a family, I know. Obviously. Now you live in London, so you might not be as close physically with everyone. But is that something that you guys are still able to do when you're together?
Zeina: Ever since my grandmother's passing.
Zeina: sadly. That's not the case, I mean, whenever we could. I mean actually, now that you mention it. My nephew recently got married, actually on Christmas Day, and the day before my grandmother, my mother, was teaching his, her, her, his wife, how to do Tatreez, so she's from Al-khalil.
Zeina: She never.
Zeina: Trees, and so my mother was teaching her how to do it
Zeina: so, and she all the items and all the pieces, so that they can go when they go back to the States that she can do it. But apart from that, I think all the things that was really my grandmother, who was the
Zeina: the one who unified us towards the trees.
Amanne: Yeah, yeah, no. I hear that. I I think that's so cute that your mom taught your cousin's wife how to tell it. Also Khalili Tatreez is so I love like Khalili designs and motifs like Khalili and Gazawi, like designs, are like probably my 2 favorites.
Amanne: so okay, let's get into your jewelry line because it is inspired by can you start by kind of just like, well, I guess, first, st because we were talking about this a little bit before we started recording. Can you talk to us about the name of your brand and the meaning behind it?
Zeina: Sure. So I was looking for a name for my jewelry. And like you, said Amani, it was also based a lot it is based on. And my mission for starting this whole business is because I wanted to showcase our beautiful folk art, and I wanted to increase awareness about it. Not many people are aware of Palestinian Cross Stitch.
Zeina: and I also wanted a way to document it and to preserve it. So when I was trying to find a name. I was like reading about the history of Tatreez, and I was seeing how you know. Some people say it was going back to thousands of years, possibly during Canaanite times.
Zeina: They were also saying how female dominated it is, and that is done by mostly women. And so I was trying to find something that would connect all of this. And then I came across the name Asherah.
Zeina: and I found out that Asherah used to be the mother goddess during the Canaan period, and she's a Canaan goddess. And then I thought, Well, it has a nice ring to it. She's the mother goddess. So, girl power right there. Then you have, you know, going back to Canaan period. So I thought it was a great way to encompass everything about Tatreez and my jewelry line as well. So that's why I decided on the name.
Amanne: Amazing.
Lina: And and so how did so? How did this whole thing start, though? Where did you get? Where did you get inspired to begin the business.
Zeina: It started during a very bad period in my life. 2 years ago I was having visa problems in London. I didn't even know at the time whether I was going to move back to Jordan or not within a month, you know it was. It was a very bad period in my life, and whenever I'm going through a traumatic period in my life
Zeina: I have to do something with my hands. I can't just sit still. I need to do something I need to take my mind away from whatever is that's causing the trauma. And so
Zeina: I decided to settle on bead looming because it caught my eye. I've done knitting before wasn't great at that tried other forms of I tried Islamic art. Wasn't that great at that? But then I saw that the bead looming was perfect. It was
Zeina: relatively straightforward for me, and so I started doing it. And whenever I would go on Youtube and they would be discussing, you know, like how to make the design, what colors to use. And then they were talking about. You know what styles to use like what was French deco, or whatever, and it didn't really resonate with me. I mean, with all due respect, that French deco it just.
Zeina: I can't relate to it, and I've always liked jewelry that I can relate to. And then, while I was looking at the loom, I realized that the underlying grid is very similar, or exactly the same as to trees. And I'm like.
Zeina: actually, why don't I try to use Palestinian cross stitch patterns on the bracelets that I make, and see how it goes. And so I had a couple of books here with me in London, and so I started going through them. I chose a couple of patterns and voila! That's how it started
Zeina: all out of a bad period in my life.
Lina: Sometimes good things come out of the bad, though so.
Zeina: Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. So that's how it started, really. And I showed my mother what I was working on. And
Zeina: she absolutely loved it. And then I started experimenting with more and more patterns. And then I started, you know, when I was doing Tatreez, when my grandmother taught me Tatreez. I never really delved into the names of the patterns where they come from their origins, whereas with this it became another learning opportunity for me to start getting to know Tatreez
Zeina: in a more rooted way because I started seeing. Gosh! These patterns have names, these patterns have meanings. They have a history. There's an origin to them. And so so that's why I got even more into it. And that's how I developed this healthy obsession.
Lina: I love that you call.
Amanne: We can relate.
Lina: Yes.
Amanne: Yeah.
Lina: Amazing.
Zeina: It is. It is. It is a healthy obsession. It is going somewhere. Yeah, thank God, it's no day.
Lina: No, totally totally okay. So you started playing around in your free time for yourself. And then when did you decide to make this a business and start sharing it with the rest of the world.
Zeina: It was in Amman when I was trying to show my pieces to a jeweler in Amman, and he was the one who gave me like this tough talk. And he's like, Zeina. This is either going to be a business or very expensive hobby. You need to choose.
Zeina: Sorry.
Zeina: So that's when I said, Okay, you know what?
Zeina: I've had. My. I'm almost 40. So my midlife crisis kind of hit early for me. And I'm like, I don't want to live all my life, and only start living and doing what I love. When I retire I want to start doing it earlier than that. So let me just go ahead and start this business. I'll learn a lot. I'll give myself 2 to 3 years. We'll see how things are going.
Zeina: If it doesn't work. I'll just go back to a full time job, and that's it. But I mean, let me try and and just put my heart and mind and effort into this, and see where it goes, because it's either now or never. I'm not going to wait until I'm 65 to do this.
Lina: Yes, yes. Oh, my goodness, okay, well, you are in good company, and I are big fans of this approach and mindset. I love it, and I'm so happy that you took the plunge. Well, so how is it going? Because from from where I'm sitting you're doing awesome. I love the content that you're putting out there. I love the the jewelry that you're creating, and you're able to kind of give a little piece of Palestine to your customers.
Lina: How's it going? How's the reception been? Who are the types of people who are interested? What kinds of conversations does it open up like? Tell us all the things about how it's going.
Zeina: It's honestly I it's been such a learning experience. I think. This period. Then I started my business. I think I've grew
Zeina: personally. My! My character has grown so much during this one and a half years of me doing this than having a corporate job for 10 years.
Zeina: because when you have a corporate job. There's 1 thing that you're supposed to do, and that's it, whereas with this you wear so many hats, you have to be the accountant. You have to be the marketer. You have to be the sales, you have to be the wholesaler, you have to be everything. And so it's been a fantastic journey so far, and it's also I'm not the one who I'm quite the introvert. I'm the type of person who, if I see you across the street. If you're someone, if I see you in front of me, I'm going to cross the street to avoid you.
Amanne: Whereas when I have to. Now that I have my business, I can't do that, I have to sit and talk to people, you know, especially in markets. I can't. If someone approaches me, I can't just go and hide under the table. I need to sit and talk to people.
Zeina: And I realized, you know what it's not that bad. I can survive this. And actually I can enjoy it. And so I think I could say with mark markets have been the best experience for me, because with a lot of times, so
Zeina: mark when I'm in London, I think this is something that you, said, Amani, before you're aggressively Palestinian.
Amanne: I became a when I moved to London.
Zeina: Yes, when I moved to London. So whenever I have markets, you know, I purposely show them that this is a Palestinian stall, you know it's either I have the flag or I'm wearing the kuffiyeh. So I, you know, and a lot of people are curious. They come and they talk, and I describe to them. You know, I'm telling them about the reason why I started this business. And then I start discussing telling them about the bracelets where they're from the history of the village or the history of the city, the history of the pattern, its meaning
Zeina: a lot of times, you know. It was so emotional for people that they started crying, and even though that was never my intention.
Amanne: Yeah.
Zeina: But it seems like for a lot of people it's it has. It's both educational and emotionally stirring for them. And so I think whenever I'm having a hard time with my business, I mean, it's a small business, after all. Sometimes you're not doing very well sometimes it's fantastic like Christmas was fantastic. Other times it's not going so well.
Zeina: It's those encounters that are the ones that drive want to make me continue what I'm doing, because I know that I'm not just creating jewelry for the sake of creating jewelry, and especially since
Zeina: since the since October 7, th and the uprising of October 7th and the genocide that ensued.
Zeina: I think it's been very important for me to put Palestine as the center of the conversation.
Zeina: and that that's what I do whenever I do have markets is that I try to tell people and center the conversation about Palestine and what's happening there.
Zeina: So that's markets have been good in terms of what next steps for me are is that I want to start and try to infiltrate markets and shops in London. So in about 2 weeks. I'm taking a part of something called top Drawer, and it's a business to business exhibition, and that's the time where I'm going to
Zeina: start talking to businesses. See if I can have my pieces stocked at their shops, because I think it's after a year and a half of doing business to customer. Now I want to try business to business and see how that goes.
Amanne: Totally. And you know what you're talking about. As far as like, you know people when you're explaining to them the meaning behind your designs and their emotions. You know we often talk about. I think Lina and I also talk about with people the fact that, like and art in general. It's this way, especially for non-palestinians. It's a non-intimidating way
Amanne: for them to begin to understand Palestine and Palestinians. So I'm not surprised that people have that reaction. But I'm also glad to hear that they have that reaction, that they're like moved by it.
Amanne: How are you know? How are Palestinians versus non Palestinians responding to your work?
Zeina: With Palestinians. I don't have to explain it. You can just see it in their eyes, you know. They look at it, and sometimes a lot of people will come. And they're like, is this Tatreez, you know. They look at the patterns, and they're like we saw the patterns we recognize. This is Tatreez, is this, I'm like, yes, you know.
Zeina: you know you can see the spark in their eye. You don't have to explain anything, whereas with non-palestinians I kind of have to dig deeper. I have to explain what Tatreez is. Why is it significant? And that's how I need to. That's how I make them connect to it, that I have to use more the emotional aspect rather than the logical aspect for them to understand and to create that connection.
Amanne: and also, I'm curious too. This goes back to what you mentioned a little earlier. But obviously like, you grew up in amman, now you're living in London. You practice deities as far as stitching, and you incorporate deputies into your jewelry work. I'm curious how I guess it's a twofold question. The 1st part is, How is living in diaspora, in the Arab world, like in Jordan
Amanne: versus living in diaspora, in the western world, as you are in London. How has that changed your relationship to your policy and identity? And then, the second part being like, since you started doing your Tiffany's inspired jewelry? Has that also changed your relationship with your policy and identity?
Zeina: I love these questions.
Zeina: I think I would say in Amman
Zeina: I recognized I was Palestinian, but it's like you're going with the flow. You know the majority of people around you are Palestinian. You're not really standing out of the crowd. Whatever you say isn't going to be misinterpreted. And so.
Amanne: So.
Zeina: It's okay. Yeah, there there was not. I didn't have to. I wasn't standing out. I wasn't less standing out like a sore thumb
Zeina: when I moved to the Uk. It's the opposite. So it in the okay. So I had to moving to the Uk. There was
Zeina: less sexism that I had to deal with and more racism. And
Zeina: it's more sexism, more less racism, more sexism.
Zeina: Yeah.
Zeina: I knew how to deal with the sexist sexism, part of things. I, the racism part for me, was quite new.
Zeina: I've experienced racism in my job. It's part of the reason why I got burnout at the time. I didn't understand. It was racism, because I didn't know what it is, but after realizing what it was
Zeina: I, I became more aggressively Palestinian. You know that I think that's
Zeina: That's the Virgo in me speaking, I'm very, you know. Like, if if you tell me one thing I'm gonna do the other, you know. So if you're gonna tell me Palestine and Arabs are bad, I'm gonna be even more Arab and more Palestinian, you know. So.
Amanne: I love that.
Zeina: That's.
Amanne: As a Virgo rising. I approve.
Zeina: Exactly. And so, and especially like if you look at me.
Zeina: I don't present as Arab. Even people in Jordan think I'm palest. I'm either French or German. I unfortunately was born in the wrong skin suit. I don't look at.
Amanne: That's a very funny way to put it.
Zeina: So that even made me more adamant, that I want to show everyone that I am Palestinian, you know, and that's how that's why I became more aggressively Palestinian, and with my big mouth sometimes that would land me in hot water. But that's fine. That's completely fine. So that that's my experience of living as a Palestinian and diaspora in Amman versus in London. So in Amman, again, there's not much.
Zeina: There's not much. Everyone's Palestinian, mostly mostly Palestinians. Anger. The Jordanian society, half the Palestinian. There's a big population Palestinian population present in Jordan, so you don't really stick out where. And and you know you can voice your support for certain resistance factions. That's fine in London, you cannot.
Zeina: So yeah, these are the differences that I faced now in terms of my bead looming. I was also at the time when I was when all this trauma that happened to me. I was also facing a big identity crisis as well.
Zeina: Because I've been spending 5 years in in London, and once you once you move, it's like you become neither here nor there. So I'm not exactly. I don't feel exactly settled in London, but it's also now, if I go back to Jordan, it's still very hard for me to to fit in
Zeina: after what I've experienced in London, so I was neither here nor there. I'm in London. I don't feel like I'm welcomed in London. I don't feel like I'm from there. I go back to Jordan. Also. I have to be in my own bubble for me to feel home. So with that identity crisis. Going back to and going back to this. This, my roots. The history kind of made me
Zeina: take a deep breath, make me feel rooted.
Zeina: and gave gave me the identity that I was looking for.
Zeina: So I think that's what Tatreez really did offer me that security, that sense of
Zeina: that sense of self identity being comfortable with my identity. So I hope those 2 that that my answers
Zeina: answered your questions.
Lina: Oh, so good, so good! I mean, all of that resonates 100% with both of us. I know we're always Amani and I are always curious to the like the experience kind of growing up in diaspora in the Arab world versus the West, you know, primarily because we haven't really experienced that ourselves. I spent time in the Gulf. But it's different. And
Lina: for someone who doesn't like speak the language, and you know, it's just. It's very different of an experience. But there's something about this being disconnected from Philistine, and knowing that you're Palestinian, it doesn't matter if you end up in Rahman. If you end up in London, if you end up in the Us like.
Lina: it causes this, I guess rupture in your identity, and like time and time and time. Again, a guest after guest who comes onto this, podcast you hear the same thing is the thing that helps you kind of feel whole while everything else is.
Lina: you know, a mess in your mind or in your heart, and I think that's so powerful. Tatreez was able to do that for you, even if it's not necessarily through the traditional needle and thread, but through beading, which is, which is so cool. I'm curious about a little bit about your practice with Tatreez. Now, do you do any more stitching in particular? Now, how do you think about new designs in your beading just more from like a creative standpoint. What is your relationship with Tatreez now.
Zeina: So given that this is a small business that I'm running by myself. Unfortunately, I don't have time to go back to, because this is, I gave up a 9 to 5 job for a 24, 7 job
Amanne: We can understand that.
Lina: Yeah, I know.
Zeina: I don't have like I don't. I don't know what a weekend is anymore. I don't have that. So I do miss it. I miss creating, you know, like I recently moved to a new house, and I'm looking at the wall, the empty walls, I mean. I filled some of it with my grandmother's work, but it's not enough. It doesn't fill everything. And I'm thinking to myself, you know, I catch myself talking to myself. Yes, a runner would work here, and then I you know, I'd have to jump back to reality and say, No, you don't have time for this.
Zeina: Let's be real. So unfortunately, at this given moment in my business I can't go back to. But who knows if my business grows? If I start hiring artists to start helping me with this. I would love to go back to it, because it does provide that serenity, and also that reconnection with my grandmother, who passed.
Amanne: Yeah, yeah, it's interesting. I was talking about this with a few fellow Palestinian entrepreneur friends who I've made and.
Lina: Their advice to me was, Why don't you just carve out 1 HA week? That's just for you. It's not for the business. It's not because it's hard. When your business is also kind of a creative outlet. It is difficult to kind of find that time. But what if it's just 1 HA week that you dedicate. And it's a day that's usually slow. It's
Lina: whatever. And it's just 1 h. And you don't like no distractions. No phone, no TV, nothing. Just you allow yourself to have that creative outlet. And even if that runner takes you like 3 years, it's fine. But you'll have made progress every hour that week.
Zeina: I love that because, like you said, then we get, we get swept away, and we have to be conscious about the breaks that we take for? Oh, I love that. Okay.
Lina: Yeah, yeah, because I. So I feel like one of the things that I reflect on in this past year in particular, is how for me has felt very liberating, like it's gotten me away from my full time job. It's it's my creative outlet all these things. But I think it's also a way to kind of maintain like no, no burnout like to help sustain you. So instead of like burning out from this hopefully, you can look at it as a way to to kind of just release that energy.
Zeina: I'm gonna do that. Oh, I'm gonna.
Lina: That's cute.
Lina: I love this stuff, this this kind of stuff makes me so happy. So I love these conversations.
Zeina: Oh, I can. So I can start actually thinking about the runner that I want to make, isn't it? Oh, yes.
Amanne: See this.
Lina: Yeah, there, you go.
Amanne: There you go now, now, we're gonna be expecting updates on this runner.
Lina: Pm.
Amanne: We'll hold you accountable.
Lina: You'll see.
Amanne: You can text us or Instagram.
Zeina: Yeah, this is what I'm doing. I manage 50 stitches.
Lina: Yeah, that's all it is, that's all. Honestly, that's all. It a lot. Yeah.
Amanne: Exactly, exactly.
Zeina: Thank you.
Amanne: So when it comes to like the jewelry making. I'm interested in understanding like, what right now is. Your creative process is like from design to execution and completion.
Zeina: So what I do is that I usually have 2 collection drops a year. I have my spring, summer, and I have my winter, a fall and winter, and every whenever I do these collection drops, I focus on a specific area. So I have, like a Ramallah collection and stud collection Khalil collection, and so on. And the reason why I want to do that is that I want to raise
Zeina: awareness for people about each of those areas. And it's also quite educational for me, because I have to do a lot of research about the city or the village that I chose. Try to understand their history. Try to understand. You know, the colors, the patterns that we use. So it's a learning lesson for me, but I also try to summarize it for my customers as well. So
Zeina: let's see. So I I usually what I do is that I start with an area that I wanna focus on or highlights. And, let's say.
Zeina: do I need to? Should I break the surprise? No, I already that I want to do for my upcoming spring and summer collection. So I was doing a lot of research on that. I stole a couple of books from my mom and my recent visit to Jordan. I have some of my resources here. So I do the research at first, st and then I start looking at the patterns that they have, and whether
Zeina: these patterns have meanings. If there's a lovely meaning that I can incorporate into the pattern that I have, and what in terms of the colors, I try to do
Zeina: 2 main color themes. So my spring summer collection is the vibrant color ones. My fall winter collection is the toned down neutral colors.
Zeina: So that's how I go about it. And that's how I decide in the colors the colors come after. I decide on which patterns that I want and which city that I want.
Zeina: It's usually a long process, because I do come up with several patterns, and I have to test and retest the everything, because even the beads themselves they have different finishes, so some are matted, some have a shine, some are transparent, some have like a they're different. So whatever you envision, the beads sometimes don't match what you envision. So there's a lot.
Amanne: Yeah.
Zeina: Experimentation, and seeing whether this works with my customers or not.
Zeina: The more I do this, the more I realize that my target base they don't really love
Zeina: very strong colors like.
Zeina: or vibrant fuchsia. So I have to. That's the reason why some of even the vibrant colors that I have are bit toned down, because that's the client base that I have.
Zeina: That's it in a nutshell. But yeah, I mean.
Zeina: should I tell you about one of my interesting patterns.
Amanne: Yes, yes, you should.
Zeina: This one, if you can see that one. This patch.
Amanne: Yes.
Zeina: Called amir.
Amanne: We'll show pictures.
Zeina: This one's called amulets, and it's from Khalil Khalid was my Winter and fall collection, and I loved adding it because I didn't even know that we had amulets in our in our patterns, and apparently when I was reading about it.
Zeina: the women would sew the amulets onto their dresses. They usually come in triangular format, and they would purposely make either mistakes or use different colors on their dresses, so that the women won't be attracted to their dresses, and cause the, you know, unleash the evil eye.
Amanne: Yes.
Zeina: Love that you know it's like, Oh, my God! And you know, whenever I tell customers like, oh, this is meant to be an ambulance, and they're like, Oh, I need it. I need some protection. It was like.
Lina: Do you so then do you also put in a little bit of mistakes in those amulets.
Zeina: Thought about it.
Lina: Or are you? Are you too, Virgo? Because I'm Virgo, too, and I understand.
Amanne: Very cool.
Zeina: And my grandmother. I I like I think she would come and haunt me in my dreams if I make a mistake, so
Zeina: I mean. I thought about it, Lena. I decided. No, I can't. I can't.
Lina: You're so funny. And I also, I'm I'm just gonna tell you, I your structure of like 2 launches a year. Winter fall springs like I that is giving my Virgo brain so.
Amanne: Yeah, seriously.
Lina: So much peace. I love it so much structure. I love it.
Zeina: I tell a lot of people that doing this loom is a way for me to unleash my OCD. In a healthy way, that it's going.
Amanne: Yes.
Lina: So good.
Amanne: Yeah, so.
Lina: Oh, good!
Amanne: Oh, my God, that's so funny! Because I always like, you know, I always tell people like we know I'm a little obsessive about my backs and neatness and all that stuff. But I also tell people I'm like, but it brings me joy. The craziness brings me. If it doesn't bring you joy, then don't worry about it like whatever makes you happy, but like it makes me happy, and I think it's the same thing. It's like it's my way to unleash my ocd-ness in a healthy way, healthy with quotation marks
Zeina: It's better that than unleashing it on on. If you're living with your husband, and he's not an Ocd. Person or your cat. This is good.
Amanne: Exactly. Exactly. So. Okay, I know you. You don't have necessarily the time right now, although we we seem to find a solution for you to get your stitching in. Have you incorporated or thought about incorporating beaded work into like your traditional.
Zeina: That's what my mom is doing.
Zeina: Awesome.
Amanne: Circle.
Amanne: I wouldn't do bad.
Zeina: My mom is doing cross stitch on clothing. And once she started seeing me doing bead, you know the beading and things like that she started incorporating beadwork into her her. And honestly, it looks so pretty I love. I should show you something. Unfortunately, I don't have any of her work. So this is she made this, but at.
Amanne: The time.
Zeina: She didn't do the whole beads, but she would.
Zeina: but with beads, and it would look so pretty because it would shimmer, you know, like.
Amanne: Yeah.
Zeina: Yeah. So so yeah, she she's doing that. But it once. Once. See? I didn't say, if once I get back to to threes. I will start doing.
Amanne: Oh, my God, yeah, I I really want to learn. So I can do that because I've seen other like different types of embroidery that incorporate beading, and it's so beautiful. And then seeing your jewelry, that's all beaded, I'm like oh, the combination of the 2 would be insane. Oh, alright! Alright. I I can't wait to see what you come up with.
Zeina: I'll keep you posted.
Lina: So many.
Lina: so many projects to do, so many projects to do. Okay, so what? What is kind of next for your journey? I mean we have some ideas floating around. We like, maybe, for your business, like what's kind of upcoming for spring summer without any spoilers. Of course.
Zeina: I'm so
Zeina: I'm taking 2 months off from doing markets so that I can hone in my jewelry making skills because I would like to introduce
Zeina: a different kind of so I I do make beaded earrings. But I want to start making hoops.
Zeina: That incorporate Palestinian Tatreez.
Zeina: No.
Zeina: have. You know I've not a I'm not a jeweler. I didn't even study that. I never. I didn't study jewelry, had nothing to do with that. You know.
Amanne: I was.
Zeina: I studied business and behavioral economics. So I need to learn and find ways where I can start making those beaded hoops so that I can incorporate into them and introduce them in my next collection hopefully. That's why there are no markets. I need to start. Use this period just to experiment, and upskill and upskill, as well.
Lina: So good and okay, I know you do the markets. But do you sell internationally like, do you ship.
Zeina: I do. I do. I do ship to the Us. And Canada. I used to ship to Europe, but, thanks to brexit they introduced a certain law that makes it hard for small businesses to ship to Europe. So that's on pause. Unfortunately, yeah, it's on hold, unfortunately, until I find a way around. Those new regulations. But yes, I do ship to the Us. And Canada.
Amanne: Amazing. Well, hopefully, you know, I would love to see your work in some stores internationally, too. Once once you conquer the Uk retail spaces. We gotta get you over here to North America.
Zeina: I'd love that. I'd love that I'd love that. Yes, absolutely. I mean right now, like you said, I'm trying to focus on the Uk. Once I get over that hurdle, the Us. And Canada would be my next. My next target.
Amanne: Yeah.
Amanne: all right. Well, we're excited to see the next steps. I'm very excited about the hoops, too, because I am definitely a hoop girl, so I will be on the lookout for those. So they know. We always like to ask people what is a major life lesson that you have gained from these.
Zeina: I think plenty. I can't hone it down to one. So one of the.
Amanne: Oh, you can share as many as you'd like.
Zeina: I think one of them is mindfulness and being present. Because it's such a repetitive movement.
Zeina: And I've I've noticed that as I become like as a child. I didn't do this, but more as an adult, I started to be able to sync. You know the breathing with the act of. So, you know, like there's a certain
Zeina: mindfulness, and and, you know, taking breath out. So that's lovely. I think Tatreez was also a form. I mean. Now for me. It's a form of connection with my ancestors, you know, with my grandmother, with my mother, with all the other people who who cross stitch in my family, and I think it also in a way, I mean, it's because of Tatreez that I'm doing what I'm doing right now, and why? Why my character has developed so much over the years. So I think what the role that
Zeina: Katrina's played in my life is multifaceted, and I'm so grateful.
Lina: Oh, so good! I love this so beautiful and so true! All of those
Lina: are so true. Thank you so much for joining us today. I know we so appreciate your time. How can the people follow you and get in touch? And, you know, be in the know when these hoop earrings drop.
Zeina: I think this is where my age is gonna show. I hate social media. I don't understand. Tick, tock. I don't understand
Zeina: the other one? What is it called?
Lina: Oh, my! Gosh!
Zeina: But I do have an Instagram page, and I noticed that if I need, if I need to like, I need to choose one. I, I told myself, I need to choose one, so I chose Instagram, so I do.
Amanne: There!
Zeina: It's Asherah jewelry. Uk, so you can follow me there. I also have my website. And that's where I basically will announce the hoop earrings. It's my Instagram and my website. I don't have any other social media outlet. Thank God. And yeah, that's how you can reach me.
Lina: Amazing. And actually for our listeners. You actually post some really cool educational content on Instagram, too. So you're doing okay.
Zeina: It's taken me a while. It's taking me a while to start understanding how to use Instagram to my advantage. I'm not willing to learn about the other ones.
Amanne: That's fair. That's fair.
Lina: Totally.
Amanne: Honestly, I also feel like Instagram is where most of the community is. And it's
Amanne: yeah. I love scrolling on Tiktok. Don't get me wrong. But I feel like when it comes to like finding community and connecting with people. Instagram, I feel like is a little better, especially for the world. So
Amanne: yeah, I I hear you on that girl. I I work. My background is in marketing, and like social media, has always been a part of my job, and I can bust out social media strategy, I can tell you, like all the things to do. But when it comes to me actually doing it. Oh, I'm horrible! Lina! Lena, you're really good at it, like
Amanne: good afternoon.
Lina: It's draining, and it's.
Amanne: Yes.
Lina: Yeah, it's hard.
Amanne: It is. It's hard. It's hard. But you're doing amazing. Dana.
Amanne: Yeah, both of you are doing a fantastic job. Any kudos to you.
Amanne: Thank you. Thank you. Well, we love having you on. This was like such an amazing conversation. We love your work. We can't wait for people to continue to see the like next iteration of your work, and of course we will share all the links that you mentioned, so people can check out your stuff and follow you.
Amanne: And we'll have to chat again as you continue to develop and innovate on your your line. And we have to see that table runner. We're gonna hold you accountable.
Zeina: Thank you. No pressure. Thank you very much, ladies.
Amanne: That was such a lovely conversation with Dana. I am so glad we finally got her on the podcast she is a doll, and I really love the fact that.
Amanne: you know she's been able to take the traditional practice of techniques and innovate it into a different medium. It's something that I personally love like I've done it with photography, and I honestly am trying to learn to do it with more things. So anytime I see another Palestinian artist do that. Whether it's digitizing or jewelry like she's doing it's always really cool and interesting, and I think it also speaks to the fact that, like.
Amanne: You know, Tatreez, is this
Amanne: very powerful art form that can go much, much further than just needle and thread, which I think we say that all the time, but it's just it's nice to see it. In practice in different ways.
Lina: Yeah. And I think for me, the thing that just keeps repeating itself over and over and over again is, you can come as your whole entire self, regardless of whether it's felt conflicting in the past, or, you know, you know, like it just doesn't make sense to you. It doesn't matter is kind of like that home that you can always rely on, and
Lina: just be yourself, no matter. And also, no matter how you've kind of changed as well over your lifetime. So I just love that. She explained it so so beautifully, and how Tatreez has kind of shown up for her, and how it's made her helped her connect to her grandmother. And just all the things are so beautiful.
Amanne: Yeah, I also, you know, I thought it was also interesting that. She had mentioned the fact that
Amanne: even though she has been stitching Tatreez since she was what 6 years old, I think she had mentioned like doing the jewelry and doing Tatreez inspired jewelry has actually like deepened her knowledge. About Tatreez and kind of forced her to learn more. So, you know again, it's like
Amanne: the deeper you get into
Amanne: this practice, the deeper the obsession becomes, and the more knowledge you gain, like, you know, we always say this like you can never. You never have enough knowledge about the fees. You're never like
Amanne: a quote unquote master, because there's always things to learn. And also just the fact that, like it is this it is this tool for her for non Palestinians. Specifically to learn more about Palestine. You know, which is always very, very important. Very important work to be doing.
Lina: 100% 100%. And I think also to the knowledge point as well, it's it's also helping all of us kind of learn more about Palestine, not just like the
Lina: of, or the different, like motifs and patterns. It's it's a lot more than that. We're learning about our people, you know, and our and our ancestors
Lina: upstairs, and I think that's so so powerful, oh, so good. I love these conversations
Lina: all right. Well, listener, thank you so much for listening to another episode of Tatreez talk. We want to hear about your Tatreez journeys, so please please share your stories with us at Tatreeztalk@gmail.com. And we might just have you on an upcoming episode. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite listening platform and be sure to leave a five-star review. You can follow me @linasthobe and Amanne, @minamanne and of Course follow the podcast at @tatreeztalk. We will talk to you soon.
