CAIRO: Amina Diab is a 21-year-old Egyptian studying history and art at the American University in Cairo (AUC). What makes her unique is that the young woman is also the founder of the newly created brand Magnolia Handbags. We caught up with her this week to know more about her designs and creative work. Amina, tell us a bit about yourself. How did you come up with the idea of creating a brand like Magnolia? In 2008, I worked in Nagada, a textile shop in Dokki and it was really inspiring. At the beginning, I started making handbags for friends and family. They were mainly patchwork handbags with any bits and pieces of material I could find nearby. I enjoyed it right from the start and every since then, I really wanted to create my own line. What is unique about Magnolia Handbags? What does it offer that other brands don't? What is most important for me is the textile itself. I have been collecting many pieces of textiles for many years now and this mix from different regions – Egypt, India, and Uzbekistan, among others – is what makes Magnolia Handbags special. For me, it is all about the mix of colors and textures together. I combine linens, silks and crochets to create my bags. Every piece is handmade and has its own unique design. How do you get inspiration for your designs? Are there certain designers or magazines you look at when creating? For inspiration I look at clothes in magazines such as Elle, Vogue or CitizenK to be aware of the season's colors and trends, but I mainly look at my own wardrobe for inspiration. Magnolia is a reflection of my own personality and sense of style. What do you like the most about your project? What is exciting about it? The whole process is exciting; starting the creation of a bag from scratch then finally seeing a girl I don't know at a party wearing my design makes me happy. Then again, collecting the material and putting it together for me is the most interesting and important part of the job. You have to have an eye for color mixing for example, and I believe this comes with practice and experience. Where do you find your customers mainly? As I mentioned earlier, I began making handbags for friends and family and by word of mouth people found out about Magnolia Handbags. Right after that, I had people calling me and joining the group I have on Facebook under the same name. It was a very exciting time because it happened so quickly. Happily Magnolia Handbags has expanded well over and I even have some customers abroad. What are you looking forward to doing over the next season? I wish to continue making unique pochettes for women to proudly carry Egyptian produce. And step by step I hope one day Magnolia Handbags will expand and begin to use local craftsmanship to support women in the country side and become an ongoing developmental project to preserve local Egyptian techniques. Finally, any advice or recommendation for those who want to follow your example? Advice for people who want to start their own line would be to be very meticulous and closely follow the people you hire because they tend to take off on their own and make little changes according to their taste, which can sometimes be disastrous. Creating a line of bags is not an easy job as I once thought it would be, it needs much time and dedication. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/uJ2ga Tags: Amina Diab, Fashion, featured, Magnolia Handbags Section: Business, Editor's choice, Egypt, Environment, Latest News
