It all started with jealousy, said Mounaya Gallery's owner Ghada Abdelhak-Khalife laughingly. She is as warm as the gallery she has been running in Zamalek for three years with the help of her sister Rufayda and niece Rudayna selling artisan handcrafts. "I was jealous of non-famous brand boutiques abroad selling special pieces that are brand-less yet still quite unique and special in their own right. Three years on and with the showroom relocated to Zamalek's Kamil Il Tawil Street, Khalife has much to be proud of. The new showroom overlooks the Nile as feluccas serenely pass by on the waterfront. Larger with light infiltrating French windows and more open space, the new showroom is inviting to both passersby and old patrons. "I initially found the old showroom and felt comfortable in it, and started renting it without knowing what it was I was going to sell in it or how. It was a matter of the blind leading the blind in the beginning of this entire set up. Later, I contacted people, most of whom were working from home and were looking for a place to display their unique work that was not mass produced, and therefore required a small display case or two. The majority of these artisans working from home are women, and Khalife's vision for the gallery was to provide an outlet for women's creative efforts and talents. With goods ranging from jewelry, candles, house ware, clothes, to linens and handbags; Mounaya's gallery seems to have something for everyone. "I strived to provide an arrangement of items, be it something that you would buy for yourself or as a gift, and in all price ranges. In addition, I wanted it to be all female-produced products as an act of solidarity in both creativity and the objective of creating unique pieces by women. In a short span of time, Khalife was able to amass collections from a considerable number of designers from different countries in the showroom. Sarah's Bags are the creations of a young Lebanese designer who initially started her business to provide women who were once inmates with a new set of skills and a stable source of income. The style is East meets West: patent leather with Arabic calligraphy or Warhol-esque images of Om Kolthoum silkscreen printed on clutches. Each bag is meticulously handcrafted and unique, and the purchase of any item from the line is a commitment to social responsibility on the part of the wearer. Another brand carried by Mounaya is the local brand Malaika, the brainchild of two Ecuadorian women living in Cairo. Using high grade cottons and fine embroidery craftsmanship, Malaika creates bed linens and covers in addition to children's robes and lounge wear - all with an oriental touch of hand symbols, embroidered curlicues and crisp bright colors. Garnering praise in the US and UK, Malaika was a finalist in the New York Home Textiles Market Week for Best New Product award in the beds and linens category in August 2008. Maliaka too is concerned with social responsibility. It teaches women fine embroidery skills in the brand's workshop, giving them the required skills to then work from home. In doing so, Malaika's social responsibility extends to both the producer and purchaser of these fine cotton goods. Today, Mounaya sells handmade goods with a heavy dose of the - dare I use this word again - Orientalist touch, yet updated with a contemporary feel. There is nothing contrived or pretentious as one would assume when mentioning the O-word. It's now cool to want to get in touch with your roots. Khalife's vision was to take traditional crafts and elements and fuse them together. Today, Egyptian jewelry dripping with talisman symbols, Turkish "peasant flower print on scarves and blouses, as well as the copper and silver-plated hammered serving ware are bestselling items in Mounaya. Not to mention those famously recognizable tea boxes with silk embroidered covers. There is something very determined about the taste of Mounaya: to wrestle with the best of the past and bring it back with the added bonus of being hip and trendy. "Young girls aged about 16 upwards are constant customers, says Khalife's niece Rudayna. "They're taking on these very Egyptian themes in jewelry and clothes and home accessories and really absorbing it into their daily dress. "All the items in the shop have a very ethnic feel to them. It's about taking what pieces your grandmother might have passed down to you and making them function for today's use and aesthetics, said Khalife. Personal favorites are Leila Mansour's fine handmade porcelain ware. Creating and personalizing glazed ashtrays and mugs with images, she paints references to Arabic literature and language on her porcelain. Painting with the lightest of hands, there is a sense of the playfulness to every item. Yet playfulness abounds in every corner of the shop. A candle shaped as an old tarboosh with golden tassel is on sale, as is a set of Turkish coffee cups labeled ziyada, sada and mazboot, referencing how one takes their coffee in Egypt: with extra sugar, plain or just right with one sugar, respectively. "From the selection to selling, myself, sister and niece are always personally involved. We don't want to lose this sense of personal intimacy, and have strived for Mounaya to be a family-oriented place in all respects, says Khalife. Step right in and you'll feel at home, just remember to pay on your way out. And beware; you can't guarantee items will be there a week later, as I painfully learned last week. Mounaya Boutique: 14 Kamal Il Tawil St., (formerly Montazah Street), ZamalekTel: 010 888 2686; (02) 2737 7726.
