HER passion for sweet words and her strong belief in what a phrase from a poem can do within a woman's heart have pushed her to do something new and creative, using words. Nouran Shaarawy, a 28-year-old jewellery designer, has a unique style, different from other designers. She uses poetic phrases and Arabic words in her silver jewellery, studded with precious stones. Since Nouran wants to leave her imprint on the world of jewellery and be different from everyone else, she has come up with her brand ‘Manière', a French word that translates as ‘Manner'. “I love reading literature and poetry and I believe that the word has a magical effect on every person, especially women. “This has inspired me to collect phrases from poems and lyrics from classical songs that have impressed me and include them in my designs, not just to make them more attractive, but also because they give the soul ‘positive energy'. "I worked for three years as an engineer but I then shifted my career to jewellery design, as I felt that engineering didn't suit me and I couldn't express myself through it," she added in an interview with the Egyptian Mail. Nouran took a preliminary course in designing and making jewellery, then started producing simple handmade jewellery in many of the workshops in Khan el-Khalili. "I became more professional and gained a lot of experience from the craftsmen in the Khan about where to buy the precious stones and how to set them in my jewellery," she explained. Nouran started designing three years ago and, assisted by her Arabic calligraphy studies, she now manufactures jewellery that is remarkable for its perfection. She carefully chooses the words that she uses in her designs, preferring the old songs and the long-forgotten poems of Lebanon's Joubran Khalil Joubran and Mai Zyada. One of her special pieces is a necklace which includes the words ‘My heart keeps your love', a line from a song by Syrian singer Asmahan. On one earring, she has written ‘I live in you' and then ‘You live in me' on its pair. These phrases are from the love letters of Zyada and Joubran. “I also love to use other phrases, not only from songs, phrases that give women hope, such as ‘Let hope be your idea' and ‘Don't ever give up'. Nouran lets the words guide her to the design, for example on one occasion she used a sentence from the novel Serpent's Shadow by Youssef Zidan in a necklace designed like a snake. She also included the words ‘I'm free' in the necklace of a girl with her long hair flying in the air; Nouran designed this necklace days before the Egyptian Revolution, as if she were expecting something to happen. "I am delighted that many men have come to me asking for a necklace I designed including the phrase ‘I'm not a traditional woman' for their wives. “It shows that these men appreciate their women," she explained, adding that she also uses gold in her designs, if the client requests it, but she loves silver adorned with precious stones. "I make a great effort to find unique stones. Sometimes I go and buy them in other countries, if I can't find them here in Egypt." Nouran, who believes that her work ‘has a special message', holds many workshops to teach amateurs about it. To view and order Shaarawy's designs you can visit her page on Facebook Maniére Jewellery by Nouran Shaarawy.
