Bedouin Jewellery

All the galabeya dresses I buy to recycle into bags come from local Bedouin ladies living in my neighborhood.

One particular Bedouin lady I visit, her elderly mother usually comes out of the house to sit on a rug near to me.  She is very polite and always asks if I am happy and healthy.  I always ask the same of her.  I feel the inquiry is genuine.

The old lady has shown me some of her personal  jewellery.  I particularly like the ankle bracelet she wears.

Women wear a range of jewellery that represents the family wealth.

I did a little bit of research regarding ankle jewellery.  Apparently some bracelets are hallow and they fill them with small stones to make a noise.  The rattle of the stones also has a practical side, the men of the family can hear where the women are and a stranger would be warned of her approach.  Of course this harks back to when the family lived a nomadic lifestyle in the Sinai desert.

A beautiful bag

Here's the finished bag I blogged about the other day "Good things take time".

I fall in love with all my bags but I am a little fickle and my love is easily forgotten when I create the next new bag.

But I think this time it is real love.  I will never forget this bag, it will always be the one that got away.

Fortunately the new owner is lovely and so I am happy to see it go to a "forever home" where it will be loved and cherished.



Bron
xx

Good things take time

Where does inspiration come from?  I usually let the design details of the original galabeya dress do the talking.  I tell my customers, the galabeya dress speaks to me.

This galabeya dress has the most beautiful colour combination of green, teal and blue.  The horizontal and vertical black stripes dictate a rectangle shape bag (in my opinion)

.

The unique bead detail make this a real stunner.

Gorgeous cluster of beads 

Before I can start making a bag, I have to give the panels some tender loving care to strengthen and reinforce the areas that will feature in the bag.  Repairing and mending is just part of the process toward obtaining a gorgeous one-of-a-kind bag.  As they say, good things take time.

Come back soon to see the finished bag.  You'll not be disappointed!

Happy Eid

Eid Muburak!

Today there is a buzz on the streets of Dahab.  Bedouin children of the area are taking over the supermarkets and bazaars spending Eid money on sweets and toys.  The boys buy plastic guns and fire works while the girls like to buy sparkly hair accessories and plastic jewellery.  The girls also decorate their hands with henna dye.

Henna dipped hands of Bedouin girls celebrating Eid

Bedouin girls like to henna their hands on very special occasions such as Eid, weddings and any other special parties to look attractive and eye-catching.

These young girls have also improvised with modern marker pens to make flower designs.  They were very happy to show them off and have their personal works of art photographed.

Bron
xxx