Written by Jenna | 8 March 2024
Every year, on the 8th of March, the world celebrates the achievements of women. At Catawiki, we celebrate women who design, create and make the special objects we love.
In this interview series, we sat down with four women to hear their stories and learn about their experiences. Meet designer and maker, Mina Abouzahra.
How did you become a designer and maker? What motivated you to pursue craft and design?
Interior design was always a great love, so in 2005 I began studying at the Wood and Furniture College. During my internship with a furniture maker in Morocco, I gained an eye for all the beautiful handicrafts. I filled my suitcase with vintage hand-woven fabrics and brought them home. I combined them with Kvadrat fabric to make cushions. Thus began my fascination with mixing traditional Moroccan crafts and modern European design.
Moroccan carpets are another great love, and after years of working with female rug artisans, I wanted to deepen my knowledge.
Last year, I enjoyed a seven-month residency at a carpet weaving cooperative. For years, I felt an inexplicable urge to work with these women; to understand this specific craft and bridge the gap between European design and Moroccan craft – the two worlds I grew up in. Also, because carpet weaving is a part of their daily life, I had a desire to live among the women who did the weaving.
During the residency, I found out that my great-grandmothers were also carpet weavers. Then everything fell into place. Pursuing craft and design wasn't a rational decision, it was a decision from the heart! I didn't become it, I was born that way. It’s in my DNA.
Would you consider part of your work to be a reflection of your cultural heritage?
My parents left Morocco and moved to Holland. A week later, I was born. I grew up navigating two worlds: inside the home we had traditional Moroccan standards and values; outside the home I was adapting to Dutch society.
At an early age, I came to the realisation that there is also a third sphere: the best of both worlds. This is where any truth is legitimate, depending on the point of view. It made me inquisitive and curious.
Growing up in two worlds - the Netherlands and Morocco - has defined my approach to all of my work and is the source of inspiration for my interior style. My approach to interior and product design is a marriage between cultures, raw materials, dynamic colours, and the modern with the traditional—it defines all things I love and make. The resulting union of multiple worlds, narratives and cultures is a match made in heaven – a celebration of diversity and inclusiveness in both art and life.
How does your work represent you as a person? And as a woman?
I have been studying the traditions and skills of the weaving Amazigh community for over 10 years. Working with female-led weaving cooperatives has been years of creativity and connection, truly empowering our purpose as a woman-centred initiative.
The essence of our work is to champion the cause of female weavers, reshape the landscape of crafts-woman-ship, and honour the hands of the many women that weave these tales.
I have made new work that talks about femininity called ‘Fruits of the Loom’. It is a woven triptych about what it means to be a woman and about the transmission of culture and nature. It is the result of my residency in Morocco and my ‘One Square Meter Berber’ project. In this work I refer to how generation after generation, people make choices that may affect next generations. In the triptych femininity and fertility are a symbol of our inheritance.
Can you tell us about the women who inspired you the most?
The female weavers are masters of acceptance. From that space, they create, laugh and cry. They live from the heart and intuition. Not just the female weavers, but all women are powerful beings capable of creating, caring, and understanding.
I am also my own inspiration. It may sound crazy, but sometimes I reflect on my younger self and then look at my adult self with admiration and compassion. I think of my journey from a confused girl into a woman who created a platform for herself and other women.
How do you envision the future of your industry? How do you see yourself as an agent of change?
I learnt about the abundance of local cultures and their traditions in the modern design scene. Through my work with the female weaving cooperatives, everything fell into place: the ultimate opportunity to bring two worlds together.
By exchanging knowledge between the old and the new, the innovations of the future will help preserve the beautiful traditions of the past.
In my practice, I aim to create awareness of the plight of women carpet weavers through a collaborative art project between them and other Dutch designers. The Moroccan carpet is one of the country’s strongest and most lucrative exports, yet the women, who are the artists behind these creations, are unseen and one of the lowest paid in the crafts industry.
How do marketplaces like Catawiki help your work be seen on a global scale?
It is very important to collaborate with marketplaces like Catawiki, to share this story and create awareness about women makers and entrepreneurs. And to have multiple platforms that share our values and help us reach a wider audience.
What advice do you have for the next generation of female makers and designers with big dreams?
Stay close to your heart and persevere, don't be afraid to make mistakes.
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