Shopping? Buy Made in Egypt

[Winged Isis]

Shopping? Buy Made in Egypt
Time to shop? If you’re running out of ideas for gifts or something unique for yourself, try buying Made in Egypt; here’s Ahram Online’s list
Ahram Online, Thursday 16 Aug 2012

While international stores seem to have everything you’re looking for in terms of style and products, occasionally boredom sets in. And when you go to Cairo’s Khan El Khalili market to buy yourself Arab-style home decorations, disappointingly, many things are stamped: “Made in China.” And while Egyptian cotton is famous, worldwide, anyone living in Egypt knows that it gets exported.

Here is Ahram Online’s starting point for unique, Egyptian items.

Nefertari: 100 per cent natural beauty products:

It’s Nefertari’s pleasure to (re)introduce to Egyptians 100 per cent natural oils, creams and other products. Every piece of every product is made in Egypt – even the containers!

Chahira Adel, the owner, is committed to all-natural, all-Egypt, which makes the items more expensive than the mass-produced, sweat-factory counterparts, yet are far cheaper than L’Occitane products, which, by the way, do not adhere completely to all-natural. Adel has become a sort of go-to person for advice on what natural products are good to help common problems.

The wide product supply line includes, among many things: natural eye-lining kohl, lip balms, olive oil soaps, lavender massage oil, a good variety of scrubs, Moroccan mud, gift sets and baby products.

Although you can shop the Nefertari website online and they deliver, there are shops in all major Cairo districts: Maadi, Zamalek, Dokki, Giza, downtown, 6th of October, City Stars (Nasr City) - not to mention Alexandria and El-Gouna.



Designer’s Boutique Catalogue:

For the most part, the catalogue highlights Egyptian designers. It’s an opportunity for the locals to get their products known outside of the fairs circuit.

Some of the more eye-catching items include Bedouin-embroidered I-Pad covers, Japanese-Egyptian designer, Aya Sugita’s gold-plated earrings; Gazelle hot-in-season neon clutches and Arab-inspired candle sets.

Pick up their catalogues in any of the shops (see Designer’s Boutique site for locations), call them up with your order and they deliver.



Cotton, textiles, designers and furniture

Malek Luxurious Home Linens manufacturers Egyptian cotton products to sell internally.

Shubra-based El-Malah Weaving Company has been manufacturing since 1949.

Road 9 in Maadi has both a woven carpet shop, mostly with the geometric, bright Upper Egypt designs as well as two or three shops selling wood tables, shelves and can custom-make mashrebeyya furniture on the spot.

Check out some local designers that you can contact directly: Deana Shaaban, Zeina Hosni.

The Made in Egypt website might satisfy your curiosity about what else is made in Egypt.


http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent ... Egypt.aspx

[Winged Isis]

Nina Shawki Collection: An Egyptian-made bedding option
Amany Aly Shawky
Tue, 06/03/2012 - 12:59

As consumers become keen to buy Egyptian-made products, designers have gained confidence and several small, local fashion and textile business ventures have flourished.

Among the up-and-coming names in home textiles is Nina Shawki, who, beyond focusing on beautiful designs, has tried to keep her bedding line affordable as well.

“My business started in 2007 through a Facebook page,” says Shawki, who has completed an education in applied arts and fashion design. She now displays and sells her products through the Egyptian online boutique, StyleTreasure.com.

“It all started with the discovery of my son’s allergy to synthetic fibers,” says the business owner.

Because of her personal ordeal, the young mother started her own line of cotton beddings after establishing a workshop in Bahr al-Baqar, followed by two more in Shubra and Alexandria.

“Eighty-five percent of the fabrics used are local,” says Shawki. Her fabrics vary between cotton, linen and satin.

In the last few years, many designers for bedding sets and linen appeared in the Egyptian market, presenting good-quality sheets with creative and modern designs. However, creativity comes with a cost. Most of the young bedding designers, unfortunately, are beyond the financial reach of the majority of consumers. Custom-made bedding is for those who can afford to pay twice or even triple the original price.

Linen options are limited. The consumer is caught between paying twice for an Egyptian designer with an edge or paying four times for the imported product that is originally produced with Egyptian cotton; both options are frustrating. Shawki combines creativity, good quality and affordability, which is a combination hard to find in the Egyptian market nowadays.

The young designer says she’s inspired mainly by the busy scene of the city. She adds that a walk in Old Cairo can inspire her with hundreds of ideas.

“We are a family of landowners, and I grew up appreciating cotton as the essence of life in Egypt,” adds the young mother.

As for her views of the market, Shawki says, “The market is ready for the low-priced, high-quality, practical product.”

She says design comes next after affordability and practicality. The young designer offers a range of prices for the A+, A and B quality class without compromising quality.

“All my products come with a guarantee,” says Shawki. Other than online shopping, Shawki displays her designs in Tika’s Bedding and will soon launch her own outlet in Maadi.

The Nina Shawki Collection has been exporting to several European countries, in addition to the Gulf, since 2009.

“As for the local market, half of my clients are newlyweds and the other half are people who are moving out or furnishing a summer house,” says the business owner. For young brides, durability is the quality most people look for, she says.

“People want products that last long,” explains Shawki.

In the last five years, the Egyptian consumer has become a more careful spender and started to appreciate and rely on online shopping more than before, she says.

“The Egyptian consumer will always be price-oriented,” she says. Very few are brand- or design-oriented, and that is why Nina Shawki Collection offers a custom-made service.

Nina Shawki designs are modern, which differentiates them from their competition, says Shawki.

“Our prices are much less than the competition because we manufacture and use local materials,” she adds.

The price of a typical five-piece, pure cotton set won’t exceed LE600, which might cost double if you are buying elsewhere, Shawki explains. She says printed products cost less than embroidered ones.

Concerning the latest economic and political events, Shawki says more consumers are seeking Egyptian products since the revolution began; however, imported raw materials have become scarce because of stricter customs rules enforced by post-revolution governments.


http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/ni ... ing-option

[LovelyLadyLux]

Personally I DO love Egyptian cotton.