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Handmade in Egypt

The store is under construction

We are preparing a store for pieces made in the workshops behind our experiences: blown glass, soldered lanterns, carved calcite, hand-woven shawls, Bedouin embroidery and khayamiya. Nothing is for sale yet, and no maker is named until they agree.

Under construction. There are no products, prices or orders on this page. Meanwhile you can make the pieces yourself, with the people who make them.

Fire

Blown glass, Ramadan lanterns

  • A glassblower in Cairo seated at his bench, blowing through a long metal pipe, in a photograph from 2016.

    Blown glass

    Made in Historic Cairo

    Cups, vases and lamps blown from recycled glass.

    Before you buy it anywhere

    Our judgement, not a test we certify:

    • Was it blown in the workshop, and can you see the furnace?
    • Is the colour in the glass, or painted on afterwards?
    Make it: Glass from the furnace
  • Ramadan lanterns and printed tent-cloth decorations hanging for sale in Sayeda Zeinab, Cairo.

    Ramadan lanterns

    Made in Old Cairo

    Tin, brass and coloured glass, cut and soldered by hand.

    Before you buy it anywhere

    Our judgement, not a test we certify:

    • Is it soldered tin and glass, or pressed metal with plastic panels?
    • Will the glass travel? Ask how it is packed.
    Make it: A lantern, cut and soldered
Stone

Carved calcite

  • A worker in Luxor shaping a block of alabaster by hand with a chisel, in a photograph from 2007.

    Carved calcite

    Made in Qurna, Luxor West Bank

    Egyptian 'alabaster': vessels and lamps carved from calcite.

    Before you buy it anywhere

    Our judgement, not a test we certify:

    • Is it carved stone or a cast copy? Ask to hold it to the light and feel its weight.
    • Was it carved here, or bought in to sell?
    Make it: Calcite, carved at Qurna
Sand and thread

Hand-woven shawls, Bedouin embroidery, Khayamiya

  • An Egyptian hand loom strung with its warp threads, in a workshop, in a photograph from 2017.

    Hand-woven shawls

    Made in Naqada, north of Luxor

    Woven on hand looms, a craft on UNESCO's urgent safeguarding list.

    Before you buy it anywhere

    Our judgement, not a test we certify:

    • Who wove it, and on what kind of loom?
    • How much of the price reaches the weaver?
    Make it: The looms of Naqada
  • Bedouin cross-stitch stars in coloured thread on a black fabric bookmark; where it was made is not recorded.

    Bedouin embroidery

    Made in St Catherine, South Sinai

    Cross-stitch in the designs of the Sinai tribes.

    Before you buy it anywhere

    Our judgement, not a test we certify:

    • Was it stitched by hand, and by whom?
    • Is it bought from the women who made it?
    Make it: Bedouin embroidery
  • A seated tentmaker working with white cloth across his lap, surrounded by hanging appliqué panels, in a photograph from 2017.

    Khayamiya

    Made in Street of the Tentmakers, Cairo

    Appliqué panels stitched by hand, piece by piece.

    Before you buy it anywhere

    Our judgement, not a test we certify:

    • Is it stitched appliqué, or printed cloth made to look like it?
    • Turn it over: hand stitching shows on the back.
    Make it: Khayamiya with the tentmakers
Photography credits (6)

FischerFotos, CC BY-SA 4.0; Alaazzpov, CC BY-SA 4.0; David Dennis from Scotts Valley, CA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0; Ahmed Emad H, CC BY-SA 4.0; PMATAS, CC BY-SA 4.0; Hatem Moushir, CC BY-SA 4.0

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