It is at Zafir that you can buy Egypt’s funniest shirts. Zafir, a small shop on Taha Hussein Street in Zamalek, offers well-cut and well-produced shirts with slogans and witty sayings that reference Egyptian pop culture and at times, serve as a commentary on social issues. Zafir always delivered products that are quintessentially Egyptian but with a twist.
This month, the founders of Zafir — Nada Abdel Salam, Noha Zayed and Ahmed Kamel — have opened a small studio space above their Zamalek store. A new concept store called ‘The Studio @ Zafir,’ it aims to present an even larger scope of home-grown Egyptian products for customers designed by a wide range of artists and designers.
“What we’re hoping to do with The Studio @ Zafir is to present a space and outlet for designers and artists to come and present their work without worrying about the marketing and selling aspects of the job,” Abdel Salam said. “We want to create an environment for them in which they allow us to work on that aspect of the business for them while they free themselves to sit down and create. It’s really difficult for people to both design and sell their products.”
On opening night in mid-September, the Studio was abuzz with some of the creative folks whose products were on display. There are the khayammeyah print aprons by the brand Khawaga T-shirts, clay elephant-shaped teapots by Zeina Hosny, jewelry, posters, CDs, artwork and other items all sold at reasonable prices.
The brand Drumsticks Design by Sherine Rassoul offers stickers to cover ceramic tiles to cheaply restyle drab kitchens or boring bathrooms. Panels to fit over light switch panels with funky geometric designs can also add a bit of flair to a plain wall. Prices per item are quite reasonable, starting at LE 25.
Lebanese jewelry designer Zeinab Chahine, soon to move to Egypt but with her finger on the pulse here as well, offers a jewelry collection that is equally Egyptian as it is Lebanese.
In line with Zafir’s play on pop culture references and language witticisms, Chahine’s collection called ‘Ctrl + Z’ produces bracelets, earrings, pendants and badges with printed images of old Arab cinema stars and funny proverbs. ‘I love Teta’ and song lyrics are printed on the jewelry, putting an unusual touch to the products on display. Original, Chahine’s jewelry is not meant to be taken seriously. Prices range from LE 40 to LE 200.
“We really want The Studio to be a starting point for creativity, design and production here in Egypt,” Abdel Salam added. So far, there’s a great collection of locally produced stationery, slippers by brand Shibshibi, music CDs by independent artists and bands, beanbags by local design company Kameleon and other home products.
It’s certainly worth popping into The Studio to take a look and browse. The Studio at Zafir is a great initiative, helping to encourage local talent to produce interesting and relevant products.
The Studio @ Zafir:
15B Taha Hussein Street, Apt.#1
Telephone: +20109763602
