My Work

Tourist and Handicraft Shop, Saqqez, Kurdistan (2014)

My journey as an entrepreneur began when I started my own business venture in my hometown Saqqez in Iran. I decided to turn the skills I had acquired over the years into a profitable idea and set up a tourist and handicraft shop selling exclusive ceramic works. I chose to design the shop myself as ingeniously as possible and took inspiration from our traditional art and culture to decorate it. The shop is actually an iron structure with metal framed glass doors and windows. There are wall mounted folding sunshades and display tables outside. The glass windows open up to the display tables, which helps in arranging the displays. Both the sunshades and display tables are designed to be folded back when not in use to guard the glass windows from outside. The roof of the shop is designed in the shape of the traditional Kurdish cap. The three conjoined diamonds pattern commonly found on traditional Kurdish carpets are painted on the outside walls. All the products for sale are displayed on rows of wall mounted shelves inside the shop. I installed PVC wall insulation in the shop which makes it easier to heat and cool the space. The shop mainly caters to tourists who are interested in buying specialised ceramic ware.