Curated by Layal AlEryani
My name is Hala Sharafaldeen AlSaidi, born in Sanaa (Yemen) and currently residing in Cairo (Egypt). I have lived in multiple places and studied in different schools. I majored in Interior design. I’m married now & a mom to a beautiful daughter.My hobbies include anything that has to do with design or fashion. I love putting my artistic touch in anything.
I make hair accessories, belts and other such multi functional pieces because I believe I can make a simple thing seem better. It wasn’t hard to find the right name for my business. I asked myself: why did I want to start this project? And the first thing that popped in my mind was that I like to add extra details onto anything; and that’s when I decided to name my business “tanfasah” – meaning “extra details”.
Being a mom and a housewife while maintaining a business needs patience. I’ve struggled doing so, but working on this project is quite fun, and it revived me so much. My family, my husband and his family, and all my good friends have been nothing but supportive; they have encouraged me to open this business and supported me through it.
This hobby was personal l and remained so for 8 years until – with my father’s support – I finally took a serious step forward to make it a real business of mine. I was happy to receive great feedback from people and encouragement to continue my line of work.
I hope that in 10 years my name would reach the world, and tanfsah will be recognized worldwide. I’m proud to be a Yemeni woman who defies the masculine degrading of women value in her culture. And my advice to all ladies is that if you have a talent or a hobby you’re good at, work on it and make a living out of it. Be positive and kind to yourself, and always spend your utmost efforts towards achieving your dreams!
The Elixir Magazine 