Sister snaps.
Photo gallery of our designers
Every product we create has a woman behind it. A woman with ideas, talent and ambition. A woman who has built a business, mastered a craft or turned her creativity into something that travels far beyond her own community.
And somewhere along the way, our paths crossed.
That is what sisterhood means to us.
It is not about competing for a seat at the table. It is about making room for one another. Opening doors. Sharing what we know. Making introductions. Cheering each other on. And celebrating another woman’s success as enthusiastically as our own.
Looking back over the past decade, I realise just how many of the women who are now part of Born on a Sunny Day first came into my life through international networks and projects. We met in different countries, at conferences, workshops and around countless tables. We talked, laughed, shared ideas and stayed in touch.
Acquaintances became friends. Friends became business partners. Ideas became opportunities. And some of those encounters eventually became the partnerships behind Born On A Sunny Day today.
Business can, of course, be about numbers. But the kind of business we believe in is first and foremost about people, relationships and growing together. Because something rather wonderful happens when women connect across countries and cultures and decide to open doors for one another.
Sometimes, you even find a sister along the way. These are some of ours. Welcome to Sister Snaps.
Meet Nahla Soliman
Some people make products. Nahla makes joy.
Step into her workshop in Cairo and you enter a world of colour, fabrics and endless creativity. Inspired by geometric patterns, architecture and the vibrant energy of Egypt, Nahla transforms textiles into pieces to fall in love with. Modern, distinctive and unmistakably handmade. For many years, Nahla has been designing and creating her own collections, working side by side with skilled Egyptian artisans. And she is always looking for the next idea, the next detail, the next thing to try.
What we love most about Nahla is not just her beautiful designs. It is her curiosity. She experiments. She gives traditional forms a fresh twist. She believes craftsmanship should surprise us. And she reminds us that handmade does not mean looking backwards. It means taking skills and traditions and creating something new from them, one stitch at a time.
At Born on a Sunny Day, we are proud to work with Nahla. We are proud that she successfully certified with the World Fair Trade organisation. She brings her talent, passion and entrepreneurial spirit to every collection we create together.
And that is exactly why every one of our products carries a QR code. Not to tell you what you bought. But to introduce you to the person who made it. Because beautiful things become just a little more beautiful when you know their story.
Meet Hala Ashour
Some people have beautiful ideas. Hala makes them grow.
Hala Ashour is the founder of Handmade in Cairo, a creative business where colour, craftsmanship and the joy of making things together come to life. Her love of working with her hands began at school. In a handicraft class, she learnt to knit and crochet and discovered a passion that never left her. Many years later, in 2009, that passion became Handmade. What began with just three women has grown into a community of talented artisans who bring Hala’s colourful, contemporary designs to life. At the heart of it all is a wonderfully simple idea: to make beautiful things. Things that are useful. Things that bring a little more joy into everyday life.
Hala has a wonderful instinct for colour, shape and new ideas. When something pops into her head, her first question is not whether it will be easy to make. She would much rather ask: What could this become? And then the experimenting begins. Crocheting, changing, trying again and sometimes starting all over, until an idea becomes something truly special. But what makes Hala happiest is not the finished product. It is the people behind it. The smile of a woman on her team who has just mastered something she may not have thought she could do. Or the thought that somewhere, someone is opening one of their creations, using it, loving it and simply enjoying it.
And that is exactly what makes working with Hala so special for us at Born on a Sunny Day. Beautiful design, created by women. With skill. With personality. With joy. And with the opportunity to grow together.
Meet Farah Khan
Some people preserve traditions. Farah keeps them alive.
More than twenty years ago, she fell in love with the extraordinary beauty of Kantha embroidery, a centuries old craft from Bengal in which every single stitch is made by hand. With time, patience and skill, simple fabrics are transformed into unique pieces. What began as a fascination soon became something close to Farah’s heart: keeping this beautiful craft alive while creating new opportunities and perspectives for the women who practise it. Today, Farah works closely with skilled women artisans whose knowledge and expertise have often been passed down through generations. Together, they create textiles that celebrate where they come from while feeling completely at home in the world we live in today. No two pieces are ever the same. And that is exactly what makes them so special. Every stitch tells a story. Every pattern carries a piece of tradition. And every piece bears the hand, and a little of the heart, of the woman who made it.
At Born on a Sunny Day, we are proud to work with Farah. A woman who shows us that craftsmanship does not belong behind museum glass. It belongs in our lives. To wear. To love. To pass on. Because the most beautiful things do more than simply make our lives more beautiful. They connect us with people, places and stories worth carrying forward.
Meet Martine Gueye
Some people see a piece of fabric. Martine sees the whole story behind it.
From the cotton plant growing in the field to the women who spin the fibres by hand, and the people who weave them into cloth and bring them to life with colours drawn from plants. Martine Gueye is the founder of DIAMA in Senegal. Her journey began in science, but years of travelling and encounters across Africa sparked a passion for textiles, traditional craftsmanship and the people who keep this knowledge alive. Martine prefers to work with organic, fairly produced cotton from Senegal, grown with rainwater and without the need for additional irrigation. The cotton is spun into yarn by hand and then continues its journey to the RABALMA workshop. This is where ideas take shape: designing, weaving, dyeing and sewing. Even the colours have stories of their own. Indigo. Madder. Reseda. Chestnut. Plant extracts give the fabrics their distinctive, natural shades.
What do we love most about Martine’s work? That she never sees just the finished product. She sees the people behind it. The cotton growers, the women who spin the fibres, the weavers and all the skilled hands whose knowledge transforms a natural fibre into something special. Traditional knowledge meets contemporary design. Natural materials meet new ideas.
And that is exactly why Martine and Born on a Sunny Day are such a wonderful match.
Because beautiful things become even more beautiful when we know where they come from, who made them and the story they carry with them. From fibre to finished piece. From Senegal to you.
Meet Nermeen
For Nermeen Soliman, many things begin with a simple knot. And with an idea of what it might become.
Nermeen shares her studio in Cairo with Nahla Soliman, and what a coincidence that these two ladies share the same surname. Not related, but sisters in heart. But while Nahla’s work centres around embroidery and crochet, Nermeen has found her passion in macramé. With patience and a wonderful eye for shape and form, she transforms cords and yarns, knot by knot, into distinctive pieces. Her work brings traditional handcraft together with contemporary ideas, showing just how versatile a technique based on such beautifully simplicity can be.
The studio Nermeen and Nahla share is a place of creativity and exchange. Each has her own technique and her own style, yet ideas often emerge from working alongside one another. They experiment, discuss, rethink and inspire each other. And that is exactly the kind of creative spirit we love at Born on a Sunny Day: different talents growing side by side and inspiring one another. Nermeen’s work shows us just how much can grow from something as simple as a knot.
One knot at a time, something special begins to take shape.
Meet Naureen A. Khan
Some people dream of distant places. Naureen brings a piece of Hunza to the world. High in the spectacular mountains of Hunza in northern Pakistan, generations of craftsmanship, tradition and resourcefulness have shaped a unique cultural heritage. Naureen A. Khan wants to share these treasures with the world. Through Mountain Stories, she connects local artisans and producers with customers beyond the mountains, showcasing handwoven carpets, kilims, textiles and other traditional crafts. Her vision goes beyond beautiful products. By opening up new markets, particularly during the quieter winter months when tourism slows, she helps create more sustainable opportunities for local communities. Naureen's story is one of entrepreneurship rooted in heritage, connecting people and places while ensuring that the skills and traditions of Hunza continue to thrive.
We have just brought our first products back to Germany from Hunza. Take a look at our kilims from one of the most beautiful regions of Pakistan.
