Arts and Crafts in Morocco…

Arts and Crafts in Morocco.. Material, soul, symbiosis, inspiration and the work takes shape, reveals itself…

It is the eternal passion of art and material.

Decoration – Arts and Crafts in Morocco

The Carpet – Arts and Crafts in Morocco

Thread Art

Art object or element of comfort, the carpet is intimately linked to the Moroccan interior. Its patterns and colors give allure and illuminate with a thousand and one lights. The interiors are generally little lit because of the reduced openings to protect from heat and cold.

From a technical point of view, we distinguish between knotted and woven carpets. From an ethnic point of view, we distinguish between rural and urban carpets.

The knotted carpet: Rivaling in quality and beauty, its patterns and colors are imbued with poetry and echo of its artistic value.

The woven carpet: Of lighter texture, the handira (kilim) or hanbel uses simpler, finer wool.

The art of weaving is one of the oldest traditions of Moroccan tribes and cities.

The rural carpet: Colors inspired by nature, patterns … everything is meaning and symbol in this carpet, fruit of the creative imagination of Berber women of the Atlas and reflection of their soul, their world.

Like a diary, they express their daily life, their emotions. Its high colored wool and its pure lines (rhombuses, triangles, rectangles, herringbone and checkerboard), melt into the decor and are transformed according to taste, in blanket or mattress, and even in decoration for the floor and walls. 

The city carpet: Finesse of the point and harmony of the colors…, these are the reflections of the authenticity of the carpets of Rabat, Fez and Mediouna renowned for their knots made on looms of high smoothness.

The contemporary carpet: TISLI, or the Moroccan carpet in its new dimension. This brand of carpet all in evocations draws its singularity in the weft of memories of designers with fertile imagination.

It is woven with the thread of the passion of craftsmen from a wool of exception to the treatment of a great innovation.

FES, DADES, ATLAS, VOLUBILIS, SAISS and MEKNES are the first collections. Nature and people are the inspiration.

The material of our souls

Moroccan Berber Rugs

Washed, cleaned, bleached, combed and then transformed into yarn, wool lends itself to the variations of patterns and the vibrations of colors to form, along with silk, the rugs of colors to form, with silk, the carpets, mirrors of the soul of our weavers.

Weaving – Arts and Crafts in Morocco

Thread Art

As trends change, the art of thread remains a reference. Household linen, plaids, bed throws, curtains, cushions, tablecloths, placemats or furnishing fabrics… all reflecting a patience and creative passion. 

And, whatever their spirit, tone on tone or with graphic stripes, decorated with the precious embroidery of Fez or passementerie, they bring warmth, refinement and freshness to interiors.

The material of our souls

Thin, thick or curl wool, silk, cotton, linen, doum (palm tree) palm tree), kharka or sabra… the materials are mixed and the colors are born. 

The threads cross and recross each other without ever getting tangled.

Thread after thread, this synchronized ballet gives birth to ballets of rustic, romantic, classical or sophisticated and resolutely chic.

Craftsman weaving a Carpet

The Pottery – Arts and Crafts in Morocco

The art of clay

The art of clay or the art of pottery. In the rural world as in the city, this secular tradition centuries old tradition breathes the secrets of the earth.

Rural pottery

It is in the fascinating world of symbols that rural pottery draws its decorative motifs. Geometric and authentic, these discreet designs often recall the origin of the tribe.

In the setting of the Rif mountains, the potters of Oued Laou caress the earth and create utilitarian pottery. It is the noble earth used as a material that gives it its color.

The city pottery

Whether it is from Fez, Safi, Salé or Marrakech, one can only be charmed by the city pottery. This universe where the geometric of Islamic art meets the floral and merges.

For the craftsman of Safi, ceramics has no secret. He acquired all the detours since time immemorial and adorned it with countless colors. 

Eclectic designs – Berber, Andalusian – on white, water green, pale blue or brown slips, this is the discreet charm of Salé pottery.

More recently, in Marrakech, designers have revisited these legacies in a spirit of purity and elegance. The result is a harmonious blend of rustic chic and ethnic art with authentic charm.

The material of our souls

Our potters who master the secrets of the earth, water, air and fire have known how to listen to the clay, to understand it giving birth to all the beauty, the fertility, the strength of its being.

Thus each tagine, ashtray, vase, candle holder contains a story that can be read between the lines, a particular smell that takes us to the side of the one who patiently gave life to the pottery.

Tajines exposed in a shop in Zagora, Morocco.

Leather – Arts and Crafts in Morocco

The art of leather

The fame of the art of leather from Morocco is not to be made anymore and is even at the origin of its name of its name: “Maroquinerie”. Poufs, underpads, saddles, consoles and dressers each piece embodies the soul of the leather worker, custodian of a legendary know-how.

Cubic or cylindrical, plain or multicolored, the poufs illuminate the living rooms with their shimmering colors.

Smelling and caressing their material, one can only feel the ardor of the leatherworker and his thousands of small needle strokes guided by a keen sense of tradition. Timeless and indispensable, this is how we can sum up the pouf. 

Similarly, more and more tables, consoles and chests of drawers are dressed in leather and add to the voluptuousness and conviviality of the Moroccan interior and elsewhere.

The material of our souls

So many fine skins that leatherworkers refine. Sturdiness and suppleness, a surprising duality that gives the art of leather its noble character.

Moroccan Slippers/Babouches

The Dinanderie – Arts and Crafts in Morocco

The art of metal

Sumptuous, mysterious and luminous, the chandeliers, doors and jambs reflections of the art of bronze and copper, adorn more and more residences and buildings.

It is the brassware that adds to the elegance of Moroccan architecture and competes with ironwork.

It also punctuates the daily life with more common objects such as lights, trays, teapots, kettles…, each more dazzling than the other.

In Fez and Marrakech, we witness the birth of excellent craftsmen who, with sublime openwork, work the copper like goldsmiths.

The material of our souls

Silver, bronze or copper in all its variations; so many materials that have inspired our coppersmiths with unchanging techniques and inexhaustible creativity.

The Dinanderie – Arts and Crafts in Morocco

The Wood – Arts and Crafts in Morocco

The art of wood

The art of wood, in all its forms, has always given life and brilliance to wood. Woodworking, chiseling, turning and painting of all kinds… penetrate its intimate folds and reveal its secrets.

Carved wood: In architecture as well as in interior furniture, floral (palms, palmettes, floral interlacing) and geometric (straight interlacing, herringbone, stars) motifs melt into the wood and merge, prolonging the tradition and moving us in depth.

Painted wood: The zouaq (painting) decorates the wood, gives it character and remains one of the most assertive features of architectural art in Morocco.

And, if painting is the simplest way to decorate wood, it underlines the sculpture, the nimbus of gleams attesting to an ancestral control of colors and tones.

The inlaid art of Essaouira: Accomplished masters in the art of marquetry, the artisans of Essaouira play delicately with the cedar and compose subtle works like musical notes. 

Violin making: The art of violin making echoes a certain virtuosity, that of the violin makers who with tact give the wood the magic of sonority.

Around a range of tones with extreme subtlety, they create the lute “oûd”, the mandolin “rebab”, the flute “nira”, the zither “kanoun”, the tambourine “t’bal”.

An ode to Arab Andalusian music and popular songs.

The material of our souls

The abundant forests of Morocco, those of the Atlas in particular, have favored the birth of the art of wood. An art that is none other than the subtle alliance of multiple species.

The cedar (Al arz), the walnut and the Thuya (Al âraar) scented are the most prized of these species.

The art of candlelight – Arts and Crafts in Morocco

Decorated with wood, metal or henna, the candles reflect a real know-how and create magical atmospheres.

According to their colors, they envelop with warmth, gardens as interiors.

It is in Fez and Salé, the stronghold of traditional candles, that you can admire the colorful and decorated candles that accompany the annual parade of waxes (Maoukib Achoumoue) in Salé and illuminate the mausoleum during the moussem of Moulay Driss in Fez.

The material of our souls

Wax can be used in all kinds of ways, colors, patterns, finishes, designs and trends for the most beautiful result: candles whose incandescence brings a cosy touch to the atmosphere.

Jewellery – Arts and Crafts in Morocco

The art of jewelry

In the cities as well as in the rural world, the art of jewelry, a real craft jewel, is made of gold and silver and shines in the brightness of stones.

Rural jewelry: Yesterday as today, cascades of necklaces, amber or coral, fibulas or “tinerzai” in Berber, festive ornaments or hinged bracelets worn in pairs are offered during engagement ceremonies and nimbere of distinction to Berber women.

Inheriting a real know-how, Tiznit, as well as Laayoun, Guelmim and Essaouira are now the showcases of the art of silver and stones.

Fancy jewelry: Another face of the art of jewelry and not the least, that of the fancy jewelry. Key rings, bookmarks, necklaces… these creations with a more fashionable and cosmopolitan spirit, with more innovative ways, are a sensation.

Authentic and dynamic, this new art charms the beautiful of Morocco and the world…

City jewelry: Imagine the brilliance of the emerald, the brilliance of the diamond, the shimmer of the garnet or the purity of the rubies coiled in the heart of a finely chiseled floral pattern!

It is the alchemy of gold and light exacerbated by the undisputed talent of the Fassi, Rbati and Tetouanese jewelers for jewels always more precious, always more sumptuous.

And it is with intuition and a lot of imagination that these jewelers knew how to restyle and lighten the “Khmisa” or “Hand of Fatma” symbol of protection and eternal source of inspiration.

Tiznit Jewelry: Fashion enthusiasts will appreciate the wonders of the Tiznit jewelry collection.

This exceptional collection, designed by a renowned designer, has been made available to the craftsmen of Tiznit who chisel it to perfection.

Its models, faithful to the traditional codes and to the current spirit, are of a real beauty and inaugurate a new era for the Art of the jewel.

The material of our souls

In the hands of our jewelers, the precious material (gold, silver) becomes a textile fiber, the gold is transformed into threads that are woven, knotted, and gathered into tassels;

In the kingdom of jewels, neo-jewelry brings a touch of fantasy. With tender and fresh colors and materials in the air of time and which breathe the natural. Like thread and trimmings, they cultivate the freedom of tone and ingenuity of designers.

Furnishings – Arts and Crafts in Morocco

The art of wrought iron

This delicate art of ornamentation, of intertwined iron wires, flourishes everywhere in Morocco. Originality and dexterity are combined in the art of iron by a subtle balance between iron and mosaic.

The result: tables and consoles with variable geometry that naturally find their place in any garden or interior. Each piece of wrought iron bears witness to this art, which is marked by boldness, finesse and delicacy.

The Moroccan living room

To enter a Moroccan living room is to immerse oneself in this art of living, born of Roman, Berber and Andalusian influences and combined with the great trends of modern comfort. Its various corners, tables, pedestal tables, and benches (seddari) dressed with precious fabrics and decorated with cushions with trimmings make it a case of unequalled hospitality.

The material of our souls

From now on, the art of furnishing is the art of research; research of new materials, new technologies, new associations to find the perfect harmony between authenticity and modernity.

From this state of mind were born over the years, young designers who have reinvented the charm of Moroccan furniture. Combining creativity and functionality, they handle with subtlety all the Moroccan tones with always this incomparable originality.

Clothing – Arts and Crafts in Morocco

The art of clothing

At the crossroads of cultures, craftsmen-weavers, thread weavers, seamstresses and designers with golden fingers have crossed threads and created caftans, kmiss, gandouras, djellabas, jabadors, serouals, selhams…

How many women have applied themselves on the embroidery drums and how many men have worked for the glory of these clothes with names sounding like notes of Andalusian music. With their passion and needle thread, they have woven the fabric of the caftan of haute couture.

The caftan – Arts and Crafts in Morocco

By desire of assertion and emancipation, the Moroccan woman took hold of this man’s dress originally just like the djellaba, and knew how to develop it and adorn it with a thousand and one coquetries.

The caftan has gradually adapted and wrapped fluidity, diversity, lightness and even sensuality. Variations in the air of time of the caftan were born under the impulse of the inspiration of designers playing with the superimpositions of lengths and materials.

The embroidery in gold, silver or silk thread (sfifa, kitane) and thread buttons (akad) emphasize the lines, sublimate them. The embroidered dragons and peacocks of Azemmour give them a touch of glamour.

The belts of Fez, made of brocade or embroidered, which can be as wide as corsets, perfectly encircle the waist and punctuate with the babouches (belghas and cherbils) this ceremonial outfit.

The djellaba – Arts and Crafts in Morocco

This dress of light is cut out of materials woven with the hand such as the bzou, the saissi.

These backdrops of great suppleness, dress women and men with elegance and finesse.

The models offered in Marrakech such as the sabra slippers, draw their essence in all the nuances of the traditional dress and oscillate between all the trends.

They thus add to the magnificence of an art in full incandescence.

The material of our souls

Saissi, silk, ouazzani (hebba)… so many fabrics that set the tone and are declined on the classic or more electric lines of sublime outfits.

Architecture – Arts and Crafts in Morocco

Tadellakt, zellige, dome, column … perennial vibrations of the Arab-Andalusian heritage that blends harmoniously with contemporary comfort.

Great achievements such as riads, palaces, palaces, mosques and Mediterranean homes are beautiful illustrations.

The art of sculpted plaster or gebs – Arts and Crafts in Morocco

This precious and meticulous art is jealously preserved by our craftsmen.

Its sculpture is highlighted with colors and blends perfectly with wood, metal and other decorative elements.

And, serene beauty that of the pink plaster and particularly prized of Marrakech. It is the red clay of the quarry of Asni from which it is drawn that gives it this extreme beauty.

The art of wood or moucharabieh – Arts and Crafts in Morocco

Balconies, screens and stair railings made of moucharabieh or carved wood are a heritage of such sumptuousness that it takes one’s breath away.

Full and empty in balance, this is how we can define the moucharabieh and its horizontal and vertical lines perfectly integrated into the architecture.

Taming it at times, veiling it at others, the moucharabieh is a hymn to light.

The art of tadellakt – Arts and Crafts in Morocco

The mystery of the layout of this wall coating made of lime and black soap is kept secret by the craftsmen from Marrakech.

It dresses more and more walls of ryads, houses and apartments becoming almost a must.

The art of tiles or quermoud – Arts and Crafts in Morocco

The quermoud, a refined art with a preserved soul.

Whether they are from Safi, Oued Laou or Fez, these aligned tiles illuminate the roofs of the houses with colors such as blue, green, ochre…

The art of zellige – Arts and Crafts in Morocco

On a fountain or a basin, on a column or a wall, stars, arabesques or rosettes bloom and dazzle.

This is the zellige, this perfect connivance of colors and shapes that intertwine with ease in a mosaic with an authentic and aesthetic effect.

The material of our souls

Metal, earth, stone and wood; this is the harmonious blend of materials, colors and styles that make up Moroccan architecture sailing on the shores of modernity without ever lifting the anchor of authenticity.

Riad in Fez, Morocco

Local Products – Arts and Crafts in Morocco

The art of local products

Morocco, a land of an abundance of flavors and aromas, the result of an understanding between nature and man. An agreement that is all the more natural since both were born on this same land.

The taste of the real, of the authentic, is the prerogative of local products skilfully prepared by the guardians of tradition. Similarly, we are witnessing the emergence of an organic cosmetics in Morocco; the quintessence of nature. It offers complete ranges of care without added substances and high quality.

Argan oil: Only Morocco and precisely the region from Essaouira to the south of Taroudant has the secret of certified organic argan oil. A liter of this precious oil requires 8 hours of artisanal work.

It is undoubtedly to the intransigence of women who prepare it in the privacy of their homes, that we owe its subtle taste. It is served, as is the Mediterranean tradition, in a dome with slices of bread.

This treasure of nature has been used for centuries by Berber women for its exceptional cosmetic properties and is recognized throughout the world.

Olive oil: For thousands of years, the olive tree has symbolized life. Today, scientific research confirms the virtues of the olive tree and its fruits. Artisanal methods preserve the natural aroma of Moroccan olive oil appreciated for its outstanding organoleptic properties.

The honeys: By opening a jar of honey, we breathe … Gharb, Loukos, Souss Massa, Tadla, Tiznit, South Saharan and their many delicious flavors are not far.

True panacea, this nectar of 70 000 beehives and flowers of the sun strengthens, and exalts the flavor of salty and sweet dishes, from the simplest to the most refined.

Whether it is vegetables, meat, poultry or desserts and pastries (chebbakia, briouates, makrout …), it coats them with its golden color, and impregnates them with its intense aromas. It delights the finest palates at the most festive moments.

Saffron: A pinch of saffron – from the Arabic “za’farân” (yellow) – from Taliouine is enough to spice up and brighten up the dishes of the Atlas sun. 160,000 bulbs of saffron flowers are picked for only one kilogram of this rare spice appreciated for its full-bodied and peppery flavor, so aptly named “red gold”.

The rose water : It is in Kalaât M’gouna, in the heart of the Atlas, that the rose is naturally cultivated.

The “Festival of Roses” and the election of Miss Rose celebrate every spring the harvest of this fine flower used in the composition of fragrances and cosmetics (soaps, shampoos, creams, essential oils …).

The rose water extracted from it is a bouquet of virtues. It soothes, tones and purifies. Dosed with subtlety or boldness, it gives all their flavors to many Moroccan pastries.

Essential oils and natural cosmetics: From orange blossom to mint, through jasmine, musk, argan and sandalwood, all essential oils that exalt the senses.

Finally, black soap, ghassoul, khol, henna and akkar fassi take us into a world of beauty, sensuality and sweetness. Essential oils and natural cosmetics or the art of natural well-being.