Do you know of Suzanis? Even if you don’t, there is a very good chance that you have been seeing images of them in home fashion magazines and on the design blogs for the past year or so. I wrote this little post myself on the Art of Living last July. With the trend toward brighter colors and ethnic influences you will probably be noticing them even more. Suzanis are very colorful, elaborately embroidered silk wall hangings or bed coverings that originated in central Asia, primarily in what is now Uzbekistan. The name Suzani is actually derived from the Persian word for needle. There is a very informative article online here. Maryam collects antique Suzanis and plans to use them extensively throughout Peacock Pavillions and as I said they will also be used as the inspiration for the stencil art we will be applying there. I thought you might like to see some of the range of patterns we have been looking at for inspiration.

 

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite inspiration sites that I have written about here before is Marla Mallet’s. The link takes you directly to the page on Central Asian embroideries, but there is much, much more to see if antique rugs, fabrics and embroideries make you weak in the knees. Be prepared! There are both new and antique Suzanis for sale on this site, but Maryam advises that they are now using child labor to meet the demand for the newer ones, so she only invests in the antiques.

It makes for quite a hard decision when each pattern and colorway seems prettier than the last! With so many beautiful options, which will it be?? Oh, wait and see….

PS The middle design is not a Suzani, it is antique printed linen, but of a similar look and motif.

I am not one to gloat. At least not very much. It’s very hard to write this though without a smile on my lips, a song in my heart and the phrase “neener, neener, neener” running through my mind. Does that make me bad ? No, seriously, I am thrilled (you’ve guessed!) that I am going to be making two trips to Morocco in the coming months-and that’s not really even the best part. The best part is-why!

Why, you ask? Oh, no big deal, I am just going over there with a small painting group to add my small touch of art and decoration to the magical Maryam’s oasis of comfort and beauty, Peacock Pavilions, which is rising from the olive groves to soon become the Marrakesh destination of choice for weary travellers, saavy shoppers, design and culture lovers and the thousands of people who religiously read and enjoy and rejoice in Maryam’s blog, My Marrakesh, every day. If you read through some (many) of her posts, which you MUST, you will find that she and her handsome architect husband have been working on building their dream (I think she started it) to build a set of guesthouses, and one for them, for a year and a half. It started with a vision-

It’s ALMOST there-

Some beautiful images from My Marrakesh-

Maryam’s passions range from Peacocks to photographing and writing about design. When she’s not working as a personal shopper, she’s travelling to far-flung destinations for her real job working for a human rights organization.

Her love and the joy she rece