SABRY MAROUF ARTEFACTS
IWEN
The Ancient Egyptian name for colour and substance.The term ‘Iwen’ was considered an integral part of an object or person’s nature, interchangeably meaning appearance, character or being.
Here, it signifies a collection of classics and limited editions to reflect those concepts.
With the term ‘Iwen’ giving way to several interpretations, from its reference to colour as it is perceived by the eye, to the character of a person as it is perceived by the heart. And to this day, people in Egypt continue say 'What colour is she/he?' when they wonder about a person's demeanour. This overlap between symbolism and science in the concept of Iwen intrigued us - There’s something deeper to be learnt and communicated about how we perceive objects.
Purity of colour was very important to our ancestors, who were known to have created the world’s first synthetic pigments and dyes, skillfully doing that by learning to work and combine nature’s readily available elements into expressive colourful works of art. Colour was often used to denote a semiotic, for example, completely different objects of the same colour would share identical properties, because of that choice of colour.
What’s interesting is how in all of these scenarios, non-tangible characteristics have been attached to natural physical phenomena, and this has become imprinted into the Egyptian culture’s belief system.
MASTERING THE CRAFT
Each bag is skilfully crafted by the process of hand-molding fine nappa leather over a shock-proof yet flexible, sustainable bio-plastic shell, and then fully lined inside with natural suede. Hand-finished magnetic wood handles complete to secure the silhouette.
What really characterises our collection is the journey we’re setting out on to make sense of our heritage using the tools available to us today. Iwen continues our quest to merge the latest processes with artisanal hand techniques.
In line with our values in sustainability, we want to put into the world only the most meaningful of pieces. That is why Iwen is a limited edition collection - With only limited number of pieces ever to be created in each colourway.
And we hope that each edition will be cherished by its owner and passed on for generations.
CRAFTED WITH HISTORY. DESIGNED FOR THE FUTURE.
Welcome to ‘Origins’ our collection that embodies the start of our journey as contemporary Egyptians working towards global sustainable development goals.
As we prepared to launch our latest collection in unprecedented times of change, it felt important to start by noting how current world circumstances prompted us to question the status-quo and helped us push forwards.
The ancient greek historian herodotus wrote in the 5th century BCE “Of all the nations of the world, Egyptians were the healthiest and happiest”.
We felt there was something valuable to be learnt here - Our ancestors lived in perfect harmony with their environment and in doing so they sustained a thriving civilisation. it was this notion of going back to basics which sparked our inspiration for this season.
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