I thought long and hard about what to write in my first journal entry to celebrate Marmari’s new website. It was hard to choose because there is so much that I want to share with you. I eventually decided that it was fitting to start this new chapter at the very beginning. Today, I would like to share with you how and why Marmari was born.
For those of you who know me, you know that Marmari was born from pain. It is a story of agony, a mother's love, hope and resilience. It is also a story of a young girl who connected with her grandparents through jewelry and wanted to leave her daughter a legacy. I share this here in the hopes that those who are going through a similar path to mine find inspiration and hope.
I was lucky to grow up in a house that had so much love for jewelry from both sides of the family. Jewelry is what connects my Moroccan and Egyptian identities together. My maternal grandmother, Teita Madiha, loved jewelry so much and often said "If you want to know the real style of a lady, look at her jewelry. Jewelry is a window to the soul". This statement shaped my relationship with jewelry and sealed my love for it forever. My paternal grandfather, was a businessman and a jeweler. Unfortunately, I never got to meet him as he died when my father was only 15 years old. It was through the family stories and heirloom jewels that I felt connected to him.
When my daughter was only 1 year old, my health started to deteriorate. It was the beginning of a 7 year journey of struggle and healing. I have an autoimmune disease and it took years to figure out what was wrong with me. Wrong diagnosis, ER visits, pills, oh so many pills, and daily attacks were everything I knew for years. It wasn’t the physical pain that was the most challenging part, even though it was very hard on my family and I. It was the fear that my then toddler might not get to know her mother. That was the scariest part. This gave me the courage to take a leap of faith and leave behind a successful career that I worked tirelessly to build and embark on a completely new adventure. When I was trapped in a loop of endless pain, I did the only thing I knew to survive, I designed. I graduated from the American University of Sharjah with a bachelor of Science in Multimedia Design, School of Architecture and Design. I worked in the media as a Promotion Director for 12 years. Why jewelry then? Jewelry has always been my language of choice and expressing myself through it came natural to me. I found myself filling my sketchbook with jewelry designs that had at it's core what I needed most, hope. My mother and grandmother taught me everything that I know about jewelry but I wanted to learn more. So, I started taking GIA courses in 2015. It wasn’t until I visited a local gemstone store that I envisioned Marmari very clearly. It was there that I saw a geode for the very first time. I remember feeling like I held a galaxy of my own in the palm of my hand. It was a magical moment. One in which I felt relief wash all over me. It was as if my soul was waiting for this very moment my entire life. At that moment, I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life designing meaningful jewelry. That’s how the first collection “Light years away” came to life. I wanted to gift every woman her very own galaxy. Since that day in that gemstone store, I designed many collections and I felt stronger with each new creation. Every piece tells a story, each detail has a purpose and most importantly each piece holds a potential for the wearer to realize, to use and to add their own experience to it. This became Marmari’s signature.
I then started Marmari's journey in which I looked for the right production team that matches my ethics and Marmari's core values. It took 2 years, but it was worth it. However, this is a story for another time.
I cannot express how proud I am of Marmari and how thankful I am for Marmari's community. I am excited for this new phase and looking forward to deepen the connection with our wonderful community. Thank you for being part of my journey. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for each and every one of you.
Once a month, I will be sharing with you my journey, upcoming news and where I find inspiration.
May the stars always guide you.
Nouran El-Marmari
