Tatreez Talk

Send us Fan Mail IN TODAY’S EPISODE, WE’RE WELCOMING BACK KIKI ( @LOW_KEY_KI ) AND DIVING INTO THE WORLD OF COLOR THEORY—HOW COLOR SHAPES OUR STORIES, MOODS, AND THE WAY WE EXPERIENCE TATREEZ. Kiki shares her background in scientific illustration, explaining how light, pigment, and human perception interact to shape our visual experiences. The conversation then dives into color theory fundamentals...

Send us Fan Mail LEILA IS A PALESTINIAN TATREEZ ARTIST AND RECENT GRADUATE OF INTERIOR DESIGN BASED IN CANADA ( @leilas.gallery ). We learn her family’s story of displacement and how growing up in both Arab and Western diasporas shaped her understanding of Palestinian identity. Life in Canada, she explains, made her more intentional about learning, expressing, and sharing her Palestinian heritage....

Send us Fan Mail MARYAM IS A PALESTINIAN-KOREAN COMIC ARTIST AND WRITER BASED IN FINLAND ( @mellu.art ). She recounts her family’s displacement—from Haifa to Jerusalem to Jordan and finally to Finland—explaining how she rediscovered tatreez as an adult while searching online for traditional Palestinian dresses. Initially drawn by aesthetics, she later became captivated by its storytelling power an...

Send us Fan Mail TALA & NIVEEN ARE THE MOTHER-DAUGHTER TATREEZ ARTISTS AND DESIGNERS BEHIND PALMERA ART ( @palmera_art ). Their story is one of weaving memory and heritage across borders—from Jerusalem to Kuwait, Saudi, Canada, and now Dubai—while never losing sight of their Palestinian roots. In this episode, they share how their family history, displacement, and deep love for home have all s...

Send us Fan Mail MARYAM IS A TATREEZ ARTIST AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZER BASED IN NYC ( @MARYOOMAISTATREEZING ). From her family’s village of Ein Yabroud in the Ramallah district to Venezuela to New York City, she shares how her early connection to Palestine came through political news on Al Jazeera before finding a more personal entry point through tatreez. Maryam explains how tatreez became a groundi...

Send us Fan Mail IN THIS EPISODE, WE’RE KICKING OFF SEASON 5 OF TATREEZ TALK! Join Lina and Amanne as we catch up after a full summer of teaching, creating, and building community — and share what’s in store for the new season. Summer Highlights Launch of Lina’s new “Design Your Thobe Story” workshop → happening Sept 25 + 27 for just $33! This 90-minute workshop is the easiest way to finally start...

Send us Fan Mail JOANNA BARAKAT IS AN ARTIST, FOUNDER OF THE TATREEZ CIRCLE, AND NOW AUTHOR ( @joanna.barakat.art ; @thetatreezcircle ). Joanna shares how tatreez became central to her identity—even though neither of her Palestinian grandmothers wore embroidered dresses. Her connection grew not from proximity, but from a deep sense of belonging and curiosity about the meaning behind the stitches....

Send us Fan Mail NISREEN IS A PALESTINIAN TATREEZ ARTIST BASED IN THE UK ( @nisreensthreads ). Nisreen’s tatreez journey began during lockdown when she stumbled upon the tradition and decided to give it a try. Starting with simple motifs, she taught herself using YouTube and Instagram tutorials—gradually falling in love with the rhythm and meaning behind every stitch. Her first major project was a...

Send us Fan Mail AMAL IS A BUILDER, TATREEZER, AND EXPLORER ( @amalalii ). Amal begins by recounting her upbringing in Deir Dibwan, a village near Ramallah, where tatreez was ever-present—in homes, on clothing, and as part of daily life. Inspired at a young age by her aunt’s embroidered Qur’anic verses and wedding scenes, Amal grew up surrounded by both the aesthetic and cultural depth of tatreez....

Send us Fan Mail TALA AND JOANN TOTAH ARE TWO BAY AREA-BASED PALESTINIAN ARTISTS WHO EMBRACE THE IMPERFECT, JOYFUL, AND REBELLIOUS PRACTICE OF EMBROIDERY THROUGH THEIR BELOVED TEAM MESSY BACK MANIFESTO ( @tatreezwithtala ; @joanndotcom ). With humor and heart, they share the story of their family roots in Ramallah, Ramleh, and Taybeh, reflecting on how diaspora, displacement, and devotion to cultu...

Send us Fan Mail AMANI ALBAHRI IS THE FOUNDER OF TANTURA AND A THOBE COLLECTOR WHOSE WORK CENTERS PALESTINIAN MEMORY AND MATERIAL CULTURE ( @TANTURA.CO ). Through stories of her family and her collection, Amani offers a powerful reminder that thobes are not just garments—they are vessels of story, survival, and identity. Her reflections sparked deep conversations about what it means to embed yours...

Send us Fan Mail TALA IS A CHILDREN’S BOOK AUTHOR AND THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OR GOOD RAIN PUBLISHING , AN INDEPENDENT PALESTINIAN OWNED CHILDREN'S PUBLISHER ( @tala.loves.books ; @goodrainpublishing ). She shares her family’s roots in Umm al-Fahm and how her identity as a Palestinian in the U.S. shaped her storytelling. Tala’s work centers Palestinian narratives often missing from children’s...

Send us Fan Mail FARAH IS A TATREEZ ARTIST, CRAFTER, POET, AND GRAPHIC DESIGNER ( @artcoloredglasses ). Farah shares her family roots in the village of Kur near Tulkarem, and speaks about the generational trauma caused by the 1948 Nakba, which split her family across borders. Though her great aunts were seamstresses, Farah grew up cut off from the tradition of embroidery. She shares how this gener...

Send us Fan Mail IN THIS EPISODE, WE’RE JOINED BY SISTERS JENNIFER AND CHRISTINE, WHO JOINED US THE TATREEZ RETREAT 2024 IN YOSEMITE. CHRISTINE IS AN AMATEUR TATREEZER, SPORTS ENTHUSIAST, AND ASPIRING CASUAL CRAFTER. JENNIFER IS AN AMATEUR TATREEZER TOO, AND AN AVID COOK AND HOMEMAKER ( @__nif__ ). The conversation brings out so much joy in finding tatreez sisterhood and their relationship as sist...

Send us Fan Mail RAZAN IS A DIASPORIC PALESTINIAN RESEARCHER, COMMUNITY WORKER AND TATREEZ FACILITATOR BASED OUT OF TORONTO ( @STITCHINGLIBERATION ). Razan introduces her work, which is rooted in Indigenous and Palestinian feminist methodologies to consider the relationships, material cultures, and joint resistances between Palestinian and Indigenous communities engaging in collective world buildi...

Send us Fan Mail EMAN IS THE FOUNDER OF THE INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT TATREEZ THERAPY ( @EMAN_MSM ; @TATREEZ_THERAPY ). In this episode, Eman opens up about her family roots in Yaffa and Ne’lin, and how those places, now shaped by occupation and displacement, live on in her through tatreez. Eman speaks about the joy and experimentation that fuel her approach to tatreez—remixing motifs, embracing imperfect...

Send us Fan Mail SARA IS THE FOUNDER OF DEERAH; A SMALL TATREEZ DESIGN HOUSE THAT SHEDS LIGHT ON THE ART OF PALESTINIAN EMBROIDERY AND CHALLENGING DEEP-SEATED PREJUDICES AGAINST PALESTINIAN CULTURE ( @DEERAHCO ). In this episode, we dive into one of the most asked topics: how to properly wear and care for your tatreez—whether it’s something you embroidered yourself or a piece you’ve purchased and...

Send us Fan Mail We’re back with Season 4 of Tatreez Talk ! In this episode, we catch you up on what we’ve been up to—from Amanne’s workshops with the San Francisco Public Library during SWANA and Arab American Heritage Month, to Lina’s recent trip to Japan and her exploration of sustainability through thrifting and reimagining how we can bring new life to what’s already in our closets. We reflect...

Send us Fan Mail WE WELCOME BACK TWO RETURNING GUESTS—BAYAN FARES OF BADAN COLLECTIVE ( @badancollective ) AND EMAN TOOM OF HINT OF TATREEZ ( @hintoftatreez )—FOR A POWERFUL CONVERSATION ABOUT CULTURAL PRESERVATION, APPROPRIATION, AND THE RESPONSIBILITIES THAT COME WITH TEACHING PALESTINIAN EMBROIDERY. The discussion kicks off with personal stories: how both Bayan and Eman came to teach tatreez, a...

Send us Fan Mail DANA IS A TATREEZ ARTIST, ALSO KNOWN ONLINE AS TATREEZ WITH DANDUNA ( @tatreez.with.danduna ). In this episode of Tatreez Talk, we sit down for an honest and moving conversation about how tatreez became an unexpected yet deeply powerful part of Dana’s life. She shares how her Palestinian roots shaped her identity, and how the events of 2021 and the ongoing genocide since October 7...

Send us Fan Mail NATALIE TAHHAN, A FASHION DESIGNER, ILLUSTRATOR AND INSTRUCTOR AT BIRZEIT UNIVERSITY ( @natalietahhanofficial / @ntstudi0 ). Natalie shares her unique life journey, growing up in Doha after being born in Jerusalem, and the deep-rooted pull that eventually led her to return to Palestine.  She opens up about the difficult decision to return in 2015 to protect her Jerusalem ID, facin...

Send us Fan Mail ZEINA IS A JEWELRY DESIGNER AND FOUNDER OF ASHERAH JEWELLERY , DEDICATED TO CELEBRATING, PRESERVING, AND RAISING AWARENESS OF PALESTINIAN TATREEZ THROUGH HANDMADE BEADED JEWELRY ( @ asherahjewelleryuk ). Together, we hear about her journey as a half-Palestinian, half-Iraqi artist, growing up in a culturally rich household that shaped her creative identity.  From her family roots i...

Send us Fan Mail ANA IS A PALESTINIAN COLOMBIAN MUSICIAN, STUDENT, TATREEZ ARTIST AND TEACHER ( @verde_a_zaytouna ). In this episode, she shares how tatreez became a profound act of self-discovery, storytelling, and connection—to Palestine, Palestinians, and even her own family. More than just embroidery—it became a form of reclaiming history, understanding geography, and strengthening ties to the...

Send us Fan Mail This bonus episode comes from a place of urgency: A new Kickstarter campaign is exploiting Palestinian embroidery under the guise of collaboration . This isn’t just about tatreez—it’s about cultural appropriation and the systemic barriers Palestinian artisans face while others profit from our heritage. Joining us are: Bisan Alhajhasan – Lawyer & founder of Thobnah , a platform...

Send us Fan Mail FATIMA IS A TATREEZ ARTIST, CREATOR, ACTIVIST, AND ANOTHER FRIEND FROM LAST YEAR’S TATREEZ RETREAT ( @olives_and_cedar ). In this episode, she introduces us to the term “Soul Ties” and the deep meaning behind it—something that couldn’t resonate more. For those of us in the diaspora, staying connected to our identity and to Palestine is essential. Fatima offers a powerful way to do...