Creativity and Courage: My Grandparents' Story
When imagination brings my ancestors back to life
This brand is a tribute dedicated to my grandparents, whom I did not have the privilege of knowing and of whom no photo exists in our family.
I have to rely on my imagination and the few stories my father tells me to try to visualize them when I think of them.
So, in my imagination, I see my grandfather, of average height, with fair skin gilded by the burning desert sun, marked by deep wrinkles drawing stories of courage and perseverance.
Every day of the year, he faced the burning desert sun as he set out to take his flock to graze in the hills at the foot of Jbel Bani .
I see him with his scarf, tied carefully around his head and neck, leaving very little room for his bright, piercing eyes, reflecting the determination and resilience of a man accustomed to the rigors of life in the desert.
His hands must have been rough and his feet hard and scaly, like snake skin, from walking on these stones, because the desert we are talking about here is not a sandy desert, but a rocky desert.
The thorns he encountered along the way were either to break on contact with his skin or to leave him alone, never reaching their end.
He was to carry a handmade goatskin gourd with him, which must have left a particular leathery smell when he hydrated himself or prepared his tea over a fire made from dry wood from trees that he collected for his breaks.
The sun was his watch to pray, without any constraint and with serenity.
He had to listen to the desert winds that can tell you a story or a melody, if you let your mind wander.
He talked to his animals and must have known them one by one. Did he give them nicknames? I don't know.
Then, when he returned just before dusk, shortly before the Maghreb prayer, he found his home where his wife and children were waiting for him.
Looking out to the horizon, his family could see the herd in the distance and the patriarch returning. That was when my grandmother had to put the goat meat skewers on a wood fire, which he particularly enjoyed.
The closer he got, the more he could see smoke in the distance coming from his home and smell a scent he loved as a welcome home.
As for my grandmother, I imagine her with a clear face, wearing jewelry, creations that Berber women made themselves.
I also imagine him weaving Berber rugs in the courtyard of his stone house.
And I'm sure of that because my father and my aunts told me so.
In each room, her brightly colored creations must have littered the floor. She was a skilled carpet weaver, originally from a small village not far from Taznaght , renowned for making Berber carpets.
She trained her daughters and all the women in her village of Issengaren in weaving, because none had this skill except her.
She had to make them with care and love, and let her creativity, nourished by the desert, speak. I imagine her weaving her rugs, humming a Berber melody.
The History and Meaning of Brand Logo Pictograms
The three pictograms of the brand logo are inspired by the patterns of Berber carpets that I bought a few years ago in Tlite , a village located between Nsoula and Issengaren , from a young weaver.
I like to think that if weavers continue this art in these villages, it is perhaps partly thanks to the influence and heritage of my grandmother.
Take the time to observe them before reading what follows:
- The first pictogram at the bottom left represents a flock that is being led, and in the middle of it, the shepherd's star.
- The second one is easier to guess: it symbolizes a carpet.
- The third represents our desert surrounded by the Jbel Bani (mountain ranges).
I drew them first and then found meaning in them, except for the rug which was designed with an intention from the start.
Every time I look at them, I think of my grandmother's creativity and my grandfather's entrepreneurial spirit, qualities that inspire me every day.
Also discover our history .