Day: March 24, 2010

Vele meisjes onder ons dragen een hoofddoek en de meeste van hen dragen keer op keer dezelfde soort stijl. Voor de creatievelingen is het natuurlijk jammer dat ze nooit eens wat kunnen vinden dat apart én mooi kan zijn. Ikzelf heb dat probleem ook en de enige wat ik kon doen is stoere studs op mijn legergroene sjaaltje naaien. Nu hoeft dat niet meer, want de Amerikaanse hoofddoek-designers Marwa en Nora doen dat wel voor ons! Hun collectie is verbazingwekkend: je vindt vrijwel alle kleurtjes, stukjes stof en en.. nou ja.. beoordeel zelf maar eens!

1. Can you guys give us a brief biografy of yourselves?
Marwa: Well I’m 19 yrs old and I was born and raised in California. I’m majoring in Communications Public Relations and minoring in Enterpenurship.

Nora: I am 19 years old and I am currently attending RCC, Riverside Community College. I’m planning on transferring out for the fall term and attending a UC where I could continue my Psychology major. I’m a preschool teacher at Minaret Academy, an Arabic Saturday School!

2. What is your ethnic background?
Marwa: My dad is Syrian and my mom is part Turkish and part Syrian. So I’m mixed with both in me 🙂

Nora: My dad is syrian and my mom is half jordanian, half croatian. I was born in California.

3. How and why did you started Vela Designs?
Marwa: Vela Designs started when Me and Nora decided to turn a dream into a reality. it was in the summer of August 2009 and we were chatting it up on the phone like any other given night. And we just decided to start designing scarves for ourselves. It didn’t start out that way though. Because all throughout high school I was really into fashion and I’m very artistic. I began drawing graphic design sketches on scarves and would always draw in between classes or whenever i had a new idea in mind. I never really showed them or told anyone about it for a really long time though. The only people who knew/saw that I did that would be Nora and my Mom. So I had always carried that idea with me and Nora shared the same love as well. So we decided to begin designs scarves just for us. Soon when people began seeing the designs that we wore they wanted some as well, so we began selling them. So it just kept on expanding and turned it into a business.

Nora: We started Vela last summer in August when Marwa and I decided it was time it we did something that could change things for us. We raked our minds for what we could do and this had been something Marwa mentioned over a year ago about wanting to do something in fashion and hijabs. Just last summer, I called Marwa up and simply said, ” Lets do it, why not start a hijab company together??” We didn’t give ourselves time to think. It’s something that continues to blow our minds away considering how far we have gotten into this business, Al hamdullilah.

4. Has the name of your brand a special meaning?
Marwa: Of course it has a special meaning! The word Vela came from the derived Latin term meaning Vellum. Vellum is a biological term meaning something that is a netting like resemblance of a veil. “Vela” is the plural of the word. So Vela is the correct Latin term meaning “Veils” The word fits perfectly into what we do and design, because Veil is another word for scarf or hijab.

Nora: Vela is actually the latin root word for a head cover, veil or Hijab. So we decided it would be much more original while remaining short and sweet.

5. What was your first draft?
Marwa: My first draft(s) were two things. One was this bright almost neon orange floral design that i created specifically for my Eid outfit. My second draft was the Zipper scarf that i designed.

6. How long do you spent for one designed headscarf?
Marwa: Well I can’t give you an accurate amount, but all of our scarves are handmade so depending on the work they take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hrs. Each.

Nora: It actually depends a lot on the work that needs to be made for each individual design. But I would say roughly 45 min to 2hrs. It all just depends!

7. Who/What is your inspiration to create such fantastic headscarves?
Marwa: My inspiration just kinda comes within. I’m always challenging myself to one up my designs and make them better than the previous ones. Sometimes my inspirations come from the runways, where i spot trends and interpret them into my own creation and designs. other times its just something that i picture in my head and I just begin making it now matter how crazy or different it looks.Each Vela scarf tells a story, and you see that throughout the photos.

One person that I look up to in the fashion world would be the late Alexander McQueen. I discovered him in high school and fell in love with his designs because they always seemed so bright and detailed and most importantly different. I could take a picture at one of his creations and just stare that it for the longest time because I admired the amount of detail that he put into his creations. So he really inspired me to be different and go with what ever im feeling at the moment and design the scarf.

Nora: I am inspired by so many things and so many people. Marwa and I are inspirations to one another. But there is nothing specific that I could say inspires me. Sometimes it’s just seeing the color of the fabric and I instantly have a new creation in mind.

8. Are you satisfied with the creations or do you think that the work can made on a higher level?
Marwa: I love the creations and the designs that me and Nora put out for Vela! But I do always feel like in the future we can make new creations that are better and more detailed.

Nora: I believe we have DEFINITELY progressed over time. As of right now, Of course we couldn’t be more satisfied, Al Hamdullilah, but we are still striving to better our work, and Inshallah expand our business.

9. Are you also creative in real life?
Marwa: I like to think of myself as that, or else I have nothing else going for me 😛 hahaha

Nora: I try to be Haha! This is the real life, the real us. We have just implemented our creativity and style into the Hijabs!

10. Who is your favorite designer?
Marwa: I said it before and i’ll say it again Alexander McQueen!!!!! So you can imagine my devastation when I found out that he just recently passed away 🙁 but i love Reem Acra’s dresses, and the simplicity of Chloe, and Loui Vuitton, and Miu Miu! those would have to be my top 5.

Nora: I actually don’t have a favorite designer, believe it or not! Each designer has something specific that I absolutely may love.

11. Can you please tell us about the prices? And do you deliver the products to the Netherlands?
Marwa: Yes, we do deliver our products to Netherlands.

Nora: The prices vary for the hijabs. Depending on how much work is put into the hijab and what it cost to buy it’s accessories, will of course determine how much the price is. We ship internationally, YESS the Netherlands is included!

12. How do you see yourselves ten years later?
Marwa: Hopefully done with school.

Nora: Man, that is seriously something I constantly think about, but I can still make out only a blur. Inshallah with the support of our family and fans and that motivation that constantly keeps us going will still be there in ten years where Vela will have expanded and Inshallah become an established, successful business.

13. Did you ever went to our country (The Netherlands) and what do you think of us?
Marwa: Unfortunately I have never Been to Netherlands but do plan on traveling there someday. I don’t know much about Netherlands but i picture you guys having beautiful scenery and yummy deserts!

Nora:I would absolutely LOVE to visit the Netherlands 🙂

Thank you for the interview, girls!

Hebben jullie interesse? Zo ja, dan kan je voor meer foto’s hun facebookaccount checken en je bestellingen doorgeven naar de mail marwaandnora[at]gmail.com! De officiële website is in onderhoud, dus nu moet je het hiermee doen.

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