International Spotlight: Morocco

ANBAR

Situated in Safi, an ancient Atlantic Ocean port city known for its textile, ceramic, and sardine industries, Anbar is a new design studio founded by two sisters and their cousin with the aim of preserving artisanal traditions passed down through the generations. Naming the studio after their master artisan grandmother, the practice’s inaugural Back to Basics unglazed earthenware collection sheds fresh light on the simplicity of this well-entrenched practice; the notion that certain Moroccan crafts align much more with a utilitarian than overly ornate or precious sensibility all while remaining aesthetically enticing. The various vessel typologies allude to a time when they were essential to storing food and water; ensuring one’s survival in the region’s challenging environmental conditions. 

TRIBALISTE

Marrakech-based boutique carpet brand Tribaliste collsboratex closely with a tight network of Berber weavers operating throughout the country who produce traditional and reimagined designs. It also specializes in a type of hand-women cotton throw known as plaid. Working with a custom order model, clients are able to select from a wide range of colors and patterns while also selecting specific techniques and embellishments. Tribaliste prides itself on continuously uncovering, or unearthing, undiscovered patterns and facets of the long-establish trade. Part of its mission is to also source raw materials locally and closely control the production process to ensure the highest level of sustainability and quality.

LES BRONZIERS

Combining the ancient practice of smithing copper with digital design tools, Fez-based Les Bronziers is a company specialized in both traditional and contemporary bronzeware. From intricately patterned chiseled arabesques chandeliers, what one might expect to see in a historic Moroccan Riad, to contemporary lamp bases and mirror frames, the producer implements the same cut through-relief technique in various applications. Other embossed and forging processes are also utilized when partnered artisans craft monolithic table bases and innovative accessories such as bowls and jewel boxes, or fresh takes on the classic cone-shaped tagine pot. Implementing various computer-aided programs and devices allows Les Bronziers to push beyond the limitations of traditional techniques all while still championing their lasting cultural influence. 

SALIMA FILALI

Celebrating the well-established zellige craft tradition, French Moroccan talent Salima Filali looks to translate the ancient irregularly-textured glazed tile in new applications and uncommon colorways, what she calls her Les Nuance collection. She also transforms this normally geometric component into elaborate mosaics evocative of other traditional Moroccan patternworks. Her one-off art installations go so far as to challenge the two dimensionality of tile installation and the conventional expectation that thry should form together in flueh continuity. Her limited edition furniture pieces incorporate the reinterpreted zellige tiles as inlaid embleshments and experimental cladding, what one might expect to see in a kitchen or bathroom.

MAISON TOUKKANI

Switzerland-based, Morocco-born designer Khalida Toukkani renders age-old woven and tufted carpet techniques in experimental applications. Working closely with highly revered women cooperatives throughout the country, she implements high quality, ethically and locally sourced sheeps wool. Her organic and carefully toned compositions translate into everything from standard dimension rugs and wall hung tapestries to upholstered furnishings, headboards, and ottomans. Playing with different weaving structures and the length of the tufted planes, she’s able to introduce different textures and bold contrasts even in monochromatic pieces.