Every year I am amazed by how many talented people I meet through social media. Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Linkedin have been my favorite places to meet and greet home and garden enthusiasts. Over the last few weeks I met Tao Bellamine from MyCraftWork.com on Twitter and I was intrigued by his Moroccan website and the artisan wares that he sells. On Stagetecture I have a strong love for travel and have been making a strong effort to bring more international lifestyle and travel destinations to Stagetecture’s pages. Let me know if you’re enjoying the expanded travel content!

Today I interview Tao Bellamine and you will see what a treasure MyCraftWork.com is!

1. Stagetecture:

I’ve heard that Morocco is one of the top visited destination areas for travel. Can you tell us about yourself and how MyCraftWork became a destination for Moroccan home decor?

Chain Bed Linens

MyCraftWork:

Hello, first off I would like to thank Stagetecture for this interview opportunity. My name is Tao Bellamine, I was born and raised in Rabat, Morocco. Both my parents are native Berbers from southern Morocco. I work as a Senior Design Engineer at a Professional Microphone company in the East Coast. We design microphones for some of today’s most successful bands and singers (ColdPlay, Stevie Wonder etc). But this is not what we are here to talk about today, are we

Famous area in Rabat called the Oudayas

A few years ago, I established all the connections that made this business opportunity possible… let me tell you how. I was in Morocco for my annual vacation visiting with friends and family, that’s when, my older brother, Houssine, decided to give me a tour of a newly finished 5 star resort that he was in charge of. I noticed that all of the furnishings were 100% Moroccan Handmade crafts. I thought this would be an excellent business model and I asked my brother, Houssine to help me plan a visit to the cooperatives they were contracting, and that’s how MyCraftWork began.

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2. Stagetecture:

Now that MyCraftWork has successfully been launched years ago, what is your goal to make it a success and to give back to your community?

MyCraftWork:

Our ultimate goal is to create a business model that not only makes profit, but also gives back to the community. We form partnerships with cooperatives comprised of groups of women and men who have developed certain craftsmanship skills. The skill sets we look for vary from hand embroidery and rug weaving to pottery making, woodworking and metal working.

We help uplift these artisans and communities so that their members can live with sustainability, dignity and the ability to provide for their families. These artisans have amazing skills and talents and we hope to offer them the necessary connections and resources to fuel their future.

Hand Embroidery Cooperative Partner – for others visit My Craft Work

3. Stagetecture:

All of your products are amazing! Can you give us a “tour” through your products available at MyCraftWork.com?

MyCraftWork:

We have contracts with several upper scale cooperatives in Morocco. So we make all sorts of high quality crafts from Moroccan luxury lighting and hand embroidered textile to custom ceramics and custom Beni Ourain rugs.

• Luxury Moroccan Lighting:

Amazing dexterity and focus are required to produce our luxury Moroccan lanterns. The picture below depicts the brass hand puncturing phase these lanterns go through. This is where the Maalam (The Master) sculpts out the patterns with the tiniest jewler’s saw, while paying attention to the smallest details. It takes days, and it is done by the most skilled metalwork artisans our country has to offer.

A Moroccan artisan drilling a luxury lantern

Abbad Luxury Wall Hanging Lantern

• Luxury Moroccan Ceramics:

Myriam is an award winning Moroccan ceramics artist. The essence of her work captures the spirit of Moroccan art coupled with a modern outlook on functional design.

Egg Shaped Vase Hiloua

Tarbouche Jars

• Vintage and Custom Beni Ouarain rugs:

With their timeless look and hand woven style, no two Beni Ouarain rugs are alike. They are organic, dramatic and elegant, and can complement just about any décor. The wool is hand spun and usually undyed, and apart from being washed the wool is just as it was when it came off the sheep’s back!

Originally, these thick and heavy carpets were used as protection from the cold as floor and sleeping rugs. Today however, they have found a place in many homes as contemporary designers use them to add that lacking eclectic and chic touch to their modern furnishings and interiors.

Beni Ouarain Moroccan Rug

• Hand Embroidered Luxury Linens:

Moroccan embroidery is a feminine tradition passed on from mother to daughter, generation to generation. Throughout Moroccan history, this art form has been associated with the upper social class’ wedding traditions since it demanded such high precision, dexterity and perseverance.

We only use the best materials, so for the softest bed and bath linens, we selected the best cotton in the world: Egyptian cotton, known for its quality and tightly woven percale, satin or cotton veil.

Hand Embroidered Junction in one of our Moroccan Linen Designs

Hand crafted Fez Linens

4. Stagetecture:

It looks like MyCraftWork has a wonderful selection of home decor, linens, ceramics and rugs. Are there any other areas you all are thinking of branching out into?

MyCraftWork:

Yes, we’re always trying to expand our product portfolio, and at this point we are in the final stages of negotiation with a well renowned Organic Moroccan Spa Products cooperative.

Moroccan spa products are very sought after in the international markets today, especially after the discovery of the Argan oil and its amazing health benefits. All these products are 100% certified organic and non-tested on animals.

The Argan Oil is what makes “Moroccan oil” one of the hottest spa products in the beauty market today. The Argan tree can only grow in Morocco’s special climate.

MyCraftWork:

I would like to send a very special thanks to Stagetecture and Ronique for this interview opportunity. I follow your blog very closely,  and I commend you and your team of writers on the amazing work you do; you present such a wealth of high quality lifestyle and interiors content to your readers.

From our end, we have so many exciting things in the works so we will definitely keep you updated! Until then, keep up the good work, and I am sure we will be in touch again!

Thank you,

Tao Bellamine.

For more travel ideas on Stagetecture, click here.