Have you got little keepsakes from your child’s first year, or a holiday you loved that you don’t want to get rid of but don’t know what to do with? Then Nada Habib has come up with a creative solution for you, ‘Shadow Boxes’. These are customised frames in which you can display these items as works of art.
Why did you come up with the Shadow Boxes?
Shadow boxes have always been a widely-known concept to keep keepsakes for a long time. However, it had not been implemented in Egypt. I spent a good amount of time picking and choosing what my son would wear for his first night in the big world and it was sad to throw them in a box and hide them in the closet. So I thought why not hang them up in a creative box that matches his room theme and be a precious memory for us both to share as he grows older?
It was then my anniversary and didn’t know what to get my hubby; again, I thought why not make him an anniversary box? It was then that I came up with the Anniversary and Honeymoon/Travel boxes.
How have people reacted to them?
A lot of people loved the idea, and began asking me to help them keep their baby’s stuff. The moms and myself work together to come up with a perfectly tailored box!
What sorts of things do people like to put in them?
All sort of things they want to remember, the first baby overall, hospital bracelets, birth certificate info, the first sock, pictures, and I add my own crafts to the box as well as the design to complement the things.
In the Anniversary box, we add pictures and the travel box we add all the keepsakes from the couple’s travels and honeymoon. A romantic gesture for them to decorate the house with.
Do you think part of their success lies in people’s struggle with the passage of time?
A big part yes. We all want to remember our babies when they were tiny, when they were most comfortable sleeping on our chests and when their tiny little feet were ticklish and soft. We want to remember that precious moment of delivering them to the world and when we were their only way to explore the world. But it’s more about capturing the happy moments we had with them rather than a struggle.
In what ways do these boxes help comfort people?
For the baby boxes, they are always a reminder of this very first year. The sleepless nights that are washed away by their morning giggles; that moment of unconditional love and happiness we felt the first time we held them. It’s always a reminder that motherhood is the best thing in the world
As for the Anniversary boxes and Honeymoon boxes they are a romantic reminder of the best times in their lives as newlyweds or even just to remember a fun family trip!
What is your favourite kind of box to do out of your range?
Every box has a special meaning to me as well as my clients. I become friends with each client I do a box for, I tailor them to be exactly what they imagined and more. I love doing each and every box in all my lines. They are my babies.
