Through colorful prints and culturally-rich designs, a twenty-seven-year-old Nubian showcases the South’s culture –leaving her clients with masterpieces and not just products. Founder of Ganubi Store, Nada El Halafawy, is an interior design and decor graduate who later specialized in graphic design. Get to know all about her idea, design and more through our conversation.
How and why did you come up with the idea of the store?
The idea first came to my mind because of my origins. The designs represent everything that I love and has impacted me. Luckily, people liked my designs; which later encouraged me to establish my own gallery to showcase my culturally-influenced products.
Why did you pick the South in specific?
I picked the Nubian style because it’s very cheerful, and combines a lot of different symbols and shapes. I believe that it really deserves to have its own commercial brand and print, reflecting the unique culture from Aswan, Sudan and North Africa, and the art that makes each place special, starting from houses to clothes.
Why do you think it’s important to sell products that are inspired by culture?
It’s important to have different, culturally-influenced products –especially when it’s that special and cheerful– to represent and spread the South’s culture indirectly through art and design. It also resonates with people who do not belong to the South.
Your Instagram pictures feature diverse models in a very natural way, allowing women of different skin color and body shapes to showcase their beauty; why did you choose this type of modeling for your products? And why do you think this inclusion is important?
I wanted to complement my designs by picking models with the same natural features of the locals in the South, to deliver the whole vibe to the customers.
When did you open the store? And how is it doing since the launch?
I launched Ganubi a year ago. It’s doing better than we expected. It reached people across the country who admired and bought the products.
What are your future expectations and aspirations?
We’re currently looking forward to launching our own gallery, and to producing more products for various ages and tastes. We’re also hoping to start producing for men and kids as well.
How many people currently work at the store? And whose designs are they?
We’re two ladies until now. The designs and the execution are completely produced by me.