JEDDAH: FOUZIA KHAN
Fabulous Hijazi dresses, trendy abayas, creative jewelry designs, shoes, exotic homemade sweet dishes and Arabic delights, in addition to beauty and household products, were all available this week under one roof at the Hilton Hotel in Jeddah.
The three-day family exhibition, titled “Bazaar Hijaziyat”, which concluded yesterday, witnessed the participation of 180 large and small-sized enterprises. The organizers of the exhibition aimed to promote local Saudi industries, especially homemade products.
“We organized this exhibition to promote our local industry — specifically household products, made by Saudi women, and introduce them in the market. Visitors can purchase all their daily needs from one venue, right here,” said Majdi Mahdi Sugati, general manager of the Golden Sky, organizers of the event.
Sugati added that there is a great need to encourage local products made by Saudi women and to help them establish themselves in the market. “We strive to do our best to support our heritage and these Hijazi products in the local market as well as the rest of the GCC countries,” he said.
Amal Hamdan Al-Shareef, an up-coming designer of hand-made evening dresses and occasion wear, said this was the first time she participated in such an exhibition and was very pleased with the exposure she was gaining.
“I am trying to register my small business with the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce, and I hope that one day I can introduce my clothing line on an international level,” added Al-Shareef.
According to Nabil ElSahli, a distribution officer for a local magazine called “My Mall,” such exhibitions are very important in promoting local products and encouraging individuals involved in the cottage industry.
Abdul Rahman Mohammed, expressed his satisfaction in participating in the exhibition, saying, “This is an excellent chance for me to introduce my small jewelry business, which I recently established, to the community. Some people are still unaware that local Saudi designers produce beautiful handcrafted jewelry.”
One of the exhibition visitors, Samia Abdul Aziz commended the organizers on the idea behind the exhibition and said the public needs more such events to be acquainted with the Saudi heritage and local producers.