Handicraft products on display

Women’s handicrafts products are proving popular at the eighth Riyadh Festival of Shopping and Amusement.
There are 26 stalls for productive families to display their products.
The festival is organized by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), Riyadh governorate and the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry with the aim of enhancing the city’s international tourism potential.
The products include clothes made of silk, henna designs, embroidery stitching, drawings, flower arrangements, painting on porcelain, underwear for men and women, perfumes, wood carvings and toys.
The products are attractive in terms of appearance and quality because they have been made using ancient techniques but with the help of modern technology.
Umm Mishaal, an expert in perfume making, said: “I learned the technique of perfume making using Ambergris and Oud from my mother, and it has been a secret of my mother’s family for generations.”
She said she had good sales and earned the money needed to meet her house rent and other expenses from the sales of her products.
Hanouf Al-Orabi, a technical college student, said she displayed embroidery works in the exhibition, the Saudi Press Agency reported yesterday.
She added that she learned the art of embroidery while she was in the fifth standard and developed it as a hobby.
Later she perfected her skill by learning additional techniques from embroidery websites on the Internet.
Another successful participant in the exhibition, Al-Khairiyah Al-Asiri, said she has been practicing painting, especially on porcelain, over the past 17 years.
She also wrote names in Arabic calligraphy for customers. She was happy that visitors liked her style.
Suha Al-Nomani displayed abayas of different styles. She said her abayas were designed by herself and was popular among the visitors.
The Ministry of Social Affairs is helping poor working families display their products at the exhibition.
The Women’s Cooperative Society (Hirfah), established in March, is also launching a campaign to promote handicrafts-making among poor Saudi families.