Simple beginnings
Coming from a simple Muslim family, my parents did not pay much attention to Christmas but we enjoyed the Christmas holiday period as a family as my youngest brother’s birthday is on Boxing Day and so we always celebrated (and still do) with a party and presents. One year we even had a fake Christmas tree with presents underneath it which were only for my little brother.
For the love of advent calendars
As we got older, my siblings and I would buy our own Christmas advent calendars and countdown the days until Christmas for no reason in particular, other than to participate in the joy of the festive period. As well as create our own Ramadan advent calendars using numbered envelopes and chocolates.
This continued well into my twenties and when I moved abroad to Dubai, where Christmas Day is not a public holiday and just another working day, my sister would post me a Christmas advent calendar in December, marking our little family tradition.
New appreciation for Ramadan
Whilst I lived in Dubai, I began to enjoy Ramadan in a totally different way to how I grew up in England. In England, Ramadan was very much a family affair and quite beautiful in its simplicity, waking up before Fajr to eat as a family and sharing Iftar at sunset.
In Dubai, the whole city changes during Ramadan. All the palm trees on the roads are covered in sparkly lights, all the malls are decorated and restaurants are closed during the daytime. A certain peacefulness descends onto the city which is enjoyed by everyone (including non-Muslims) as reduced office hours mean you have more time to enjoy the whole month of Ramadan with friends and family.
During this time, I also had the idea of creating a children’s advent calendar for Ramadan to countdown the days until Eid, for my little niece who loved dates and was just beginning to learn about Ramadan. Apart from making her homemade ones, I never found one I could post to her in the same way my sister posted me a Christmas advent calendar, thus a seed was planted.
The journey to Star x Crescent
When my life took me to Hong Kong, the idea was firmly planted in my head. As an Aunt by distance, I had become a seasoned gift sender to my niece and family for Ramadan, Eids, birthdays and Mother’s and Father’s Day. I had also become tired by the poor quality of seasonal gifts available for Muslims in the UK.
And so the journey began to create beautiful gifts to celebrate special occasions in the Muslim calendar, starting with Ramadan.
Inspired by Islamic art, design and geometry
Taking cues from all the wonderful patterns which exist in Islamic art and design and being slightly obsessed with Islamic geometry, I hope to create beautiful gifts based on these inspirations for you to share with your loved ones.
My vision is to connect the dots between Muslim cultures and modern lifestyles to bring you consciously curated halal products to bring joy to you, your children and family and friends.
Now in my third year and on my 3rd design of Ramadan calendars (which shall be launched in 2022), insha'Allah I shall also be launching a few new products this year too. So please watch this space and drop me an email if you have any questions or feedback, I would love to hear from you.