Palestinian sisters give traditional greeting cards a modern day twist

Record ID: 877161

  • Title: Palestinian sisters give traditional greeting cards a modern day twist
  • Date: 29th May 2017
  • Summary: DESIGN OF GREETING CARD ON SCREEN GREETING CARD FOR WEDDING CONGRATULATIONS
  • Embargoed: 12th June 2017 11:41
  • Keywords: art arabic graphic design Palestine West Bank Jenin Greeting cards
  • Location: JENIN, WEST BANK
  • City: JENIN, WEST BANK
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA0036IW37F9
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Out of their small Jenin workshop, three Palestinian sisters are hoping to revive the act of giving greeting cards.
    Loz, Arabic for almonds, is a business founded by Aseel al-Shaer and her two sisters.
    All in their 20's, the sisters work together on creating the card designs on their laptops and marketing them to Arab customers.
    "I started my project with the idea of greeting cards in Arabic and with a Palestinian touch. I started this project because I wanted to encourage people to exchange greetings cards and gift them to each other since greeting cards have become a thing of the past and people barely give them to each other anymore because of social media such as Whatsapp and phones that have limited people's communication through greetings cards," explained al-Shaer.
    The cards are sold for five shekels, around 1.4 U.S dollars, and despite not having a dedicated store, the quirky stationery is on sale in Jerusalem, and the Palestinian Territories, as well as Jordan.
    For the sisters the use of the Arabic language in their work is also important.
    "We like to encourage the use of the Arabic language, and it is very important for us to make greeting cards in Arabic so people would preserve their heritage and their culture and Arabic heritage,'' al-Shaer said.
    For seasonal holidays and special occasions, the al-Shaer sisters create bespoke cards for their clients.
    And with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan underway, the sisters are already planning their designs for the month and are expecting to do brisk business ahead of Eid.
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