Aya Toukan’s aims to compete against luxury brands DUBAI: In the Jordanian capital, Amman, an entrepreneur has been championing local artisans through her crafty small business — The Art Trove. Her name is Aya Toukan, raised in Amman and educated in London, whose passion for design stems from childhood. From an early age, she stood out from the rest of her family. “We don’t have any design enthusiasts (in the family). Not at all,” Toukan tells Arab News. “I just had this eye for details. I always loved colors and I cared about design. I just feel like I had it in me.” Ads by optAd360 For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @arabnews.lifestyle The Art Trove is a celebration of Middle Eastern culture, from graphic blue eyes to beaded stars. (Supplied) Ads by optAd360 It wasn’t just a love for modern design that acted as a driving force behind establishing The Art Trove, it was also Toukan’s eye-opening experiences at philanthropical NGOs that inspired the whole project back in 2017. “I was working for a while, for three years, and I didn’t feel like I was fulfilled,” she says. That gap was filled by volunteering and exploring workshops on producing baskets from banana leaves, natural dyes, embroidery and a variety of materials. Spending time at the Jordan River Foundation, in particular, made a strong impact on Toukan. “I wanted to learn and understand how they work, because it was very vague to me,” she says. Through JRF’s programming, initiatives have been organized to empower rural women and farmers economically, as well as to enhance the lives of Syrian refugees in the country. Ads by optAd360 In 2019, Toukan started working independently with women in their homes and their initial offerings were limited to coasters and placemats. After COVID-19 hit, workshops and regular production were halted, prompting her to think of other ways to diversify their product range of hand-crafted home accessories. Illustration came to mind, and a local artist embellished The Art Trove’s trays, board games, and plexiglass boxes with bright colors and shapes. Collaborating with skillful, marginalized women, who do the beadwork for The Art Trove’s items, has been rewarding for Toukan. “There are just a few women that I work with and it’s so inspiring to see how they work. A mom would work and she would also call her daughter or sister to help her out. So, they build a community out of this kind of work,” she explains. “I’ll give them a design and they will never say no, they’ll try to complete the job, even if they don’t have the expertise or the know-how. Their determination really inspires me.” Ads by optAd360 Whether through the products’ iconography or purpose, The Art Trove is a celebration of Middle Eastern culture, from graphic blue eyes to beaded stars. “I wanted to introduce these fun motifs to the artisan community but also introduce their work to the world,” she explains. Take backgammon, for example, the Middle East’s most popular board game. Toukan upgraded this nostalgic pastime into something more playful and contemporary, targeting a younger audience. She says it was an ideal object to work with, since playing board games was on the rise during imposed lockdown. “It’s a meaningful game,” she says. “When I think of backgammon, it’s the wooden, pearly box that my grandparents played with all the time. They would gather around and have their friends over. So, it’s nice to build that continuity with generations.” The Art Trove has also run pop-up stores around the world, from Dubai to London. The whole venture of going on the road has been, as Toukan puts it, a “learning experience.” Running a small business in a competitive market comes with its set of challenges, but that hasn’t stopped Toukan from growing her brand. Aya Toukan was raised in Amman and educated in London. (Supplied) Ads by optAd360 “It’s not easy,” she says. “You need to be very driven, passionate, and believe in it, because this is the mark that you will have on the item.” She is heartened by how popular new, homegrown and non-flashy businesses are becoming in the region: “We can complement each other. I’m very sure that if you sit with each different person behind each brand, we’ll all have different visions and views.” And, perhaps, it’s stealing the attention away from luxury brands. “Everyone wants a story to hear, at the end of the day,” Toukan continues. “You live to tell that tale. Luxury has been there for a while and I think people (now) want stories and meaningful items.”