Hailing from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Aisha is something of a watercolour painting extraordinaire.
“My love for painting started way back in school, which was why I joined an arts institution to study art after graduation,” Aisha, 44, told FMT.
After the course, she stayed on at the same institution to teach. “It was during that time when I really finetuned my skills through practice. I learned a lot while I was teaching too.”
After her teaching stint, Aisha started a business with her sister decorating kids’ rooms. This included all aspects of interior décor from painting murals to picking furniture and selecting fabric for curtains.
Decorating a kid’s room is no child’s play though, according to Aisha, as the process can take up to three months. “We loved the job and seeing the kids’ excited faces was all the reward we needed.”
However, as rewarding as the job was, it proved too taxing for her and in 2018, Aisha made the drastic decision to move to Malaysia. “My brother has a family here and so does my uncle, so we decided to move here as we needed a change of environment as well.”
Once in Malaysia, Aisha threw herself into her art, setting up booths in flea markets. However, it was at GMBB, a hub for creative souls like herself, that she began to build a customer base for her work.
“I would be lying if I said it was not challenging coming here. I was scared at first as it’s not the same culture that I grew up in. It’s a totally different city with different people, a huge shift from what I was used to,” she admitted.
However, with perseverance and a sense of good-old optimism, Aisha found her niche.
The first thing you will see walking into the shop are hand-painted tote bags, which Aisha revealed are her bestsellers. “My customers love that they can choose what they want to put on the bag for a personalised touch, like something special just for them.”
Another highlight are her bookmarks, often decorated with colourful drawings of sceneries and animals. Who says you can’t read with flair?
One can also add a charming touch to their new home with Aisha’s wall art of flowers, succulent plants and even desserts.
From Aisha’s shop you’ll see that she still makes decorative pieces for kids’ rooms as well, paying homage to her interior design days.
“One of the things I like most about what I’m doing is getting to know each customer who comes to me and listening to their story as to why they want this certain style or graphic on their item, which is fascinating to me.”
Other customisable pieces here are birthday and greeting cards, watercolour paintings and oud burners.
“I like to delve into Arabic calligraphy as well, which is why I incorporate them into my oud burner pieces,” Aisha added, “This is something I’m excited to learn more about in Malaysia as well, its Arabic culture.”
Follow Aisha on Instagram for news on her art lessons for kids and adults.
Dar Zainah
Shop 1-23, GMBB
No. 2, Jalan Robertson
Bukit Bintang
50150 Kuala Lumpur
Contact: 014-3326088
Email: darzainah@gmail.com
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