Moussem Founder, Sarah Allaoui
Moussem is an authentic Moroccan homeware company with the goal of preserving the craft of Amazigh weaving. Two years ago, Sarah Allaoui decided to reconnect with her family’s Moroccan roots by creating Moussem, a homeware company selling authentic Amazigh rugs. Sarah’s goal is to share the art of Amazigh weaving with the world, all while connecting with traditional weavers living in Morocco. We were delighted to have the opportunity to talk to Sarah about the inspiration behind her company.
How did you come up with the idea for your business?
After sadly losing my grandmother in 2020, I developed a longing to reconnect with my Moroccan Amazigh culture and heritage, which is how I created the idea for the business. Berber rugs have become increasingly fashionable over the years which has led to many high street imitations of the product. I formed this business with the aim of giving people the option to purchase authentic Berber rugs and homeware for themselves, all the while providing a glimpse into how amazing Amazigh culture is.
It sounds like a big project! What challenges have you faced?
Forming my business over the first lockdown period (2020) was admittedly very difficult. With many people originally making purchases online, my business started out through taking requests via social media and my website. Yet, as restrictions eased people have slowly started making more in-person purchases too, having multiple channels to purchase our products has become necessary. Square’s ecosystem of tools helped make this aim a reality. It allowed me to not only build my first website for Moussem with their quick and free website builder, but to connect my online and offline sales together, so I had an accurate and informed picture of my stock and sales at any one time.
Consequently, over the last year I’ve had the privilege of hosting three pop-up shops with the most recent being in Boxpark Shoreditch (East London.) They’re a lovely way for me to interact with customers and collect feedback on our products in real time. I definitely hope to hold more of them moving forward!
Our rugs start from £175, this combined with the fact many customers are no longer making cash purchases due to the pandemic, meant that to ensure my pop-ups are a success we needed to provide a means of easily processing card payments. Crucial to resolving this challenge are the Square terminals we use to collect card payments so we can meet our customers’ needs better. From a business perspective it’s also cost-effective and payments come through the next day making budget planning and forecasting trouble-free.
How do you find the women who make the rugs?
I have a great local team in Morocco, led by my mother, who are all as passionate about our mission as me. They are constantly traveling to remote areas in Morocco, establishing and developing direct relationships with the weavers. It has taken time but we have built a network of trusted contacts who can help us find these women, who typically weave in their homes. We also attend weekly local souks (Arab market places) where we can sometimes make initial contact, though this wasn’t the case a couple of years ago, as souks tended to be a no-go zone for women.
It must be hard to stay connected over such long distances. How are the workers paid?
All our partner artisans are paid fairly for their labour and creativity. The starting point to ensure this is to be in contact with the weavers directly, so they can set their own price. At first we simply paid per rug but with the growth of the business, we are looking to expand options, depending on the individual preferences of each weaver. Some, for example, would prefer a steady, reliable salary every month, while others prefer to get paid by commission. Our goal is to be flexible as a company, whether it’s with our weavers or staff members. Whatever works best for them, we tend to strive for.
So how long do these handmade products take to make?
The lead time for our bespoke pieces depends on two things: complexity of design and size of rug. A small-to-medium size rug will typically take around 2-4 weeks, starting from stringing the yarn into looms, followed by a patient process of tying knots and bringing the weave to life. When we have a big piece commissioned, up to three weavers can work on a single rug – a truly collaborative piece of work!
What do you enjoy most about running your business?
The best part has got to be empowering our incredible women artisans! They are preserving our beautiful culture through their art and are enabling the next generation (including myself) to learn more about our ancient traditions and where we come from. Moussem started as a journey of rediscovering my identity, and each day I interact with my community back in Morocco, bringing me closer to home.
What influence does your Amazigh heritage and background have on the way you run your business?
My heritage has definitely played a role in how smooth it has been to form deep connections with our weavers in such a short period of time. Amazigh people are tribal, we stick together and would do anything to preserve our heritage and identity in today’s fast-moving world. My strong will and passion for female empowerment can also be credited to my Amazigh blood and ancestors, specifically my grandma. We also love colour, so it’s been fun to introduce brighter colour and life to the UK interiors scene!
Thanks, Sarah!
If you’re interested in Moussem’s traditional Amazigh rugs, check out their website here.
