Farida Talaat shows her appreciation for the UAE with her button artwork

The Egyptian artist Farida Talaat makes fashion, design and art from buttons and has created a UAE flag especially for National Day.

The artist Farida Talaat makes artworks using buttons. Courtesy Farida Talaat
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Farida Talaat’s story with buttons began by coincidence. She put all her spare ones into a big pile in her bedroom and decided to sew them onto a handbag. When her friends and family loved what she did and asked her to make more, her microbusiness was born.

She makes handbags and accessories, which she sells through her business Zorar, meaning button in Arabic. But this National Day, she wanted to do something to show her love and appreciation for the UAE, where she has lived for the past 13 years.

Using more than 500 buttons, silk ribbons, velvet bows and all sorts of other charms and eclectic items in red, green and black, Talaat spent three months crafting her own version of the UAE flag.

When she was finished, she presented the unique design to the Ministry of Social Affairs.

“I am Egyptian but I have lived here with my family for many years. I have lived in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, and I love it so much that I wanted to create something to honour the country,” she says. “It is such a peaceful place and it has given me a lot so I wanted to give something back.”

Talaat works in public relations but she is passionate about art, design and fashion. She is also the secretary general of the Egyptian Ladies Association, a non-profit organisation established under the umbrella of the Ministry of Social Affairs in Dubai. It is not the first time she has made something patriotic for the UAE. During Dubai’s bid for the Expo 2020, she recreated the blue and white logo with buttons.

aseaman@thenational.ae