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Our current stock consists of Jewelry, Belly Dance Accessories, Trim, and Clearance Clothing.
Jewelry – We have a collection of beaded necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and other adornments designed and made by us. Our most famous line is our magnetic collection. However, we do have other styles as well. Using higher end materials such as real rubies, emeralds, and sapphires as well as glass, crystal, pearl, semi-precious stones, and silver, we are constantly trying new designs and learning new skills. Daniel has recently begun working with PMC and you can expect to see some hand crafted silver pieces next season.
Belly Dance Accessories – Because Pacita’s students demanded it, we have a selection of hipscarves, face veils, galabias, tribal hair accessories, and zills or zegat from Egypt. We recently came across beautiful handpainted fans while traveling (perfect for dancing and keeping cool!) and they have become a large and interesting part of our accessories.
Trim – We spend 1-2 months a year overseas in Asia visiting Pacita’s family and teaching belly dance workshops. While there we found some amazing trim and fabric shops. After filling our luggage to the brim with trim “for scadian friends…really…well maybe a few for us too” we thought it might be a good idea to start selling some of it. The trim we found was so unique and of good quality and price that it soon became a large part of Materialis. We have not seen most of our trim anywhere else and it is quickly becoming what we are known for.
Clearance Clothing – Our original intention for Materialis was more garb oriented. Daniel has a great love of Elizabethan men’s clothing and Pacita ALWAYS needs more Middle Eastern garb. However, we wanted to take a different path so far as clothing production is concerned.
Having traveled and met people from the very rich to the very poor, we wanted to try and make a difference in at least one person’s life. We met with several sewers in Manila commissioning various sample runs of pieces until we met Arman. Arman is a dressmaker near Paranaque in Manila, Philippines. He lives in a poor neighborhood in a shack with a dirt floor. Despite that he manages to support his family by sewing and is currently sending his six children to college. For the past three years we have commissioned a number of pieces from him. The remarkable part of this process is that, for 1-2 months of work, we pay him almost as much as he makes in a year in the Philippines. This is Fair Trade in its most personal and effective manner.
For various reasons, with the exception of the ghawazee shirts, we have decided to temporarily pull out of garb. We are clearance-ing the rest of our clothing stock this year (1 ½ circle skirts, chemises, a couple doublets). Arman will still be making our ghawazee shirts but we have also found him a new investor who will continue to work with him and pay him as we did before.
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