Everything started thanks to a friend?s remark. Impressed by the quality of a bag Zarine Noorbanon Nujjoo had made herself, she encouraged her to create more and start a small business. This was three years ago. Since then, Zarine has never stopped making these hand-made products, so that her house and wardrobes are now scattered with her own creations.

Handbags, skirts, dresses but also tablecloths, tablemats, aprons, carpets and even glass painting?arts and crafts hold no more secrets for Zarine Nujjoo. ?I?ve always liked creating things. And thanks to free drawing and needlework lessons given by the Ministry of Social Security, I have been able to improve in these fields. I even got diplomas?. She now excels in acrylic painting and embroidering graphics like flowers and geometric forms on cloth.

Although she has never dreamt of becoming a businesswoman, she is proud to say that business is going well. ?I send my products to a store in Grand-Baie, which then sells them to people, mostly tourists. They appreciate my work because it?s really typical. I?m trying to find more sales outlets but it?s not that easy. Anyway, I don?t consider this activity as a real job, it?s more like a hobby? she explains. But Zarine?s renown is not limited to Grand-Baie or Mauritius. Regularly, she has friends coming from France to buy her creations as presents for their relatives when they return home.

Until recently, Zarine would spend seven days a week on her hobby. She could devote, for example, more than fifty hours to creating a single tablecloth. ?Everything is hand-made and the drawings I make are very delicate. That?s why it takes so much time to complete a work,? she says.

New styles and shapes coming

But three weeks ago a happy event occurred meaning she had to put aside this activity: ?With the birth of our baby, I don?t have as much time as before to make things. But I have already embroidered a sheet for him?.

While taking care of the baby with her husband Naushad, a primary school teacher in Triolet, Zarine is still thinking of ways of putting her creative abilities into practice. Among her craft projects, she is planning to make covers and pillow cases. New patterns are also on the agenda.

As well as friends and customers, who have never stopped encouraging Zarine to carry on her activity, her husband is also one of her greatest fans. As soon as she embarked on this business, she received Naushad?s support - moral rather than practical. ?I really admire what Zarine makes. I tried once to paint on a piece of cloth. But I just don?t have the required skills. My brush stroke is not precise enough and my hand shakes too much? he concludes smiling.