It's all about the bling!

I was recently sent this beautiful headpiece by the UK company Avizeh jewelry. I've always been in love with ethnic jewelry so you can imagine how giddy I was when I had this piece in my hands! I'm still pretty obsessed and I've had it for a few weeks now.

"Avizeh is company which is born out of the love and culture of ethnic Afghanistan. Avizeh translates jewellery in Farsi. This unique name speaks for what we cater for and the rich cultural heritage of jewellery making which dates back to thousand of years ago and at time of when great trading routes flourished through Afghanistan. These rare Jewels of the east still remain and are carefully hand crafted by a nomadic tribe called Kuchi."-from their website

The piece itself is beautifully made. It has signs of being a vintage piece, there were one or two bells missing and some stitching done on one side with the connector pieces, nothing you notice unless you inspect it up close like me :) I doesn't detract from the piece at all and I actually felt it added to its charm. I asked Avizeh about the minor imperfections and they said they rework/restore these vintage pieces, some gems are added etc.

What I really loved was that this is basically a one of kind piece. What I love about thrifting is that you're buying and putting together things that are not necessarily still in stores. This headpiece feels like a vintage treasure and I like that we all won't be clones next week! I'll definitely be picking up some more treasures from their site. I've been eying the beautiful cuffs and necklaces. The prices are great for what you are getting. Even when you convert the pound to dollar (If you're from the US and have traveled to the UK you know how expensive it can be with the pound being almost double the dollar!).

I actually had a hard time styling this! Especially with the turban. I wrapped this thing a few times and finally settled on this turban creation. I also wanted to dress it down because I think it would be hard to wear this baby out without dressing it down a bit. I decided to wear simple jeans and these flip flops I got from my trip to Nantucket I've been wanting to wear now that the weather is a bit nicer (although it is still freezing every other day here in Boston). I'm not totally sure about the red accents I added. I had painted my nails red the day before so I had to incorporate it somehow. There were little red accents on the headpiece and shoes so I thought it would fit in.

As always much love,
Feda

Outfit Details:
Scarf/turban: TJ Maxx
Black shirt: gifted from my sister- from H&M
Cardigan: thrifted- Vince
Jeans: recent thrift- Joe's Fit: Best Friend
Red bangles: thrifted
Beaded bracelet: Sisco Berluti
Flip flops: Bodhi Tibetan store in Nantucket, MA

Bag: TJ Maxx- Brand: Cardamom + Coriander
Rings: Gifted and from random carts

Channeling Your Inner Creativity Workshop for Teens

This is some of the student work from a teen workshop I did a few weeks ago at the ISB Cultural Center in Boston for Deen14. This was the first time I taught a workshop of any kind so I was a bit nervous. Thankfully my passion for photography as a tool for self-expression and coping with things like depression/stress far surpasses my resistance to public speaking. I was also speaking to teens who are still discovering and experimenting with their own voices so that made it exciting for me.

I went into it not expecting much. I wasn't sure if they would be completely bored or enthusiastic (you never know with teens). I'm happy to say that they completely surpassed my expectations.

I started out by talking about how photography can help you be present by being in the moment while taking an image. I also talked about using photography as a way to express and channel emotions into something productive, creating a piece of art. I projected some of my own work as examples of my own self-expression.

I then sent them off into a park close by to tell stories of their own. The only rule was that they had to tell a story in three images and could only take up to fifteen. I made sure they understood it wasn't about continuously clicking, that they had to spend at least 30 seconds looking at the subject, seeing it from different angles, and capturing their own unique vision of it. (Something I learned from my own mentor Banafsheh during our many photo outings.) These were all taken with phones or point and shoot cameras so the day was all about "channeling their creativity" and less about the tool they were using. I also wanted them to feel like they could go home and use this outlet for creativity at any time.

Here are a few pics I took of them taking pictures also taken with my iphone (edited with vscocam app). I gave them about 15 minutes to take these and some of them were still taking pictures after the fifteen minutes! I was happy they were focusing and getting into the art.

When we went back in we were able to project them onto the screen so we could review them as a group. The thing that sort of took me by surprise was the deeper meanings they related with their images. They told stories of hope, friendship, their dreams and goals, and overall reflections on life. I really felt the discussions we had were the highlight of the day. I left feeling that I had gained much more from them than they did from me. For that I was thankful and grateful. :)

Much love,
Feda