the lady in the picture

this is from the Palestinian Obi and Dress Exhibition run by Maki Yamamoto, who runs the Palestinian Embroidery Obi Project (link is to an article about it). she works with women in the West Bank and Gaza as well as Japanese artisans to produce and sell embroidered obi (kimono sashes) to high-end Japanese markets, ensuring that the Palestinian women get paid fairly for their work. she's been to the West Bank numerous times, including many trips to high-tension areas like Al-Khalil and Bil'in. this photo, where the model is wearing a Hirbawi kufiya and a mother of pearl carving from Bethlehem in addition to the kimono, is sourced from Yamamoto's Twitter. by the way, mother of pearl carving is a longstanding handicraft tradition in Bethlehem that seems like it's less known compared to things like tatreez and olive wood carving. there are some really beautiful Palestinian mother of pearl pieces out there.

[ID: a keffiyeh folded and sewn into the shape of a human heart. end ID.]