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Nomad Style
Written by Holli Thomas Photographed by Coleen Rider
As a child, Nooria Farhad was fascinated by the nomads who would stop by her family's home in Kabul, Afghanistan, for fresh water. Their free lifestyle and stunning, unusual cultural dress captivated her. These impressionable encounters eventually translated into a business galvanized by an appreciation of the love and creativity woven into Afghan textiles.
Farhad came to the United States as a young married woman in 1976. She had a son and eventually a career in medical billing. In 1991 during a trip to Islamabad, Pakistan, she was bewitched by the Afghan refugees’ colorful embroidered outfits. She purchased whatever textiles and jewelry she could afford from the local shopkeepers. Coincidentally, it was about this same time her employer was relocating to another state. Encouraged by her husband, Asad, to pursue what she loved doing, the severance package was taken and Nomad Style was born.
The early focus of Nomad Style was Afghan cultural dress. Farhad witnessed firsthand shopkeepers in Afghanistan who offered unattractive dresses that lacked the previous generations’ embroidery and attention to detail. She decided to create dresses that incorporated vintage embroidery from different provinces and apply to them a modernized version of their traditional dress. New Afghan generations can now uphold their ancient flair, assimilated for today's world.
By 2003 Farhad's annual buying trips to Afghanistan also entailed finding women to employ for quilt making. Old fabric and clothes purchased there are washed, cut and hand stitched into quilts called Rallies. The concept is similar to American crazy quilts. Some are all cotton, others are made from primarily gold embroidered fabrics, and velvet ones are available as well. Each one is unique and entirely the quilter’s own vision. Nomad Style also carries several sizes of striking white cotton quilts, hand stitched with primitive linear black designs.
Vintage Suzanis, prayer rugs, embroidered cow covers and textiles such as the embellished bottom of a nomad’s sleeve fill her warehouse in Signal Hill, CA. It's a visual magic carpet ride with all the trappings, including wardrobe. The fat stacks of folded Uzbek Suzanis reveal only a hint of their mystery, design and unique color ways. Once opened and laid out, their exquisite beauty and stories begin to unfold. The cotton or silk ground is embroidered in some cases using leftover wool or silk from rug making. A few characteristics are common in the designs of central Asia; circles(or medallions) representing the sun, the tree of life, almond shapes (paisley), and ram horns, which symbolize fertility. Suzanis hang from fabric tabs in a yurt, providing culture and beauty in an otherwise austere environment. Smaller embroidered pieces such as prayer mats have a dual purpose, to cover baggage or other utilitarian items viewed as eyesores, when not being used for prayer.
Amongst the Suzanis and quilts, are baskets and large platters filled with pieces of vintage nomad sleeves embellished with metal buttons, coins, and studs. If all that isn't enough to feast your eyes upon, there are rugs, furniture, beads, jewelry, scarves, vintage ethnic robes and shoes, Farhad's line of Afghan dresses and a selection of proprietary handbags made from ethnic textiles.
If you make an appointment to visit Nomad Style, leave yourself plenty of time. There is a great deal to discover, appreciate and fall in love with. Farhads passion for what she does is part of the experience, as well. Importing beauty and culture turned out to be her life’s work.
Nomad Style
NomadStyle.com
balustradeandbitters.com/encyclopedia/nomad-style/profile
714-234-5698
2633 E. 28th Street Suite 614
Signal Hill, CA 90755
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