Morocco: and a tale of shame

Dear Friends,

I am wondering if you are still out there. I am wondering if you are still reading. I am wondering if I am speaking to the void….

I have come back to write this because it’s important. Because I wanted to speak to you about shame, about embarrassment, about taboos. About not having what you need just because you are a girl and you have — wait for this — periods. Yes, periods. Now If you are a girl or a woman, I imagine that you are very familiar with periods. And you know what to do - what to buy - when you get them. An annoyance for most but not deal breaking. Life it goes on….and you live it fully (or almost).

Now imagine this…Imagine that you were a teen girl who didn’t have the money to buy the products to manage this very normal thing that happened to you every month. And that you were embarrassed — embarrassed you might leak. So you didn’t go out, didn’t go to school during those heavy days. Yes, imagine that you suffered from period poverty. Millions of girls and women do.

And so today on International Women’s Day, I ask you to walk with me, shoulder to shoulder, to do something to help. Just $12 will give a teen girl a period kit good for 3 years so that she can go to school, play sports, and be free and unashamed during her period. She deserves that, yes?

Just $12.  Right now.  Right here on Global Giving for the girls of Project Soar. There couldn’t be a more useful +inexpensive thing to do on International Women’s Day. Project Soar is competing to win one of 8 slots on the Girls Fund that will unlock $10-$15,000. We are currently in the 19th place. Please help, in honor of a teen girl you love, or perhaps in honor of the teen girl you were.

Let’s do this!

Love,

Maryam

Everywhere sort of: and a tale of being in the New York Times

Dear Friends,

My Dad is from New York and I spent much my younger years living in suburban Chappaqua, with weekend trips to visit my grandmother who lived in Manhattan's Greenwich village.  

So I couldn't be more excited to be the subject of the New York Times Saturday Profile about my efforts to empower girls and women in Morocco through Project Soar and Agent GirlPower!  The article, written by fantastic journalist Marjorie Olster, was also chosen as an Editor's Pick and on the NYT homepage. It was also in the International paper version of the New York Times.  Such a milestone thrill for me.

I'd love for you to take a read right here and let me know what you think! And please forward the story to anyone who might be interested in gender issues or the Middle East/North Africa/Morocco.  Thank you!

Love,

Maryam  

Marrakech: and a tale of a wedding & Moroccan design at Peacock Pavilions

I remember my own Persian wedding day. The anticipation, the pearl pins in my hair, the beautiful dress bought in a a second hand wedding shop in the name of political correctness.  But mostly, I remember the feeling. The friendly sincerity of the Imam (Islamic Minister), the friends who held me in their arms, and the touching anecdotes told with eyes filled with tears. 

I also remember all the pretty details -- the canopy of a live weeping cherry tree on each table, the soup served in a whole tiny squash, the bags of bagels and cream cheese along with the Sunday paper for each departing guest.  

And so it is that I share a tale of a Moroccan wedding at Peacock Pavilions. And if you'd like to recreate some of that feel, a few items from my own M.Montague Souk.  Let the wedding (and Moroccan design) begin....

First the dress, that fluffy confection packed so carefully in a suitcase and flown from Canada to our olive grove. The bridal bedroom.

The perfect accessories. Guest Manager Sophie made the bouquet by hand.

The elation. Hair done, makeup on, and all ready.  

The setting with the pool filled with Moroccan roses.

The ceremony in a secret garden I designed myself. I brought back the hand cut streamers from Belgium.

The Moroccan cocktail reception poolside with the girls all in their pretty dresses.

The Moroccan dinner setting in an outdoor room with walls made of hedges.  The place mats were crocheted by hand from a raffia twine. I had the tiny pots made and Guest Manager Sophie planted them.  Architect husband put up a permanent canopy of fairy lights.  

The realization.  Married now.  

Oh the love.  And hopefully, the happy ever after.  

Wishing a beautiful future to these 2 newly weds!

For items in the M.Montague Souk, click on the images above.  Or check out Moroccan rugs, Moroccan wedding blankets, Moroccan poufs, Moroccan cushions, and Moroccan hooks in the M.Montague Souk.  I've designed or curated them all myself with love. Free shipping on most items! 

PS If you'd like us to host your own small destination wedding at Peacock Pavilions in Marrakech contact us! We still have August, September and October 2019 dates available.

Sublime wedding photography by I Dream Studios.

PS These days, I am hanging out on Instagram.  Let's connect at M.Montague Living or Peacock Pavilions.  

A tale of a super power

Dear friends,

It’s been a journey.  It’s been a lifetime.  It’s been 29 days. 

Yes, it’s been 29 days since I launched Agent GirlPower, my feminist fashion label.  I have learned so much in that time. Lessons that I could never have learned in any class or at any school.  It’s been a crash course in the best and worst of me.  It’s been a tale of anticipation and perseverance.  It’s been thrilling. But it’s also been disappointing.  I have seen such generosity from so, so many, and for that I am forever grateful.  But the truth is that the road ahead of me is long.  Am I smart enough? Am I capable enough to make this work? 

It’s the very last hours of my Kickstarter campaign for Agent GirlPower.  I would still love your support!  Please consider clicking over  and seeing the feminist apparel on offer.  If not for you, perhaps for your daughter, friend, or colleague?  Or perhaps for your boyfriend or husband (the Equality Hoodie is unisex!)?  You can see it all right here. 

With love,

Maryam in Marrakech