Love Handmade's Exclusive November '25 Exhibition
From 15th to 16th November, Love Handmade welcomed craft lovers and connoisseurs to its headquarters in Islamabad for a two-day exhibition that celebrated heritage, creativity, and community. The gates were draped with vibrant, hand-stitched rallis in striking reds and blues, welcoming guests to a weekend where tradition met contemporary design.
Inside the workshop, shelves were lined with elaborate rallis — some taking nearly a year for Love Handmade artisans to prepare — alongside stunning contemporary pieces, each radiating skill, culture, and care. The atmosphere was set with gentle background music and the comforting aroma of steaming tea and coffee for visitors, creating an inviting space for conversation.
Founder Zein Ahmed, whose decades-long career has blended design, sustainability, and women’s empowerment, shared her vision for the exhibition and the brand. “I wanted to use the jacket as a medium to bring the art of ralli to a global audience. To me, a ralli is a canvas - a space where an artisan expresses her creativity, her heritage, and her identity. Quilting is a universal craft; women around the world have stitched quilts by hand for generations to keep their families warm and to preserve their stories. By using this shared art form, I saw the perfect opportunity to launch Love Handmade’s clothing line, specifically jackets - not just as fashion, but as a way to create more meaningful and sustainable economic opportunities for our artisans.”
The exhibition featured Love Handmade’s newest creations, from boho-inspired ralli bags and handcrafted pouches adorned with hearts, butterflies, and beetles, to cozy stoles and rainbow-colored crochet wraps. Delightful crochet keychains added playful charm, while the showstoppers - stunning, warm, and snug ralli jackets - were the centerpiece of the new line introduced this year, with more pieces already in development for early next year.
The event drew a diverse crowd, including long-time supporters, repeat buyers, and first-time visitors discovering Love Handmade via social media. Distinguished guests included Jane Marriott, British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Princess Yasmien Abbasi of Bahawalpur, and Catherine Weibel, Director of the UN Information Centre in Pakistan and a long-time patron and collector of Love Handmade pieces.
“I’ve been shopping from Love Handmade for a number of years, and it’s always wonderful to come back. It’s lovely to see how the designs have evolved, and truly heartwarming to witness the incredible work created by these extraordinary craftswomen in Pakistan,” stated Catherine Weibel. “It’s fabulous to see these ancient crafts being carried forward today, and inspiring to see how people are working to revive and sustain these traditions…exactly what Zein is doing with Love Handmade.”
Visitors were captivated by the attention to detail and patterns of each slow-made piece. Nearly the entire collection of jackets, bags, stoles, and home textiles sold out over the two days, a testament to both the artisans’ dedication and the growing appreciation for slow, sustainable, and meaningful fashion.
“Seeing visitors connect with the pieces, hear their stories, and value the work of our artisans was incredibly moving,” the founder said. “Every purchase is a narrative about who we are, about the traditions we carry forward, the artisans we empower, and the stories we choose to celebrate.”
Love Handmade is already channeling this momentum into its next line of apparel and home textiles, preparing for upcoming exhibitions later this month and in December, continuing its mission to bring traditional Sindhi craft to a global (and local) audience while creating sustainable livelihoods for women artisans.