Saudi Gazette

MAKERS Market was held at Amkana space in Jeddah last April 19-21. The event hosted local designers and highlighted unique concepts. Talking about the new vision of the country, Rema Hamidadeen, an organizer and partner at Makers Market spoke to Saudi Gazette about the new changes.

“Now that the country has opened up in such a way and we are going to get there and at such a fast rate we are going to catch up and if not we are definitely going to be better,” she said. Originally from Yemen, Hamidadeen spent the first 17 years of her life in London. She returned to Riyadh and studied literature at King Saud University. “I got married shortly after and moved to Jordan with my husband who was doing his masters there. Their culture revolved around the artistic world and I learned a lot during our stay there,” she said. When she returned to the Kingdom, Hamidadeen started designing her own abayas and it was when she started selling them at events that she came up with an idea to launch her own event management company.

She launched Makers Market with a friend and aims to add value to the relationship between retailers and event planners. “My partner and I got tired of seeing the same thing at bazaars here. They take our money and ignore all our needs. Designers aren’t given anything, they have to do it all by themselves. They are promised so many services but get nothing. We want to change that be there for them in every way possible. Whether its logistics or even the smallest elements, we are here to do that,” she said.

Following the success of their first event last month in Jeddah, Makers Market gained popularity among local designers, many of whom contacted her for the second event. “This is our second event. We had one in March and it did better than we expected. It got over 300 people and we were told to expect 150. Then the word spread like fire and we had people calling us up for this event,” she added.

Always on the lookout for creative minds and new designers, Hamidadeen also works as a mentor and guide for upcoming brands in the city.

“I find them myself, in fact this girl, Malak Ahmed is so young and brilliant,” she said while pulling out a beige thobe from the designer’s stand. “Look at the detail and quality,” she pointed out. “I advise and mentor young designers and tell them they are worth a lot more. I ask them to value themselves because they’re so talented. We also treat the new and established brands the same way. That is very important to us,” she added. Some of the brands displayed at the bazaar included Abaya Ghir, Abaya new 4 you, Tamarzizt- a French jewelry brand, Beauty Design, The Orchard, Halah Abaya, Petal Blush and Sabaya. For upcoming events, follow them on instagram @makers_market_