Saving Armenian embroidery from extinction

• • Maral learnt embroidery from her grandmothers
• • She uses rare Armenian embroidery techniques
• • Embroidery is her cure to all difficult situations

Maral Sheuhmelian is an embroidery artist from Aleppo who moved to Armenia in 2015 as a Syrian-Armenian refugee. Her passion for embroidery became a full-time occupation while she settled in Armenia. She inherited her embroidery skills from her grandmothers and Maral jokes that even before she was able to walk, she could already work with a needle. She used to embroider to decorate her home – making home accessories and clothing for her family was her greatest passion and a way of life. She excels in traditional Armenian embroidery techniques – like Svaz, Van, Ourfa, Marash and Aynteb. Every stitch she makes challenges the injustices she has felt and celebrates her cultural heritage and its survival. The techniques that she uses are on the edge of disappearance and were passed through the generations of Armenian women who were moved from their homes. Maral’s aim is to revive Armenian embroidery by teaching the next generation of young women.