West Asia
Şevket the puppeteer finds freedom in a prison cell - On a spring day in Ankara, Songül ARAL discovers a mysterious man who materialises tales of Anatolia to unlock children's imaginations. 
Abdullah’s lullaby of lost looms - Songül ARAL finds a way to connect with childhood objects through miniature looms made by a retired mechanic and his memories.
A head start for heritage: The Kastamonu hat museum 🇹🇷 - Songül ARAL visits Turkey's only hat museum and witnesses a unique historical revival (English and Turkish)
The Fidan doll: A bridge between Turkey and Japan - Songül ARAL finds a village woman who made a traditional doll after her children left home. But how did it find its way east to Japan and start an export business?
Shaabook silver jewellery in Oman: A secret currency of adornment - Amal Al-Ismaeli was inspired by her grandmother to discover a traditional adornment that is designed by women for women.
“We are a country whose lungs are on fire” ✿ Mourning the lost trees of Turkey - Songul ARAL looks for hope after the devastation to her beloved olive groves in Turkey, caused by the climate catastrophe of 2021.
Tareq Qaddumi ✿ Muqla’a slingshot - A giant slingshot is adorned with Palestinian embroidery as a monument to a culture that survives despite the odds.
Tepelikler: My Anatolian grandmother’s headdress - Songül Aral recreates the traditional Anatolian gold and silver headdress that connects with her ancestors. 
Dr Ghada Hijjawi-Qaddumi: An enduring legacy - A tribute to the President of the World Craft Council, who passed away on Thursday 1 April 2021.
Kastellorizian Jewellery: A Dispersed Archive of a Past Culture - Kathryn N. Couttoupes reviews a book about jewellery from a small island whose craft heritage far exceeds its size.
The Crafts and Rituals of Scent in Arabia - Laila Al-Hamad opens a discussion about the role of scent in our cultures. She describes the objects and rituals that are used to made smell part of Arab life. 
Laila Al Hamad ✿ The craft of smell - Kuwaiti designer Laila Al Hamad speaks about the meaning of smell in Arab cultures and how it connects people together.
Stepping out: Africa Fashion Week Middle East - Ansie van der Walt talks to organisers of a new fashion festival in the UAE and profiles leading fashion designers from the region
Al Sadu ✿ A craft tradition goes solar - Is this a future for craft traditions? Interwoven is a Chinese proposition to design a solar system that reflects the design traditions of the Al Sadu tribal rug.
How I learned coppersmithing in Gaziantep - Shireen Taweel descends into world of Gaziantep coppersmiths to learn its secrets.
Material culture in Arabia: Bedouin women and the art of sadu weaving - Laila Al-Hamad identifies the austerity of a Bedouin life as the inspiration for Arab design
From Thailand to Turkey: Ceramics bloom in Eskişehir - Sukumarl Leksawat (Tuk) is enchanted by the welcome in Turkey, where she finds many similarities with Thailand. The city of Eskişehir provides a site for Thai orchids to bloom in the Turkish sun.
The next Taj Mahal? - The Taj Mahal remains today as a testament to the extraordinary beauty of Persian design and craftsmanship. The skills that produced this in the seventeenth century are very much alive in Iran today.
In the Future, They Ate From the Finest Porcelain - From Dubai, an exhibition by Larissa Sansour involving an act of ‘narrative terrorism’ in which fake porcelain relics of an ancient Palestine are planted in a struggle for territory. Does it matter who made the plates? ✿ Like the article? Make it a conversation by leaving a comment below. If you believe in supporting a platform for culture-makers, consider becoming a subscriber.