Threads Across Borders: Keeping Embroidered Stories Alive

The art of Aghbani Embroidery

In the old souks of Byblos, narrow shops are filled with Aghabani-style embroidered tablecloths – intricate pieces born in Damascus and perfected in Duma. Crafted by Syrian women, each carries a heritage passed down quietly within families, never formally taught but embedded in memory, gesture, and prayer.

A long-standing tablecloth import business in Byblos approached Unit33 through a referral from a trusted client. Their shelves were lined with these embroidered treasures, each piece a silent testament to generations of craftsmanship. Yet despite their beauty, sales were declining.

“Customers love how they look,” the owner told us.“But they don’t understand the history. They don’t see the women behind each stitch. And now, even the shippers are losing interest. These might be the last batches we ever sell.”

Sales dropped sharply as cheaper imports from China flooded the market. Lebanon’s economic crisis and currency collapse pushed buyers toward low-cost alternatives, unaware that these tablecloths held stories of survival, devotion, and identity.

The Quiet Disappearance

These weren’t mass-produced fabrics. Each tablecloth was embroidered by Syrian women, especially from Duma, who stitched late into the night after factory shifts or by candlelight in refugee camps. The designs remained unchanged, carried exactly as their mothers and grandmothers had taught them – patterns of vines, flowers, and borders anchoring generations to their roots.

The risk was clear: an entire craft on the verge of disappearing, reduced to its final unappreciated batches.

Challenges Faced

• Buyers appreciated the tablecloths’ beauty but didn’t understand why they cost more than factory-made versions.

• Younger diaspora women saw traditional designs as outdated and disconnected from their lives.

• Business owners felt helpless watching their heritage reduced to merchandise, with no way to communicate its deeper meaning in the market.

Our Approach

Unit33 stepped in with a holistic Cultural Memory Systems™ solution, transforming these tablecloths from simple products back into cultural artifacts:

Pattern Documentation:

We cataloged each design’s name, origin town, and symbolic meaning, creating an accessible record for the business and future generations.

Story Preservation:

We recorded personal narratives from the embroiderers, capturing their journeys of learning, resilience, and devotion – stories never formally written but carried in memory.

MemoryBlocks™ Creation:

These insights became trilingual story cards (Arabic, French, English) attached to each tablecloth. QR codes led to micro-documentaries showing the embroidery process and sharing the artisans’ voices. A social media campaign complemented these efforts, repositioning the craft as heritage worth preserving, not just decor.

Revenue-Reinvestment Model:

To ensure continuity, we created “Embroidery Circle Kits” funded by a portion of tablecloth sales. Each kit, sent to younger women in the diaspora, included needles, threads, a beginner Aghabani pattern, and a QR-linked video tutorial featuring the artisans themselves. This initiative brought the craft into modern homes, sparking renewed interest among younger generations to learn directly from elders, even across borders.

Design Integration Partnerships

To further sustain this craft, we are developing partnerships with Beirut- and Syria-based independent fashion brands and artists to integrate Aghabani embroidery patterns into their contemporary designs. The plan includes future capsule collections with emerging brands and textile reinterpretations by local illustrators and pattern designers, ensuring Aghabani motifs remain alive, evolving, and relevant within today’s creative industries.

Results

Buyers began paying fairer prices, recognizing each tablecloth as an heirloom woven with history and meaning. Younger women, inspired by the MemoryBlocks™ and embroidery kits, began creating their own pieces, guided by the stories and stitches of those before them. The business, once on the brink of closure, found hope again through narrative value and intergenerational continuity.

This family didn’t come to Unit33 through a flashy campaign. They came through a friend who said:

“If you want to keep your craft alive, they’re the ones to call.”

If your business holds heritage at risk of fading into anonymity, Unit33’s Cultural Memory Systems™ can help you transform products into enduring cultural narratives – preserving value for you and meaning for the world.

Interested in exploring the art and heritage of Aghabani embroidery?

Read this blog on There to Wear to discover its rich designs, stories, and evolving future.