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Kurkum Land : Destination for creative, colorful, and playful shirts
By Huda Dabeet, Jordan News
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Kurkum Land is a shop that sells T-shirts whose original artwork is designed by Rawan
Sader.
“Kurkum” comes from the word curcuma, meaning turmeric, a spice characterized by its golden-orange color.اضافة اعلان
“It is also the name I gave to a fox plushie I have had for years, a gift from my best friend. Kurkum shares the same lovely color and coziness that turmeric brings to my mind,” Sader said.
An artist and illustrator, primarily for children’s books, she spends most of her time admiring the beauty of the world and trying to trap some of it in her art.
“I am also a tea addict and I love nature and animals. They are almost always the subjects in my work,” she said.
Drawing, painting, and crafting have been Sader’s favorite activities since childhood.
“One of my earliest memories as a kid is me hiding behind my sister’s bedroom door fascinated by the texture and feeling a broken crayon created when it touched the wall,” she said.
Kurkum Land was created in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Sader started experimenting with her technique and creating fun portraits of animals, imitating different artists’ styles. Her friend and business partner, Ed Khamaiseh, created the Kurkum Land website and provides her with professional advice.
“I always wanted to design and make products with my art, so I thought I would have these new fun illustrations on T-shirts, the most feasible option at the time,” said Sader.
The concept of the brand revolves around exciting illustrations on bright T-shirts, made for people who enjoy wearing colors. Sader believes that Kurkum Land reflects joy, happiness, wonder, and beauty.
Becoming an illustrator was a long, hard journey, she said. One reason was because at the beginning, she had no idea that being an illustrator was an achievable profession.
Immediately after graduation she had to go through the difficult process of looking for a job in the field she studied at university. When getting a job using her degree proved to be more difficult than she had anticipated, she made the decision to try what she was best at: art.
She had good experience in digital painting, a passion of hers in her teen years, but did not know what type of career that could lead to.
“I for sure did not want a career as an art teacher even though I enjoyed that position a lot for a while. I wanted to create,” she said.
Sader also has a diploma in character design, which helped her realize that realistic painting, graphic design, and 3D art are not what she wanted to pursue.
“I enjoyed the art style of artists I followed online and discovered the magical word illustrator,” she said.
When it comes to clothing design, the most interesting thing, she said, is making the artwork.
“It is always a joy to play around and see how I can make the shirt itself part of the design, how it would look once printed, what colors make the best background, and so on,” she said.
Kurkum Land produces mainly T-shirts that can be worn all year around, hoodies and sweatshirts for the winter, as well as hoodie dresses for kids by order. If Sader is able to overcome the majority of production challenges she currently faces, she will have additional designs available in the future.
Describing her personal style as playful and colorful, it follows that one of her favorite books — and main sources of inspiration for four of her best-selling designs — is Alice in Wonderland.
The artist’s inspiration comes from nature: lots of strolls, hikes, and adventures. Animals are her best friends, as she finds them intelligent, lively, and fun.
“Books and kids have their role too, and of course, tea — lots of tea,” she added.
Kurkum Land characters are developed to appeal to children who, she said, tend to create worlds based on what they relate to.
“And a character is someone they can build a story around, befriend, play, and grow with,” she said.
The feedback she receives from adults with children is positive: “Most of my customers bought more than once and they are always excited about the new designs, just like I am excited to get their feedback and new requests.”
Sader chose to dedicate herself to illustration, rather than designing more traditional artwork for clothing.
“I love the artistic side of traditional clothes, yet many people are working in that already. I am offering something more artistic and enjoying the freedom it is giving me as I do not get to place my work in a certain category or address it to a certain group,” she said.
Sader currently handles every aspect of her work alone, including coming up with concepts, painting, managing orders, making social media posts, and delivering items.
Social media, she believes, play a significant role in forming the “taste” of people and in their consumption, which, in turn, creates new consumer needs and marketing trends.
Kurkum Land products are entertaining and eye-catching, so it is only logical that children would find them appealing. However, most of the T-shirts on the website are available in adult sizes as well.
In the future Sader said she will sell more than tops at Kurkum Land. For now, tote bags will be added to the shop and she is looking into other possibilities as well.
Read more Fashion
Jordan News
“Kurkum” comes from the word curcuma, meaning turmeric, a spice characterized by its golden-orange color.
“It is also the name I gave to a fox plushie I have had for years, a gift from my best friend. Kurkum shares the same lovely color and coziness that turmeric brings to my mind,” Sader said.
An artist and illustrator, primarily for children’s books, she spends most of her time admiring the beauty of the world and trying to trap some of it in her art.
“I am also a tea addict and I love nature and animals. They are almost always the subjects in my work,” she said.
Drawing, painting, and crafting have been Sader’s favorite activities since childhood.
“One of my earliest memories as a kid is me hiding behind my sister’s bedroom door fascinated by the texture and feeling a broken crayon created when it touched the wall,” she said.
Kurkum Land was created in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Sader started experimenting with her technique and creating fun portraits of animals, imitating different artists’ styles. Her friend and business partner, Ed Khamaiseh, created the Kurkum Land website and provides her with professional advice.
“I always wanted to design and make products with my art, so I thought I would have these new fun illustrations on T-shirts, the most feasible option at the time,” said Sader.
The concept of the brand revolves around exciting illustrations on bright T-shirts, made for people who enjoy wearing colors. Sader believes that Kurkum Land reflects joy, happiness, wonder, and beauty.
Becoming an illustrator was a long, hard journey, she said. One reason was because at the beginning, she had no idea that being an illustrator was an achievable profession.
Immediately after graduation she had to go through the difficult process of looking for a job in the field she studied at university. When getting a job using her degree proved to be more difficult than she had anticipated, she made the decision to try what she was best at: art.
She had good experience in digital painting, a passion of hers in her teen years, but did not know what type of career that could lead to.
“I for sure did not want a career as an art teacher even though I enjoyed that position a lot for a while. I wanted to create,” she said.
I enjoyed the art style of artists I followed online and discovered the magical word illustrator.Sader hopes to convey that beauty through her work. And if she wants to achieve anything with her illustrations, it is to increase people’s appreciation of aesthetic beauty.
Sader also has a diploma in character design, which helped her realize that realistic painting, graphic design, and 3D art are not what she wanted to pursue.
“I enjoyed the art style of artists I followed online and discovered the magical word illustrator,” she said.
When it comes to clothing design, the most interesting thing, she said, is making the artwork.
“It is always a joy to play around and see how I can make the shirt itself part of the design, how it would look once printed, what colors make the best background, and so on,” she said.
Kurkum Land produces mainly T-shirts that can be worn all year around, hoodies and sweatshirts for the winter, as well as hoodie dresses for kids by order. If Sader is able to overcome the majority of production challenges she currently faces, she will have additional designs available in the future.
Describing her personal style as playful and colorful, it follows that one of her favorite books — and main sources of inspiration for four of her best-selling designs — is Alice in Wonderland.
The artist’s inspiration comes from nature: lots of strolls, hikes, and adventures. Animals are her best friends, as she finds them intelligent, lively, and fun.
“Books and kids have their role too, and of course, tea — lots of tea,” she added.
Kurkum Land characters are developed to appeal to children who, she said, tend to create worlds based on what they relate to.
“And a character is someone they can build a story around, befriend, play, and grow with,” she said.
The feedback she receives from adults with children is positive: “Most of my customers bought more than once and they are always excited about the new designs, just like I am excited to get their feedback and new requests.”
Sader chose to dedicate herself to illustration, rather than designing more traditional artwork for clothing.
“I love the artistic side of traditional clothes, yet many people are working in that already. I am offering something more artistic and enjoying the freedom it is giving me as I do not get to place my work in a certain category or address it to a certain group,” she said.
Sader currently handles every aspect of her work alone, including coming up with concepts, painting, managing orders, making social media posts, and delivering items.
Social media, she believes, play a significant role in forming the “taste” of people and in their consumption, which, in turn, creates new consumer needs and marketing trends.
Kurkum Land products are entertaining and eye-catching, so it is only logical that children would find them appealing. However, most of the T-shirts on the website are available in adult sizes as well.
In the future Sader said she will sell more than tops at Kurkum Land. For now, tote bags will be added to the shop and she is looking into other possibilities as well.
Read more Fashion
Jordan News
