Friday March 29th, 2024
Download SceneNow app
Copied

Tottie Bags

Kim El Narsh's brand, Tottie Bags, couples Egyptian materials and local labour forces in an effort to further domestic production.

Staff Writer

Ever since the infamous Egyptian revolution, there's been a surge of start up businesses and creative endeavors trying to fill a void that was previously unattended to, in pre-revolution Egypt. From art spaces to creative fashion brands, a wide scope of entrepreneurial efforts have emerged that seem to bombard us on a daily basis. One of the more recent businesses to catch our eye was "Tottie Bags". Managed and directed by Kim El Narsh, a young woman with an unparalleled creative passion, Tottie Bags is a brand that specialises in clutches, totes, and handbags that are mainly made from Egyptian fabrics and through the efforts of Egyptian labour. "The idea for Tottie mainly came from a need to address the economic instability our country was facing post-revolution," El Narsh explained when asked about the concept behind her brand. "A lot of lower-class people suffered financially due to our uprising and Tottie Bags is a way to get them re-introduced in the labour market".

Not new to the business scene of creative industries, El Narsh has a roster of brands under her belt next to Tottie. "I have Lolla's Bracelets, which is a line of bracelets made specifically from labour forces in Aswan and Luxor. I also manage Cozy Hobos, a polar fleece line that sells portable blankets with sleeves and cute little onsies. Those sold out in minutes!"

It's pretty interesting to see a lot of young, fresh minds emerge from what a lot of people assume are the rubbles of our great civilisation. With more people like El Narsh, Egypt is definitely on its way to becoming a more functional and operating country, hopefully sooner than we expected.

Check out the Tottie Bags Facebook page here