Sun-Themed Embroidered Cotton and Viscose Cushion Cover - Samarkand Sun

Artisan Organization: Amonova Feruza

Country: Silk Road

"I am Amonova Feruza — the fourth generation of a family crafting suzani textiles. I grew up learning the secrets of this profession from a young age. When I was still a little girl, my mother sewed suzanis for brides in neighboring families. She taught them what she knew.

"The idea to take up this craft came to my mind after I saw the suzani my mother sewed for my sister. At that time, I was in the third grade, and I started learning embroidery from my mother. Embroidery is not that complicated. I learned to embroider a suzani in one month, despite being very young. This is such a beautiful work that it is impossible to describe it in words.

"My youth was very peaceful. I grew up in a family of workers. My father has always respected our national values, and raised us to know about our traditions and values. He often took us to cultural centers. He showed us Samarkand, Bukhara, Khorezm, ancient monuments, and wanted us to know about our ancient culture.

"I'm very happy with the education my parents gave me. I still remember my childhood and youth. My father created a better life for me and always taught me not to give up on my dreams.

"I remember the days when I first started my workshop. Almost all women starting this profession face difficulties, because it requires a lot of money. It's hard to find an investor. When it was difficult for me, I participated in the 'Fond Forum.' At that time, Gulnara Karimova, daughter of the first President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, helped me a lot. She gave me 1,000,000 soums to start my business. After that, I kept my project going.

"Now I have about 80 students and 40 assistants. Thanks to this work, I have visited different countries of the world, participated in international exhibitions. In particular, we show the world our cultural heritage in countries such as Paris, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg and Amsterdam. At the festival in India, we took second place out of 280 countries of the world. I participated in various cultural festivals in Abu Dhabi, as well as in neighboring countries such as Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. And I was so happy to win the nomination 'Best Master' at the festival in Kokan.

"I have five grown-up children and they are all engaged in our family project. I'm very lucky to be doing this craft. In addition to running my workshop, I teach handicrafts to low-income families in our area, and help them financially. My only dream is to go to America, because Uzbek suzanis are very much appreciated in America. I want to open my shop there and I want the whole world to appreciate Uzbek suzanis and see the sewing process with their own eyes.""