AUCian Nazmy Takes on the Homebrand Industry

By: Mariam Adel

@madelkhl

Three-dimensional animal heads and historical faces made of golden steel wires that sit on top of marble blocks with light fixtures are all trademarks of 21-year-old Maram Nazmy’s homeware and furnishings brand Maramzy.

When architecture junior Nazmy, moved to Egypt after living in Saudi Arabia for 18 years, she decided to mix her multicultural inspirations with her field of studies and childhood love for origami to launch her brand. 

“The idea emerged when I started creating low-poly digital figures and origami out of paper which came to be the foundation of my furniture pieces,” said Nazmy.

At a time when most university students chose to travel or intern, Nazmy decided to jump start her business. 

In less than a year – by July 2019 – Nazmy was able to extend her brand and collaborate with local and international restaurants like Andiamo, Kiki’s Beach Bar and Mazeej Hotel. She is currently creating products for a hotel in Seychelles. 

Being a full time student while running her own business proved to be a difficult task for Nazmy. 

“Balancing between work and university demands was a huge challenge for me. I remember last semester, my final project clashed with the launch date of my Nefertiti piece. It was a nightmare,” she said.

Labeled “Titi” the piece was a 3D bust of the queen’s head made out of rose-gold steel folds and complemented with a grey base that gave it a modern Egyptian twist. 

A normal week for Nazmy includes spending long consecutive hours creating customer orders at home and then spending an equal number of hours working on architecture projects at AUC. 

The process of creating one piece could take her three to five hours 

“It’s a small scale business and the only people involved are myself, the craftsman and the courier service. Talk about high workload,” Nazmy said. 

She is currently working on a new piece that consists of gold-plated mended steel that is shaped like a bird. 

Hedaya Ashraf, one of Nazmy’s close friends and a business senior said that the launch of Maramzy changed Nazmy’s vision for the future and re-evaluated the value of achieving high grades. 

“Maram’s priorities have definitely changed; acing a course isn’t nearly as important as finishing an order on time,” Ashraf said.  

Ashraf added that Nazmy does all the business meetings, exhibitions and collaborations on her own. 

“Maram was clever enough to use what she learned in extra-curricular activities to market and manage her business by herself,” Ashraf said. 

According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), undergraduates who open their own startups  have a 30 percent chance of increasing success with their next venture. 

Those who have failed at a prior business have a 20 percent chance of succeeding, and first time undergraduate entrepreneurs have an 18 percent chance of succeeding. 

“Don’t think twice. Take the decision and start right away and don’t be afraid to fail because it’s a normal part of any successful process,” Nazmy added. 

In the meantime, Nazmy sells her pieces through her personal website and through participating in exhibitions. However, she aspires to extend her homeware brand in the future and  expand to the creation of furniture like chairs, sofas and tables.