Creating a Days of Eid Product: Door Decor
Since starting Days of Eid, nearly every year I am approached countless times for a “Ramadan Wreath”. And I really did want to make one but I couldn’t bring myself to just add a Ramadan sign to a standard wreath. I wanted our “Ramadan Wreath” to even make a passersby who was unfamiliar with Islam stop and wonder what it meant and what our religious holiday was all about. In my mind, the approaching a Muslim home should be a distinct experience-- it should be special and unique. It should be unique to any other home on the block, because we have a different set of beliefs, mannerisms, and ideas.
I thought I would use my process with the Ramadan Wreath to illustrate what usually goes into creating our products.
I begin with jotting down ideas and organizing them. I need to make sure whatever I create has deep, spiritual significance. I also know I want it to have elements of Islamic Art and my vision was to bring the Moroccan door (or “Mihrab”) to your door.
I try to think of ease of application and use, versatility (how it can be uses for Ramadan AND Eid), and durability. Everything is considered, down to how it can stay in tact, rain or shine.
I work with our designer, Bill and tell him all of my ideas and sketch out my vision. Given his experience designing for Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel over the years, he comes with ideas of his own as well. Even through zoom, I can see a hundred light bulbs going off during our brainstorming sessions, haha.
Once the design is set, Bill and I discuss the operational side of things: potential materials, size, shipping restrictions to consider, hardware for hanging it on a door, and more. I initially thought I wanted the Door Decor to be completely lined with greenery, like other wreaths.
But Bill suggested we use metal since we were also creating metal lanterns and the collection would have a much better flow.
Once these things are (for the most part) decided, we begin talks with the manufacturers of our product. They collaborate with us by sending things like swatches of different metal finishes.
We send samples of previous Days of Eid products so the colors and finishes match perfectly for our customers.
For the Door Decor, we were primarily concerned about them damaging our customers’ doors-- we solved this problem by adding a protective layer to the back of it.
We send samples of previous Days of Eid products so the colors and finishes match perfectly for our customers. For the Ramadan Wreaths, we were primarily concerned about them damaging our customers’ doors-- we solved this problem by adding a protective layer to the back of it.
During the development phase, we do a lot of “poking holes” so to speak. We try to think of any issue that may arise once a customer begins to use a Days of Eid product. For example, if it rains- will it rust?
At this point, I have samples of our Ramadan Wreath hung up in random corners of my home. I keep them up in plain sight and really just wait for an idea to come to mind. I constantly wonder: does it feel homey? What’s missing?
At long last, a realization comes to mind. The Door Decor needs greenery!
But not just any greenery, I think,
It has to be something significant to Muslims. This is when I immediately call or text Bill: “Hey can we add olive branches to this?!” And voilà!
After some finishing touches, the design is complete! We contact our lawyer and begin our copyrights/patent process and excitedly prepare to reveal our latest piece to our beloved customers!
Creating a Days of Eid product is a long process. So much creativity and heart goes into every detail. In the end, we know, we aren’t just selling a “product”-- we are selling a timeless piece that carries great spiritual importance. All this time we put in, and all the iterations we go through are so worth it. We were able to come up with a versatile product that functions indoors and outdoors, with signage that can be switched out as the season changes. Our Door Decor has become a bestseller and helps Muslims everywhere feel a sense of identity and celebration in their homes, on the holidays and on every day.
Because of its popularity, we are planning on adding additional sign inserts besides the Eid and Ramadan ones we currently carry. Make sure to subscribe to know when our "Salam" insert drops!
