“Whenever someone creates something with all of their heart, then that creation is given a soul.”
Layanora Studio is a space for Palestinian embroidery, art and crafts enthusiasts created by Roba Yusuf.
Roba grew up surrounded by art and tatreez (Palestinian embroidery). Palestinian embroidery has a long tradition in her village and many Palestinian villages for centuries, and were passed through generations of women, that it became an inseparable part of Palestinian identity. Roba started learning Palestinian embroidery at a very young age from her mother and became hooked on this journey ever since. She also started to venture into other arts and crafts, such as knitting, sewing, painting, Islamic geometry, etc.
After graduating from college with a degree in computer science, she worked in an animation studio before she moved into teaching computer and tech-related classes. During this time, she continued learning, practicing, and creating more embroidery and art projects. In 2015, she started a YouTube channel to share some of what she is working on and an Etsy shop to sell her own handmade work. Many years Later, the idea of Layanora Studio was born.
Layanora Studio got its name from Roba’s daughters’ names, Layan and Nora, and was inspired by their shared love for arts. Layan is an Arabic name for someone who is flexible and kind, while Nora in Arabic means light. This made using the name Layanora prefect since these are some of the values that Roba tries to reflect through her work.
