Discovering Moroccan craftsmanship
Julie Defudes, a graduate of Esmod Paris, developed an early passion for the rarity and finesse of handwork. She began her career working with John Galliano, before settling in Morocco in 2007. There, she discovered the richness of local craftsmanship and began working with cooperatives, while pursuing her activities as a designer.
In 2010, Julie turned her career around and became a teacher in several schools. However, it was in 2015 that she decided to take the plunge into entrepreneurship by founding Dar Islie, an impact company. Thanks to her knowledge of the local ecosystem, Julie is able to combine her creative projects with consulting missions. She works with NGOs as well as premium brands in search of exceptional know-how.
For the past ten years, Julie has been campaigning for the social upgrading of Moroccan artisans. Through Dar Islie, she works to preserve and pass on artisanal skills and know-how.
It is also socially committed. Its projects involve young people in training, women in rural areas, and mâalems, master craftsmen. It supports the growth and empowerment of artisans by focusing on human and creative development.
Dar Islie’s mission
In 2024, Julie Defudes accompanies the INFITAH program (which means openness in Arabic) with the support of the Institut Français du Maroc. This initiative enables five Moroccan artisans to improve their creative skills. These artisans, after a residency in Paris in May 2024, were able to explore new creative avenues once back in Morocco.
This program brings together artisans in creative residency and enabled them to discover French craftsmanship during a stay in Paris in May 2024. The entire project and the pieces created will be presented at the Institut Français in Casablanca from September 12 to October 10, 2024. The 2024 cohort is made up of the following varied profiles:
- Hicham Essaidi , one of the last damascene makers in Meknes
- Abdelaziz Brize, mâalem marker in Essaouira
- Mohamed Atik, who perpetuates the woodcarving and inlaying traditions of the southern regions,
- Soundous Bouhandi, trained in marketing and now a jeweller
- Khadija El Maddah, a young embroiderer just starting out in entrepreneurship
Promoting African know-how
Like other countries on the African continent, Morocco boasts a huge diversity of expertise. Public initiatives to promote training, transmission and marketing are numerous. However, according to Julie Defudes, the country is affected by a growing loss of know-how.
There are many challenges involved in structuring the sector, and all of them are interrelated. How can we encourage young people, increasingly driven by the desire for easy success, to take up trades that are often hard work and poorly paid? And how can we ensure that craftspeople earn a decent living? And how can we change the way we look at a country that is still labelled a “low-cost southern country”?
A change of mindset needs to take place, on the part of Africans themselves, not only about the value of their heritage, but also about the storytelling that accompanies it. Just as the European courts, almost 5 centuries ago, laid the foundations of what we now call the “métiers d’art”, so too must Africa believe in the enormous potential of its craft skills.
Julie wants to change this perception by promoting the heritage and excellence of Moroccan craftsmanship.
Julie Defudes’ favorites
Julie shares with us her current favorites: the highly poetic and refined worlds of designer Sara Chraibi and artist Ghizlane Sahli, and the values promoted by Camille Bertrand with her Brodeuse Voyageuse brand, which works with Moroccan craftswomen. In a completely different style, the Label Oued collective, led by Angeline Dangelser, has recently completed a beautiful project on women’s soccer and fashion.
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