Khadija O’Connell, Owner and Creative Director of Barakah Life, will be bringing some Web 2.0 goodness to the upcoming month of Ramadan. Using the blogging medium, she has launched a new site that specifically discusses the joys of Ramadan, the sacred month of fasting. The TypePad blogging platform is her preferred platform which allows her to create a social network of other TypePad users.

We have always been impressed with the work that Barakah Life has produced and we decided to meet with Khadija to discuss arts, crafts, blogging and her current projects. With an upcoming UK trip to add a creative flair for a conference, enhancing the new phase of Zaytuna Institute and adding more nur (glow) to the upcoming Illume Magazine Eid Banquet and Fundraiser*, Barakah Life is crossing the borders of physical locations and creative landscapes.

It is with much honor and excitement to announce that IslamCrunch has been collaborating with Barakah Life on several projects. Prepare to be dazzled.

 

 

IslamCrunch: What is

?

Barakah Life: Barakah Life is firstly my life philosophy, I believe that life is good, and that everything is Barakah (blessing), even our hardships, it all has meaning. Secondly, as a business name I wanted to choose a name that could grow and evolve in different directions, with me. I see Barakah Life as an umbrella covering my crafts and sewing classes, my own handwork, the things that I manufacture, and my community work.

Barakah Life also has two blogs, Barakah Life Handmade and Ramadan Joy.

 

IslamCrunch: Why did you start Barakah Life?

Barakah Life: I should say it took some time to start; there was definitely a fear factor. The idea of possibly failing and not failing privately but failing publicly, it was a hard thing for me to overcome. So, I did some wheel spinning and some ‘testing the waters’ but there came a time when I just had to commit, overcome it, and move forward. That hurdle is completely behind me now and in tackling it, it has given me a mental opening in which I no longer see limits and have a much bigger vision. As far as the why part, most everything I do now I had been doing in some form, it just now has a name.

IslamCrunch: Please describe the Children’s Ramadan Calendar and the feedback received thus far?

Barakah Life: The calendar was something I had [developed] over time.

In the 1980′s, when my children were small, they would create paper calendars with watercolors and little cut outs from wrapping paper. Over time, the fabric calendars evolved and I started sewing them. Other moms liked them so I offered some classes so that they could make their own, which in time evolved into me sewing and selling them. In 2006, they were produced in China, Haji Noor Deen arranged for a small group of Muslim ladies to sew them.

I like the idea of creating family traditions especially for those of us here in the West. A mother told me that one year she could not find her children’s calendars and thought that it was not too big of a deal but then found out from her children just how much they meant to them. To hear that made me so happy, to be able to affect and make a difference in a child’s heart, what a beautiful thing.

[Editor's note: Feedback for the calendars have been included at the end of this interview]

IslamCrunch: How do you hope your projects will impact the Muslim community?

Barakah Life: Each of my projects share some common goals but they also have their own intentions behind them. Some of the main intentions are creating new traditions, creating connections, encouraging creativity and promoting hand work. I would like to count myself among those that are striving to produce at a more professional level. I absolutely love it when I see something another Muslim has created [a project] and it’s done well. It makes me proud because in looking at it you see the care that went into it.

I would also like to be able to impact [others] outside of our community in which to show the beauty of who we are, maybe through articles and events.

IslamCrunch: How much time do you devote to its growth?

Barakah Life: I work on some aspect of the business every day. Of course, my preference is to work on the creative side of the business. I love what I do and for me there is no separation of work and life, it is just what I do and who I am.

IslamCrunch: How large is your team and what are your backgrounds?

Barakah Life: Essentially, Barakah Life is just me, but I do have a group of amazing people that advise, nurture and assist in the areas that are not my expertise. The biggest problem of starting a business as a team of one is that when you are working on one aspect of the business all of the other areas are not moving forward.

IslamCrunch: What is your design philosophy?

Barakah Life: Simplicity. I find it very beautiful and really most everything I do is simple. I think I am drawn to simplicity as a counterbalance to modern life. I would say I like an eclectic mix of things. I like both traditional as well as modern design, and a mixture of textures that are feminine and masculine. I also like clean lines, lots of color and a little bit of whimsy.

IslamCrunch: Your service philosophy?

Barakah Life: “Create beauty and do good.”

Treat people well and go the extra step because everything you do comes back to you, one way or another.

IslamCrunch: What technologies are you currently using to promote your project?

Barakah Life: Currently, blogs only.

IslamCrunch: What are the most requested features from your users/community?

Barakah Life: With my Barakah Life Handmade blog, tutorials are what give me the most hits. One craft in particular, Marbling with Wax was picked up by CraftyPod which does a wonderful crafting blog and podcast and the other was Craftzine, both of these sites have a lot of traffic so if they pick up my work, I do well.

IslamCrunch: Where do you see the project heading in the next 6 months? The next 2 years?

Barakah Life: Right now, I’m working on the Ramadan Challenge kits for the children that are taking part in the Challenge this year, as well as getting some of the projects lined up for the Ramadan Joy blog. During Ramadan, there will be a post each day with creative ideas.

This week, I will be traveling to the UK to work on some of the decorative aspects of the Global Center for Renewal and Guidance’s first conference [Editor's note: a new organization developed by Shaykh Abdallah bin Bayyah, with assistance from his student, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf], and in September, I will be helping Zaytuna with some Interior Design work for their new location. In October, I will be working with Illume Magazine on their first conference.

With the events and programs that I am part of I would just like to nurture and grow them, and hopefully create something lasting that can be handed off someday to another generation.

As far as Barakah Life, I would like to create and produce more items for families and home.

I would also like next year to see articles about Ramadan and Eid in major magazines along with beautiful glossy pictures.

IslamCrunch: What is the greatest challenge to your success?

Barakah Life: Getting mired in the day to day stuff of running a business; creative people just want to create! I would love to have a team to collaborate with.

IslamCrunch: What is the one thing you need to get to the next phase of the project?

Barakah Life: It is hard to narrow it down to one, so I’ll give you two. A studio with lots of windows would be wonderful and then funding to help grow the business.

IslamCrunch: Do you have a business model? If so, what is it?

Barakah Life: I’ll give you a passage that I read when I first had the notion to start Barakah Life; it spoke directly to what I wanted and thought a business should be.

“The ultimate purpose of business is not, or should not be, simply to make money. Nor is it merely a system of making and selling things. The promise of business is to increase the general well-being of humankind through service, a creative invention and ethical philosophy.

IslamCrunch: If you’re able to disclose this information, how much traffic or usage do you see on an average day?

Barakah Life: I have two sites, Barakah Life Handmade and Ramadan Joy. Barakah Life on a great day maybe 250 -300 hits. Ramadan Joy was launched on August 8, 2007 and had 186 hits on its first day.

IslamCrunch: Are there any aspects of this project that has made you proud?

Barakah Life: Two things come to mind. When I get feedback from people or families that something I have done was meaningful to them, that makes me happy. Also my involvement and service to Zaytuna Institute, not only for what they are striving to do but how I have changed through the process of being a part of it.

IslamCrunch: How would you describe the shift that’s occurring with Islamic arts right now to future generations?

Barakah Life: I would prefer to speak about beautification rather than art, since fine art is really not my expertise. With beautification, I see that it is becoming something that is much more valued and it’s rippling through all content areas from Islamic books, cover designs, CD’s, Islamic web sites, and event decor. I just attended the Islamic Relief [Evening of Inspiration] Concert and the stage was beautiful. Even though I had no hand in it, it made me proud.

I feel that whatever we do, whether it is an event or some type of product that we produce, it stands out there and quietly speaks to who we are and what we value. With the beautification of things, it is a balance and this is the part that I have wrestled with, to not just have an outer form that is devoid of inner meaning.

IslamCrunch: What site(s) do you visit everyday other than your own?

Barakah Life: I actually don’t visit sites each day, maybe once a week. However, I am a regular listener to the following podcasts: Accidental Creative, Managers Tool, Grammar Girl: Tips for Better Writing, Duck Tape Marketing, This American Life, The Crafty Pod, Blogging (GigaVox Media) , Bioneers Podcasts, Q-News Magazine, Zaytuna Institute

IslamCrunch: What do you hope IslamCrunch can help you to accomplish?

Barakah Life: I like the community aspect to it. I like to see what other people are doing regardless of what field they are in.

IslamCrunch: If you could collaborate with another organization or participate on another project, please list them here.

Barakah Life: This is really hard question because there is so much I would like to do but here’s a couple right off the top.

• Work on some economic development and disaster relief projects with Islamic Relief.
• Do something with Emel, it’s such a wonderful magazine.

Children’s Ramadan Calendar Feedback

Bismillah As-Salaamu Alaykum,

We both used to say often that we’d like to create Ramadan traditions for our children. You can’t imagine how perfect of a gift it was & how much joy it added to Yaseen’s Ramadan. Yaseen insisted on drawing two smiley faces to thank you!

Was-Salaamu Alaykum, Asad, Imaan & Yaseen

—

Assalamu alaykum

Dear Sister Khadija,

A good friend of mine just sent me one of your Ramadan calendars and I had to write and let you know how thrilled I am with it. Unfortunately, we’ve grown so accustomed to poor production of Islamic products that when something like yours comes around, it really renews my pride in our Umma. The workmanship is flawless. Most important, my kids (4 and 3) are in awe of it. At first I thought they might not appreciate it because of being bombarded with primary colors everywhere. But, on the contrary, they are excited to show it to anyone who enters our home.

May Allah Ta’ala bless and reward you for helping to facilitate a beautiful Ramadan tradition for our kids (and their parents) who are so desperately in need of that which makes practicing the deen more beautiful.

“Verily, Allah has enjoined excellence (ihsan) with regard to everything.” [Muslim]. How wonderful when you find someone embodying those words of our beloved Prophet (salla Allahu alayhi wa salim)

wassalam,

Samah

—

I saw your latest calendars and I was so impressed. masha’Allah, mabrook business.

I’m so proud of you!

I love anything made by your hands!

Hina

* = You read about it here first! While writing this post, our friends at Illume Magazine sent us an email with the details of their upcoming event. Watch this site and their site for more news!