Omaima Marmarchi’s love story with beautifying her surroundings has been the motivation to pursue a great career in the art of the home. Driven by her other passion, her family, she thrived. Now Omaima is embarking on an exciting new adventure, as she launches her first Arabic web series on Yahoo! Maktoob.
It’s not hard to spot Omaima’s love for what she does – it’s found easily in her cooking, recipes, flower arrangements and inventive home décor. We spoke to Omaima ahead of the launch of the anticipated “Beit Omaima”…
It’s my desire and above all it’s something that brings me joy. I naturally enjoy making things beautiful, I love cooking, I love the way delicious food tastes and I love to feed others before I feed myself. Those reasons inspire me.
I moved to London with my family 1981.My life in Iraq was where I learnt this craft and this passion, when I moved to Europe, I found myself developing rapidly. There was much more variety at the time, in flowers for example, so I practiced. Every talent needs to grow someway, through experiences and living life.
I love reading and I really enjoy sports and exercise. I do a lot in charity as well.
I prefer to always be with my family. My husband was my first supporter; his pride of me is exemplified in the way he shows off about my work. Family is a priority to me, and that’s why the aspect of having my family around me at work and otherwise is a joy. It gives me peace at the end of the day
I started my business from home. Back in the day in Baghdad, I had close friends who were about to get married and didn’t know what to do about their wedding’s floral arrangement. That was one of the great opportunities where I just, instinctively, decided to give it a go. It was fantastic; they still send me e-mails to this day telling me that they will never forget those bouquets I made for them.
I kept it small in the beginning as a business because there was an obvious risk as a business owner, but it just kept growing.
Honestly, I follow anyone who excels at this field. I read a lot about floral arrangements and cooking.
My favorite color is Pink. As for recipes, that’s a tough one, but I would say I love to cook curry and kebabs. As far as Iraqi dishes, I love making our special style of Kobba. And what I like to give as a gift? I believe that giving a gift that I would love to gift myself is the way to go; obviously it has to fit with the person and their personality.
Floral arrangements; pick a spot at your home which is central to show off this work. Color coordination is important, and I prefer lighter colors usually. But warm colors are great for winter.
Décor; always keep space in your house, décor isn’t measured by the amount of furniture you have around, but how you arrange it.
Kitchen; keep the utensils and condiments that you use frequently in the closest drawers to the ground. Don’t make it out of your reach! And keep your kitchen organized.