et Accessories Designer of the Week: Sadu

CAIRO - 19 September 2017: Sadu is a startup that's trying to position itself at the very center of the fashion world. Sadu is still an emerging brand and its goal is to focus on essential and everyday use.


Sadu Collection- Courtesy of Sadu

Salma El-Shaffei, the owner and the designer of Sadu Designs, studied visual arts and learned fashion design with practice. She always had an eye for design, so it wasn't really an issue for her venturing into the fashion world.

El-Shaffei was very fashionable as a kid. Both her parents had really cool fashion styles and it just transferred to her, and her brother as kids. She went through all fashion phases while growing up, so it's been a constant passion throughout her life.


Sadu Collection- Courtesy of Sadu

She started designing at a really young age, around four years old, that she can’t really remember her first design ever. She used to use different materials in her designs such as jewelry and home accessories at some point using wire and glass. However, her first design for Sadu was a tribal shoulder bag.


Sadu Collection- Courtesy of Sadu

When asked about her favorite designers, El-Shaffei replied, “I really like UNTY, Fufa, Jude Benhalim, Okhtein and many more! My favorite international designers are a mix of textile, jewelry, ceramic and clothing designers. I like Cold Picnic, Laura Lombardi, Mae Woman, Bagguu, Tania George, Marina London, Sarah's Bag, Masha Reva…. I can go on forever!”

As for her favorite textiles and materials, she stated, “I like experimenting with different materials. You'll see that I've worked with a wide range of materials, depending on the product and its functionality. My only concern is quality contro l- I've worked with fabric that wasn't really sturdy, so I'm really picky when it comes to the quality of the material itself.”


Sadu Collection- Courtesy of Sadu

El-Shaffei decided to start Sadu while she was working in IKEA. She used to work as a visual merchandiser in IKEA and she was in charge of the kitchen appliances and textile areas. Spending six months working with textiles gave her many ideas.

Sadu was mainly making bags, but El-Shaffei decided to change her brand concept to designing handmade limited collections that are functional, thoughtfully created and available in limited and small batches. The reason why she changed the concept is that she started out with one idea and then felt like she needs to explore more areas. Hence she did not stick to bags only.

For now, she is making a limited edition collection of different products that will come out in small batches. That way, she is not committed to or stuck with only one kind of product.

She sees her brand becoming more dynamic, yet still catering to a different audience and providing products that are both comfortable and functional.

She is now currently working on bandanas and galabeyas so stay tuned.