When Lili and Tahmineh first met, a spark went off. Tahmineh immediately connected with Lili’s passion for telling untold stories of Iran through colour.

Tahmineh and Lili had one crucial element in common, a desire to tell stories of Iran that people may not otherwise be exposed to. Tahmineh does this through her photography, and Lili through colour. Lili connected with Tahmineh’s most recent work because of how she represents the people behind buildings and places illustrating personal stories. This was extremely important to Lili, because Delam celebrates each person who contributes to the brand starting from the tribal women and their craft, who were the inspiration behind it. Together they traveled to the Fars region in Iran to document the colouring process of Delam’s cashmere yarns, and this was followed by a rare visit to Qashqai tribes. Lili says: “We wanted someone to document the process of production not just to show our customers where their garment originates from, but to ensure that the traditions and lives of the Tribal women who inspired us are shared”. 

Tahmineh immediately connected with the women weaving Gabbehs, their independence and creativity. As two women in creative fields united by their heritage, Lili and Tamineh wanted to shine a light on these Nomadic tribeswomen who are often the breadwinners of their family. They are fiercely independent and emancipated, as they travel the mountains on the outskirts of Shiraz and communicate their experiences knot-by-knot through their tapestries, which are reflection of their surrounding natural beauty.