Fatim-Zahra El Afif is a creative and artist living in Morocco with her husband and daughter. She is of mixed heritage, English, Irish and Moroccan. She started her creative arts career at the young age of 17 in London whilst splitting her time between modeling and her History of The Arts degree. Ten years later she opened up The Third Layer Studio with her husband. The Third Layer started as a clothing brand helping underpaid artisans in Morocco earn a fair wage. Having to say goodbye to The Third Layer years later she then went on to create her now in-house abstract paint studio known as TTL_Studio. All art created is beautifully hand painted and intrinsically unique.
- Going back in your memories of travel can you tell us a time you knew art would be a path you wanted to follow?
“Firstly art to me means creativity, anything a creative produces is art! We all have the right to hold high value in our creativity and so it's all art to me! I can’t say there was a specific moment but rather I have always felt the most uplifted and elated when I am around art. When I lived in London, on my days off I would spend my time walking around for hours and hours visiting different art galleries alone. There are some super SUPER cool boutique art galleries scattered around Mayfair through to Soho. I love them all and then of course all the main galleries and museums. Whenever I travel I always attract art experiences, and always visit art galleries and shops and I can stay there for hours just looking and thinking. I am truly obsessed with what beauty people have created, its mind blowing what the mind can create and art and architecture for me is the best way to see that.”
- You have been living in Morocco for quite a few years now. What do you love most about Morocco?
“The ease of life here and how I can truly live day by day. The majority of people here are very connected to nature and I find that beautiful and has really pushed me to be even more connected to nature than I ever was, which has helped me in so many ways, especially mentally. Everyone helps each other here which is beautiful.”
- How do you feel your heritage has been incorporated in what you do with work and understanding the world around you wherever you are?
“My work has become more full and vibrant because of my heritage! In Morocco I notice as a whole we love to be cultured and are very curious about people from different countries. You know!? Every country I have ever visited in the world I have always met a Moroccan or heard the language spoken in conversation. Moroccans love to mix and integrate themselves into new cultures.”
- We commend you for your work with The Third Layer which allowed you to help underpaid artisans in Morocco earn a fair wage. What made you connect your passion for art and helping your community?
“Firstly Thank you! I think the connection was made through my deep rooted love for all artists and knowing the struggle that comes with it all. Plus at the time of this project I wanted to be in Morocco and help my people in the best way I could, which is through being creative. I was very much in that mother earth/Mother Teresa vibe haha. I had just been travelling around Bali and Australia and I fell in love with all the fabrics and craftsmanship I saw. I had worked as a model for 10 years in London, so it all built up into a clothing brand and social enterprise. However, in all honesty it wasn't so real for me looking back. I would say it was my ego coupled with a confusion about what I wanted to do with my life. I was very sincere with my intentions but I didn't think about what life I wanted to live and that's the biggest factor in everything. That is what rules now. I am not allowing myself to be a slave to being successful by hustling night and day, now it's completely on my terms and no-one elses.”
- What was the career transition? What would you tell anyone who is passionate about switching their career at any stage in their life?
“The real transition started when I really started to think about the lifestyle I want to live forever! I took a huge break from my last business The Third Layer. I gave myself time to just be! Which was incredibly hard at first. The real transition started at the end point of a scary low point in life. Depression and anxiety ruled me so turning to art surprisingly freed me in a very real way. I found it so healing! I would throw all my anger and emotions onto my canvases and then walk away much better. It was like magic.”
- What would you tell anyone who is passionate about switching their career at any stage in their life?
“If you have ideas rolling around your mind, make notes, do the research and then visualise yourself in this new position in life, then just jump straight into it. Start a page, a website, just start creating and don't waste too much time going over the minor details.You can figure those out as you go along because they will change. For me as long as I'm honest and professional I know I will do well. Art is a real luxury, something that is so special to own! When I buy art I really feel I have made it in life. I know many people out there feel the same way as I do and that's a special feeling to give to someone through your art.”
- We noticed you are in tune with yourself and how that translates to the sustainability of what you pursue. What part of the new lifestyle shift made it too overwhelming to continue the project? What tools helped navigate your mental health during these challenging times?
“Firstly thanks, I have been trying to get in tune with myself for years and that just wasn't happening haha. I had gotten to a point where I would be running around to all these meetings and suppliers, and hustling so hard in a language I understand about 50 % of the time in the context of business. They would see me as a rich English woman and so their pricing was crazy and dishonest and it all became a mess because those were the people I was trying to help in the first place. I realised I came into this business without really thinking about or researching what I would face along the way! The overarching deciding factor was also the lifestyle I foresaw within this industry, that it would be stressful and too time consuming. I would always be questioning trust, always disappointed and so for those reasons I stopped completely and started to focus on the lifestyle I wanted for myself and my family and shifted everything in my life to suit that regardless of the cost. I had to VERY painfully realise that the high flying career girl with the thousands of awards and 10 businesses wasn’t me, acting career, fashion career. It just wasnt me and wasn't what I had come to realise is what makes me feel truly at peace and happy! I just wanted to stop pretending to myself! Even more so thinking about my daughter and just how involved I want to be in her life, homework and school and those things are strictly non-negotiable to me now.”
- We see that you incorporate an artistic lens to your surroundings whether it be home, clothing, space, paintings. Talk a bit about your passions to combine all these elements.
“I LOVE fabrics and colours and I am a huge HUGE homebody. I just love being at home all the time apart from when I travel of course. Interiors has always been a love and passion for me that I always like to experiment with new cushions, throws, centrepieces, new fabrics! My home is a reflection of what's inside my mind and so I love to create and renew everything in it! It's a never ending project that I'm happy to do until I die. With my experience working in fashion for so long, I can see has really shaped my taste and approach to designing and being creative, and so all of this combined. I like to infuse creativity in EVERYTHING from how I dress myself and my dining table to how I style my home, my daughter and my husband ( he can't escape the creativity in me haha). It literally seeps into everything I do and I truly believe if that all makes you happy then follow that as it is where your happiness truly is.”
- How do you feel you express yourself through your art?
“For me painting onto canvas is purely emotional and so I really do reveal all my inner demons and feelings into my art and sometimes that creates a royal mess and sometimes it creates a clean and simple piece. When I paint I truly let out all my emotions and allow that to shape the piece of art and what it wants to be.”
- What are you most inspired about in your abstract art at the next stage of TTL_Studio?
“Who my clients will be! I'm so excited to see who will buy from me and who will I get to collaborate with! I love working with other creatives and learning from their style and how they go about their work process.”
- What would you tell the child in you that you wish you heard more growing up?
“That everyone is just trying their best in life with the capacity of knowledge they have available to them, so nothing is really personal! Do not stress about the smallest details and try to never allow space for guilt within you. I am still finding ways to tell myself these very important reminders, and it can be very hard to remember but if I had started at a younger age following this advice then I would have saved years of unnecessary stress and anxiety.”
- What jewelry piece from the Dea collection did you gravitate to most and why?
“I love gold jewelry so I gravitated towards that firstly. I’ve been obsessed with ear piercings lately and like to adorn my ears with a few different pieces so although I’m lusting after ALL the earrings haha, if I had to choose I would go for the FARO gold hoops. I love the size as they're versatile from day to night. Mostly with a toddler who is curious about everything and likes to pull at me, so these wouldn't really get in the way at all, and I could still feel dressed up and like a sexy mama wearing these hoops.”
WIM Feature, Studio Interview:
Virtual sneak peak art gallery of TTL_Studio:
Home with Fatim- Zahra:
