Something about us.

Ever since I can remember I've wanted to travel to Morocco. In 1996 when I was backpacking I convinced a few friends to travel to Egypt with me and off we went for 5 weeks. For the life of me though I couldn't get anyone to come to Morocco and I wasn't quite game enough to go by myself so it was something left lingering until 2006.

I went overseas with my dear friend, for what I thought would be my last trip for a very long time we travelled all over Italy, France & Spain then into Morocco via Tangier and onto Meknes for a few days, Then onto Fez, where my love of all things Moroccan came to fruition. The carpets, stunning throws made from cactus silk, The Tagines, leather, dye pools and ceramic tiles (Zelij) were all mind blowing and still to this day made in the traditional way, hand crafted, using natural dyes and techniques from 100's if not 1000's of years ago.

From Fez we headed south to the Sahara & Merzouga, back to Ouarzazate (pronounced Wasazat) and then onto Marrakech aka a hectic heaven on earth! Four hot wonderful days that would change my life. The souq, the medina, all so amazing, we spotted the best place to buy ceramics on the road from Ouazazate in Sidi Yousef Bin Ali. We balked at the sheep head soups in the Djemma El Fna or Big Square of Marrakech, Drank copious amounts of mint tea in an effort to keep cool. Summer in Morocco is something else! Little did I know that this longed for trip would result in meeting my darling heart, moving to Marrakech for almost a year in 2007 and going back overseas a few more times. Add in two gorgeous children and here we are.

For a long time I'd been planning a business, something that would allow us to bring all the wonderful items I'd discovered in my travels, home to the Australian market and finally last year when we travelled for the first time all together as a family back to Morocco we had a good look around and I sold Ragili on the idea that this is a way for us to provide work for our Moroccan family, given the 50% unemployment rate. Potentially provide work for the next generation too as well as ethically sourcing our products direct from the makers and artisans wherever possible.

So here we are, Idrissi and Co has launched and I hope you will come along for the journey. On the blog I am going to share everything from Moroccan recipes to decorating ideas and travel tips for Marrakech where we are based when we are over there. If you have questions or want to know more, please don't hesitate to get in touch.