Our Story
Our Name
Badan Collective
Badan is a word with Arabic origins defined as "body." It is also used to describe a thobe's (Palestinian dress's) front and back skirt panels.
We chose this name for our business to signify that Palestinians not only wear their tatreez, but are their tatreez. Whereever a Palestinian may find themselves in the diaspora, they are inseparable from their traditions. As a business based in the diaspora, we know this to be true.
This word now has a beautiful third meaning as Badan Collective, and as such, we consider our name throughout our work—education, design, and community building. With every step, we create art we hope will last generations.
Our founder
Bayan Fares
Bayan is the Creative Director and Founder of Badan Collective. She has been practicing tatreez since 2005, having learned it from her mother and aunts. She then founded Badan Collective in 2022 as a creative design house and educational space for tatreez.
Through Badan, Bayan is a Tatreez Instructor and has taught over 3,000 students across the United States. She is also a Palestinian writer, published poet, and Licensed Social Worker with a focus on community organizing and trauma-informed care.
These experiences combined, along with a need for an outlet to create art, have led Bayan to found Badan Collective. Its intention is to preserve tatreez and give way to its practice amongst the current generation of Palestinians.
