Without Khadija, I don't know if there would be a Mektoub Henna or any of the trips we took to Morocco. In Khadija we found a kindred spirit, someone so passionate about Moroccan henna that it became her life's work. She was our teacher at our first Mektoub event in Marrakesh. We met her on Instagram and loved her work, hoping that she would teach at our event. Jenpa and I went to Morocco for a research trip before our first event and that is where we first met Khadija. She gave us both huge hugs just standing in the middle of the Fes Medina and it just got better and better after that.

To be in Khadija's orbit is to be enveloped in her passion and generosity but also her wicked sense of humor. It's no wonder that she is a pivotal part of all our Mektoub Henna events. I hope that you get to join us on one of our trips so you can have a real-life experience of Morocco, Moroccan henna, and Khadija herself. Like so many of our conversations during Mektoub, there is a lot of language switching in this conversation. It felt like so many conversations we had in person, where there is a mix of English, French, Arabic, and Spanish, and strange combinations of all of them. Another little taste of our Mektoub events. Enjoy the interview!

You can find Khadija on Instagram at @galerie_henna and Mektoub at @mektoubhenna on Instagram, and our website, where you can find out more about our trips and events, is MektoubHenna.com

I came across Fatma's work on Instagram from a comment she left on one of my posts. We got to chatting and I knew I wanted to learn more from her. I know so little about East African henna and thought that others might be as curious as I am to know more.

Today's guest is Caryl Cunningham (@carylcunningham on Instagram) who is a tattooer but started out as a henna artist. She was one of our guests at the Mektoub Marrakesh Henna Journey in March 2022. I was excited to talk to someone who is a hardcore traveller and learn about her perspective on the event. If you are interested in the Mektoub events please follow us on instagram (@mektoubhenna) or visit us at MektoubHenna.com. If you have suggestions of people you would like us to interview email us at MektoubHenna@gmail.com.

If you have ever met Connie, online or in person, you know she has many thoughts and feelings. She joined our Mektoub Marrakesh Henna Journey in March 2022 and we were really happy to have her there because we knew her and liked having some friendly faces at our first ever event. Listen in to hear her perspectives on our Moroccan event and her transformative experience.

This is the first in a short series of inteviews with attendees at the recent Mektoub Marrakesh Henna Journey. It features Monique of Alchemy Henna (@alchemyhenna) chatting with attendee CV from Art of the Zodiac (@art_of_the_zodiac) about her experience at the workshop. For more info visit us at MektoubHenna.com

We talk about our journeys as fans of Moroccan henna, from geeking out over photos of Moroccan henna in the early days of the internet, to deciding to host this Moroccan henna workshop featuring Moroccan henna artists, and a whole lot more. The event will be October 8-15, 2021 in Marrakesh, and registration opens on March 28, 2021. Click here for more information. A few others things we mention in this episode:

Our featured henna artists' IG accounts:

Khadija @galerie_henna

Nadia @marrakechhennaartcafe

Fatima @tamolayt.henna

Mektoub Henna: @MektoubHenna

Samir is a Moroccan musician and friend of ours. He took us on a wonderful journey through his career as a musician, discovering gnawa music and making it his life. You'll hear his story and also get to listen to some amazing music. We hope you will be as charmed by him as we were. Enjoy!

In this episode Monique and Kenzi chatted with Jen about his several trips to Morocco and learned about his henna encounters in Marrakesh, the city of art and artists. Come join us on this virtual audio tour and fill that void that misses traveling!