The Ruby Tree
Bethan Gray Design has collaborated with renowned Islamic arts scholar Mitchell Abdul Karim. The seeds of the partnership were planted when Mitchell Abdul Karim Crites saw Bethan’s award-winning Alice family. Known for his revival of traditional Islamic crafts, he was immediately struck by the harmony and intricacy of the patterns and wrote to Bethan expressing his belief that her work revealed ‘a profound sense of Islamic art.’
When the two met they realised they shared the same vision of beauty based on the finest natural materials, expert craftsmanship and purity of form. Their mutual admiration for traditional craftsmanship and concern for its endangered status in an age of mass production led to the founding of The Ruby Tree. Both come from a heritage that reveres the craft traditions of the past and now they are exploring the greatest examples of Islamic art together, re-interpreting classical elements into contemporary forms.