I launched a website, but most importantly shared to a vision that had been waiting for years, quietly whispering, finally ready for light.
Today, I sit in the glow of after, grateful, giddy, still catching up with what just became real.
What began in January as a small nudge "come back to this", has unfolded into Maktoub Studio.
It started years ago in Morocco, when I began gathering North African women’s life stories for an oracle deck. I didn’t know where it would lead, only that I had to begin. Then, in February, my professional world shifted, and in that space of not-knowing, a voice grew louder: share what’s been inside you all along.
Ramadan sealed it. The stillness, the dawns, the rituals... words poured out, projects unfolded, and Maktoub Studio shaped itself, from a knowing that felt both ancient and new.
At first, my teenage boys rolled their eyes (“another woo-woo project”). But soon, skepticism turned to collaboration: one tightened my drafts, the other designed the artwork for Azumal, an oracle of Amazigh symbols. What began as banter turned into late-night debates about fonts, colors, and whether a date palm should feel fierce or tender. (Answer: both.)
Through it all, I felt my ancestors with me; threads of love, memory, and resilience weaving themselves into this work. Algerian by blood, Tunisian by motherhood, called home by Morocco, Maktoub Studio carries the pulse of all three lands.
I hesitated, of course. Many times. Too ambitious? Too whimsical? Imposter syndrome is real!!! But each doubt reminded me: forget perfection, just be present, show up, truthfully, and let what wants to be born, be born.
Maktoub Studio is my promise to myself to create from what I love. To offer words, stories, and wisdom rooted in North Africa, shaped by lived experience, shared with seekers everywhere.
So today, I celebrate the process of this new becoming. The rewrites, the tech snags, the eye-rolls turned brainstorms and the doubts turned alignment.
And if you’re reading this, thank you. You’re now part of this unfolding.
Here’s to what’s begun.
Here’s to what come’s next.
Here’s to the beautiful, unpredictable dance of what is written and how we choose to shape it.
With joy and a full heart,
Ratiba
