Success Woven into the Warp and Weft of Effort

Mohammad Shorideh, who was once forced to leave school, now exports products from his embroidery workshop to neighboring countries.

Introduction

The symphony of industrial sewing machines never seems to stop. Bobbins and threads move rapidly as needles rise and fall in quick succession. Every movement of the needle across the fabric seems to tell a story of art and beauty. Fabrics decorated with traditional colors and motifs reflect a part of Iran's cultural and artistic heritage.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Shorideh, the workshop manager, walks calmly among the machines, checking the work of his team.

We climb the stairs from the basement and enter an area where several cutting machines are cutting fabric while another group works behind sewing machines. Here, there is no longer the sound of the embroidery machines; only the sound of cutting and sewing can be heard.

This is an industrial workshop producing fabrics with Baluchi embroidery. It is a workshop filled with colorful patterns and motifs whose products have attracted many customers, while also seeking to preserve culture and traditional art through its work.

It is a place where a hardworking young man, through perseverance, directly and indirectly keeps the workshop's livelihood moving and helps maintain hope for the future among his colleagues.

Childhood and Working Life

It is early in the working day. At the beginning of our conversation, Mohammad explains several points to the sewing-machine operators and cutters. He reviews once more the orders that must be delivered that day. Now he can calmly talk about the path he has taken to produce these Baluchi fabrics.

Mohammad Shorideh has reached the age of 35. He was born in the village of Maghan. Agriculture and gardening were among the first jobs he did as a child alongside his father and brothers.

After his brother began working in embroidery, Mohammad and several of his other brothers also found their way into embroidery workshops in Mashhad.

Mohammad drinks his cinnamon tea and explains that after his brother returned from military service, he settled in Mashhad and began working in an embroidery workshop. Mohammad was eight years old at the time and worked beside his brother as an assistant while continuing his studies.

He remembers many things from those days, but one memory remains especially vivid: while children his age played in the streets, he had to go to the embroidery workshop to work during the summer.

He says he wanted to play like other children his age, but the family's economic circumstances meant that he had to work.

I Watched and Learned

Throughout the years he worked behind the sewing machine, Mohammad kept thinking about learning the work as thoroughly as possible so that one day he could have his own business.

After several years, his brother was able to establish an independent workshop. Mohammad was still a teenager. Years of work in the embroidery workshop eventually led him to become the supervisor of his brother's workshop.

They produced items such as flags, shawls, prayer rugs and prayer mats.

During these years, Mohammad chose work over continuing his studies alongside his work in the market, and after the age of fifteen he began working full time at the workshop.

He says it was difficult for people who had worked for years to take instructions from a fifteen-year-old teenager. He therefore tried to build enough skills and knowledge to stand out from them.

The workshop's machines sometimes needed repairs. An engineer came to repair the machines, and Mohammad, who was interested in technical work, would stand beside him both as an assistant and as a learner.

When the engineer saw his interest, he taught Mohammad how to repair the machines and encouraged him to begin doing the work himself.

Mohammad learned through repeated trial and error until he finally understood how to repair the machines. In this way, in addition to embroidery, he learned technical work and machine repair without attending formal classes.

He says that when he talks with colleagues about textile machines and their repair, they sometimes assume that he studied textile engineering, while in fact he did not continue his formal education beyond the third year of middle school.

In later years, however, he completed various courses, including English, management, machine repair and working with new equipment.

A Serious Decision About the Future

Military service gave Mohammad an opportunity to think about his future and make serious decisions.

During that period, he concluded that he should pursue industrial machine repair as a specialized field. At the same time, he considered establishing an independent workshop and separating his professional path from his brother's.

As a first step, he bought a machine from his brother, although he continued working in the same workshop.

Mohammad says that in 1395 (2016) he bought a new machine. At a time when many workshops were facing a downturn, inflation was high, and people were prioritizing essential household purchases, he decided to take the risk and buy a machine.

He consulted several people. They advised him not to buy the machine, but he had made up his mind and wanted to establish his own business.

Around the same time, through friends, Shorideh met a university professor working in the field of traditional embroidery. The professor had studied industrial embroidery of the clothing of different ethnic groups and had ideas for the field.

After several discussions, they agreed to begin working together.

Following the professor's initial instructions, Mohammad received the designs from him and began the work.

Starting With Full Determination

In 1397 (2018), Mohammad needed 30 million tomans to establish his workshop, while his total savings amounted to 15 million tomans. After borrowing money from various sources, he finally began the business.

During the first month, he made a total profit of 400,000 tomans, while he had to pay 700,000 tomans in workers' wages.

The work was new, and he and his colleagues were not yet very fast. As a result, orders were sometimes not completed on time, and they occasionally had to compensate clients for late delivery.

The first few months were accompanied by anxiety and worry. People around him had also advised him not to start a business under such circumstances.

But Shorideh refused to accept failure. His efforts paid off, and after several months the workshop became profitable.

Learning More About Baluchi Traditional Embroidery

Shorideh married in 1397 (2018), and his wife supported him throughout this period.

To become more familiar with Baluchi traditional embroidery, he traveled to Sistan and Baluchestan two or three times every month.

He says: “At first, I went to the markets of the province only to copy existing work, but in later years I traveled there to learn and receive training.”

In Mohammad's view, the world of Baluchi and traditional embroidery in Iran is so extensive that even years of learning would not be enough.

Through these trips, he became increasingly interested in Baluchi culture and traditions and tried to expand his knowledge and incorporate it into his embroidery work.

He explains the different flowers and geometric stitches used on traditional fabrics. According to him, this is one of the recognized styles of embroidery practiced by Baluchi women, known for fine detail, geometric patterns and warm colors.

The Story-Rich World of Baluchi Embroidery

Baluchi women spend many hours creating beautiful garments. Their products are used not only in everyday life, but also in dowries and as valuable economic goods.

The designs found on these fabrics include botanical motifs, flowers and foliage, small and large flowers, stems and leaves, as well as animal and bird motifs.

Shorideh believes that every region has its own distinctive signature in its motifs. For example, Baluchi designs tend to be geometric and angular, while artists in Khorasan and Kerman lean more toward flowers, foliage and nature. In southern areas such as Bandar Abbas, mirror embroidery and symbols such as the sun and stars are more common.

Embroidery is not merely a handicraft; it is a cultural heritage that reflects the creativity, patience and artistic taste of Iranian women. This art tells the history and culture of each community, and a traditional embroidered garment can reveal something about the roots and identity of its owners.

One of Shorideh's goals is to build a specialized team that can research and document the motifs, stories and legends behind these traditional embroidery techniques and eventually publish them.

Challenges of Production

Many people involved in traditional embroidery are opposed to industrial production. Shorideh is aware of this issue.

However, he believes that traditional hand embroidery is very expensive, and buying several traditional outfits each year may not be affordable for those interested in the craft.

He emphasizes that industrial machines cannot replace the handwork of Baluchi women, but industrial production can help make these products available to buyers at a lower price.

Mirror Work on These Embroideries

Mirror work on these embroidered fabrics is another newer activity that Shorideh has introduced in his workshop.

During this period, he has faced many challenges, from purchasing up-to-date machines and obtaining special acrylic yarn for embroidery patterns to finding a market for the products.

Finding a market has been one of his main challenges. He believes that a producer must first understand the market and says: “In my view, an excellent seller can also become a good producer.”

He says his fabrics are mainly sent to markets in Sistan and Baluchestan, Mashhad, Kerman, Mazandaran and Shiraz, as well as any city with a Baluchi community. Some products are also sent to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Shorideh has many ideas for promoting traditional embroidery and says he wants to expand his work enough to make eastern Iran a hub for traditional embroidery within the next ten years.

Standing Together Through Difficulties

Nafiseh Mohammadzadeh, Mohammad Shorideh's wife, works alongside him in the workshop and is involved in different parts of the work.

Since their marriage, she has become familiar with Baluchi traditional embroidery and has supported her husband in developing the workshop.

Nafiseh speaks about the difficult days and the problems the workshop faced during the COVID-19 period. For a limited time during that period, they produced masks because production workshops were facing a downturn.

Despite these difficulties, they did not abandon their work.

The report also discusses difficulties in receiving support from banks and support organizations, as well as administrative obstacles faced by handicraft producers.

Team Spirit

Teamwork is one of the important characteristics of this workshop.

The members of the workshop work alongside one another, and their cooperation extends beyond simply completing orders. The working environment and relationships among colleagues have created a sense that each person is part of a team.

The workers also emphasize this point: traditional embroidery is not only a means of earning income for them. Preserving the art and contributing to the household economy are also important.

We Are One Family

Leila Pourkhosravani has worked with Shorideh's workshop for nearly twelve years.

She was introduced to the workshop through one of her acquaintances and has learned and carried out various tasks there, including mirror work on clothing.

Leila says that at first she had little knowledge of embroidery and fabric, but over the years she received different types of training under Shorideh. She says that after twelve years of work, she can now recognize the type of fabric, the quality of the embroidery and the yarn used simply by looking at a piece of fabric.

She describes the workshop's warm and friendly environment as one of its positive features. Among the colleagues with whom she spends her working hours, friendship is important, and they help one another whenever they can.

Source: Supplement to Shahrara Mahalleh (Districts 7 and 8 of Mashhad), Issue 643, Tuesday, 9 Dey 1404 (December 30, 2025), News Code 13813.