Lenora Marouani

Owner, The Souk

The Souk in Manhattan Beach features ceramics, rugs, clothing and accessories from Tunisia, North Africa and abroad. Owner Lenora Marouani is a trained chef who has worked in the restaurant industry for more than a decade. Drawing from her passion for food and design led her to create The Souk this April.

How do you remain true to yourself and find your own voice in your industry?

“You have to do what you love. Be willing to jump into it, breathe it, give everything in your power to grow it. I feel like I find my voice by empowering these hardworking women behind our products—giving their voice an opportunity to be heard.”

Give us a few tips for finding work/life balance.

“Being a mother of two girls and running a couple of businesses is extremely challenging at times. But one thing I have learned is the importance of being flexible and using my time more effectively. When I work, I work. When I’m with my girls, I’m with my girls. I also think that as a woman, it’s so important to give back to ourselves. I personally need my time to breathe and rejuvenate … to figure out how to be a better woman, wife, mother and entrepreneur. I truly feel that my success is not only measured by my business but also by my family.”

What is your best piece of advice for a female entrepreneur just starting out?

“Start off simple! As an entrepreneur, your excitement can lead to 100 more ideas and concepts. Keep the excitement alive, but don’t overwhelm your mind. Perfect your basic concept, then build from there.”

How does social media play into your business’ marketing strategy?

“Social media is huge! Since I manage our social media, it puts me in direct contact with my clients. It’s a great way to personalize and grow in your marketing strategy. Also we’ve recently launched our online store, TheSoukMB.com/collections. I’m really excited to expose our Souk products to the whole world! We’re also focusing on building more relationships with local designers and stagers.”

How do you give back to your community?

“At The Souk, we recycle and re-use old local newspapers to stuff our poufs. It feels good to play a role in making our community a bit greener!”

http://www.oursouthbay.com/lenora-marouani/

• Genie Davis, Aug 11, 2016

Open for just over 3 months, The Souk is a unique shop in Manhattan Beach that features the work of Tunisian artisans. From handmade ceramics, rugs and blankets to cooking dishes and clothing, The Souk’s full range of hand-crafted products introduces customers to the culture of Tunisia, as well as its products.

The Souk is the latest local business from Adnen, originally from Tunisia, and Lenora Marouani. The husband and wife team owns Barsha Wines as well.

“Every trip to we took to Tunisia I would fall in love with the whole experience at the souk, which is their outdoor marketplace,” said Lenora. “The souk features everything from rugs, ceramics, and clothing, to street food and produce. Everything is hand-crafted, hand-painted and hand-woven. These trips created the inspiration to bring the souk to the South Bay.”

Among the Marouani’s most unusual items are vintage hand-woven rugs designed by Tunisian women, ceramic tangines, or baking dishes, children’s embroidered tunics and leather slippers, and the ceramic hamsas, hand-shaped serving and cooking dishes.

Jewelry is another strong seller in the store, with many featuring symbols that are reputed to bring good luck, fortune and success, while warding off bad energy. All of these items have a powerful history behind them, of the crafts people who make them, the meaning of designs such as the ‘evil eye,’ and the hamsa. The hamsa is a pattern of a hand with an eye, or other symbol in the palm. The word means five, and refers to the five senses. This shape appears in several of the items the shop offers.

“It’s more than just bringing an item into your home, it’s bringing a cultural story, and a cause,” Lenora said.

The cause Marouani refers to is the financial support that product sales offers to the artisans who make these exotic and beautiful handmade items.

The Souk is a natural fit for the beach cities, she notes. “The Souk style definitely melds well with beach style. The right rug or textile can definitely bring out the best in your beach house, and the shop is also a great hub for designers.”

Setting the mood in the well-curated shop, funky vinyl sounds spin on a record player, while the vibrant colors and intricate patterns of much of the store’s merchandise, draws shoppers’ eyes.

Marouani said operating this shop in the beach cities is a major plus. “Having Barsha Wines has shown us just how tight-knit a community can be. People know us, and come to us for merchandise that’s both worldly, ethnic and Bohemian. It’s a very approachable vibe.”

The community aspect of Marouani’s shop extends straight to The Beach Reporter. Either Lenora or Adnen stops by weekly to gather old copies of the newspaper to shred as stuffing for their poufs and ottomans.

Lenora said she is a huge advocate for recycling and making less of a footprint in landfills.

“I really appreciate our relationship with The Beach Reporter to make that happen,” she said. “In fact, with every pouf that you purchase, you can put your feet up, and rest assured that beach history, as well as Tunisian culture, will always be a part of your home.”

Marouani feels strongly that the special touch of the Tunisian elements in her shop brings something wonderful to any environment. “Our products convey a feeling, a story that you can pass on to your family and your guests, a way to offer the best to our customers and our Tunisian artisans.”

The Souk is located at 1201 Manhattan Avenue in Manhattan Beach.