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Nina

"Sawasdee kha! I'm Nansarin Mahmood, but everyone calls me Nina. I was born on August 6, 1975 in the province of Songkla, southern Thailand. My parents and I are Muslims. My father was a government officer and got transferred to Chiang Mai when I was pretty young. My parents loved Chiang Mai so much so that they decided to settle there even after my father's retirement.

"Being the only child makes me think that I got quite a lot of attention, and I got used to doing what I wanted. My husband is a Muslim from Pakistan. When we met I was very happy and had lots of friends, but some of my husband's Pakistani friends weren't so accepting and caused trouble for us. My husband decided we should distance ourselves from some of these people and eventually love grew out of being friends with one another.

"However, my parents weren't pleased with our relationship, they had doubts about my husband's sincerity, and since I was only 18 years old, they thought I was too young. So when he asked my parents if he could marry me, they said no. Nonetheless, I ran away to Pakistan with him.

"At first, my husband's mother did not approve of me, as she had a negative view of Thai women. But with time she came to like me, to the point that my husband and his siblings believe she loves me more than she does them!

"When I got pregnant I had a difficult time of it and lost a lot of weight. I was also feeling very guilty for what I had done to my parents, for hurting them, and embarrassing them for doing what I wanted to do, so I decided to come back home and be with my parents at that time. They have forgiven me.

"My husband was a tailor in Pakistan, so he decided to sell his shop and come with me to Thailand.

"Before getting pregnant, I worked in several things, but it was a lot of hard work for very little pay. After my first son was born, my husband, who is a very good tailor, taught me how to cut cloth and sew. I liked this type of work so I took courses in design and marketing and now work alongside my husband.

"I personally love a nice dress that makes me look good, so with this in mind I started to design clothes. I want to make people look and feel good. For home décor items, I think of what would look good in my home.

"It was very difficult for us at the beginning because we didn't have much funds to run our workshop, so I tried my best to negotiate with people to have all the cloth and materials on credit. I also got lots of support from my relatives. Within a year, we were able to pay everyone back.

"We started from practically zero, but with hard work we persevered through the obstacles we encountered. I even used to take a few clothes to my father's office for his colleagues to choose from, letting them pay us a month or two later.

"I've found that working very hard and enjoying doing what we're doing leads us to being a happy family today. We now have two workshops and offer employment to people in the community.

"My husband's presence has had a positive effect on me. His love and care have calmed me down and helped me mature. We now have two children. My parents' support is also overwhelming. I can't think of my happiness and stability today without their love and support.

"Thanks, Novica, for presenting my work to the world. I always enjoy whenever customers stop by, even if they are just browsing, so the thought that many people from all over the world will be seeing my work makes me feel very happy. I do hope that people will like my designs."