Syeda Sumana Ali, the founder, and CEO of Metal Bling, is an accomplished artist and entrepreneur with over 24 years of expertise in metal embossing and Islamic art. Renowned for her innovative fusion of ancient artistic techniques with contemporary design, she has transformed traditional Islamic art into globally celebrated masterpieces. Her brand, Metal Bling, specializes in handmade metal-embossed home décor and fashion accessories, setting benchmarks for creative excellence in the art industry.
A gold medalist in Islamic Studies from FJWU Rawalpindi, Syeda Sumana has been recognized with prestigious accolades, including the Star Laureate Award by the South Asian Federation. Her dedication to entrepreneurship led her to complete a course at Cornell University and mentorship training with the Cherie Blair Foundation, equipping her to foster female artisans and empower underprivileged women through skill development programs.
Her creative works have been showcased on prominent media platforms such as ARY Digital and Hum Network, and at international exhibitions hosted by German, Russian, and British consulates. A board member at Jinnah University for Women and an active participant in women’s chambers of commerce, Syeda Sumana’s legacy extends beyond her art, as she continues to inspire and empower the next generation of artists and entrepreneurs.

Describe Sumana as an artist, introduce yourself, your personal life, and your educational journey.
My name is Syeda. Sumana Ali and I am the founder of “Metal Bling”. As an artist, all my work is based on Islamic art. As an artistic person, I happen to live in my own world. I have almost worked on all the different areas of Islamic art but close to my heart is metal art, I researched it and started working on it in the year 2001. I have fused miniatures & calligraphy with metal. As I researched the “Islamic Book of Art,” it is the art related to the Holy book Quran Kareem. I have worked in different arts related to the holy book, like Calligraphic scripts, illuminations (designs of the pages), binding, (the covers), side designs & the calephons (the front pages). My research work was based on “The Islamic Art of the Book.” When I completed the work, I was awarded the Star Laureate award in the year 2001 by “The South Asian Federation. It was an acknowledgment as I wrote a research paper on “Islamic Calligraphy from the advent of Islam till the contemporary times.” It was the very first time a female worked on such a rare subject, as not much work or information was related to it. It was also Internationally recognized as I was the first female from Pakistan who did this & it was written in English. As my father was in Pakistan. Airforce, so I started my education in Risalpur then, as my father had been posted to different areas, I studied in different schools all over Pakistan. I did my graduation from CB College Rawalpindi. I completed my master’s degree from Fatima Jinnah Woman University in Islamic studies in Rawalpindi with distinction, the first gold medalist, awarded for exceptional expertise. My husband is a brigadier retired from Pakistan Army & I have three kids, one girl & two boys. I was the eldest of siblings, so I used to give my siblings art activities, and they used to practice those with fun & interest. Similarly, I trained my kids, my eldest daughter & sons also know my craft, but in these times, their studies are equally important, so I don’t indulge them a lot for the moment. I have three sisters & four brothers, including me, all are happily settled down with their families. My mother passed away unfortunately & my father is alive Alhamdullilah.
Did u have a passion for being an artist from childhood, or did it develop with time?
Yes, I had a passion for arts & crafts since childhood as a child. I was a born artist by the grace of Allah Almighty. I used to participate in painting competitions & used to win them too. As a student, I used to help my teachers a lot with the softboard and art-related activities. I had been told by my parents that since childhood, I had been into paintings and calligraphy. I loved to decorate different corners of the house since I was a child, I liked to decorate things. My inspiration comes from within my family, my phupho (aunt). She was a Fine arts student studying at “Waqar Un Nisa” college in Rawalpindi, and she used to take me along with her to her college & as I was a very peaceful & art-loving child. She used to give me a canvas pad, paint & a brush, so I started with paints directly, no pencil sketches & drawings. I used to watch her & follow her the way she was doing her work. Whatever used to come to my mind, I used to create on the canvas with paints directly, so I never did pencil sketches. In childhood, I was fond of painting birds, flowers, plants, and Islamic buildings, The arches of Mughal architecture also fascinated me a lot, and used to paint them too. Then during childhood, we used to make handmade cards and share them among ourselves, that used to be a big deal to show sentiments of love, care, and friendship & that is how I started with arts & crafts, and then it developed into other areas with passing age & time.
What are your different passions, and hobbies related to handicrafts of different kinds?
During my childhood, I was allowed to practice Arts & crafts only I was not raised like ordinary kids to waste time watching TV or listening to music, so I made the best out of that time by utilizing it in book reading, related to Arts, paintings, Islamic Art history, and my uncle used to help me from our home library. Although these were rare books. I did my diploma in textile design & fashion design too. Did diplomas in Turkish and Italian cuisine. I have learned cake baking & decor with gum paste roses etc. & whenever we celebrate birthdays at home, I always bake & decorate cakes myself for my husband, kids & siblings. Calligraphy is also very close to my heart especially ancient scripts of Kufi calligraphy. I also learned Ceramics making from Ustad Aalam Institute of Blue Pottery in Multan. I have taught this art to different females in Pakistan, while I used to travel all over Pakistan wherever my husband was posted in different areas of Pakistan as he was in the Pakistan Army. I have students in Kashmir, from Baluchistan to Panjgur, Pano Aqil, Khairpur, interior Sindh & Karachi too. Still no matter what I have learned Metal Art is my 1st love of handicrafts & it is very close to my heart. I started it when I was at university. It will always be with me & I will continue it in the long run on a large scale.

Name different metallic accessories you provide that are made from metal.
There are different home accessories like Dining Accessories, dining mats, glass covers, napkins, Table runners, & different kinds of trays. I have depicted all the designs from history. Especially the Ottoman tray, which belonged to the Turkish era and was used for serving dinner of the Turkish kings. My best & hot seller item is the handbags of fashion accessories, it has been sold in different countries like the UK, USA, Canada, and UAE. Other fashion accessories are hand mirrors, Jewelry boxes, and a few jewelry pieces, but they are very time & energy-consuming, so for now, it’s limited. I made gilded doors, Arches, dividers, High Back Chairs, console tables, Jefferies & many other tables available in metal.
How many colors do you offer metallic accessories? Tell us about the material & procedure to make these accessories.
We use two colors in metal, which are Golden & Silver. The material used is metal which is copper & tin. The Sheets of Aloy of copper & tin, which are between 36 to 38 gauge are used. Firstly, the designs are drawn and then rubbed on the metallic sheets with the help of tools, so they are embossed over these sheets on the other side of the sheet, then glue is filled at the back side so it stays firm. After it properly gets firm, they are assembled with wooden bases & then the finishing is done as the final touch, we use precious or semi-precious stones of different colors over them & also as required by the clients & customers.
Which media platforms do you use to promote your art?
We are using different platforms for our promotions & running our campaign & boosting advertisements like Meta, for example, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok & YouTube. I have a media team who takes care of it. Secondly, I was also invited to all the Famous TV channels & showcased my work on popular TV shows. It is also a big source of marketing. I have been working with Aaj TV & my material is being used as props & set designing for their Aaj Pakistan program with Sidra
Iqbal & also for their Ramazan Transmission. I have a business contract with them for three years. Also, on Samma TV with Madiha Naqvi Subh ka samma, my material of metal bling has been used.

Since how long you had been working as an artist and which Art is closer to your soul as an artist?
It’s been almost 24 years that I have been connected with metal embossing art, whether I was sick, happy, or sad, through my sickness as I have undergone eight surgeries, I never gave up on this art, it has always been a source of peace & freshness to my soul. It’s close to my soul, so much so that if I’m awake or sleeping, the designs are revealed to me through any medium while awake or sleeping. I never plan it as such & then the image that has been created in my mind transfers to the metal by me. That is how all the designs have been created up till now. No matter whether those are any kind of accessories or furniture. It’s a blessing in disguise, without which I cannot imagine living, or I cannot imagine a life without this art.
Tell us about the team with whom you work, how you got connected with them, and whether are you working globally /Internationally now.
My team was personal initially. However, during COVID-19, I started it as a business online class with my friend Hina, on a Facebook group as a platform. It started by chance to get rid of the fear of COVID-19 & educate Girls during that tough period of COVID-19. Initially, my page was named BB Creation after my grandmother’s name. But after branding, it was named Metal Bling. When it started getting famous globally & different people started contacting & approaching me for orders, I realized that I could work globally & turn it into a business venture, then I made a production team first, that was the woman artisans I taught this work for free throughout Pakistan. A family lived with me now. They were needy & I taught them as well for free back then. They moved from the village to live with me. Now they assemble all the material here & then we sell them worldwide. They are sincere people who work for me; different sheets are cut off & sent to the women artisans who work on them whom I taught this work. I have a social media team, a bookkeeping team headed by Ambreen, who has a business of financial support to Entrepreneurs, and a procurement team, all of these were developed to take care of the business. Here, I would like to mention some platforms that helped & educated me on how to make it to the international market & how I could make it big globally, as I was an artist, but I lacked a few business skills. So, I decided to educate myself professionally. I started Business studies in 2002. A few very important names to mention are US Aid, Miss Saira of Islamabad, Seeds Venture, and in DLP training with Circle Women Organization 2023,2024, which gave scholarships, so I learned Digital Marketing, E-commerce 2023 with Mr. Usman, advanced business Intelligence 2023, and essentials of AI generatives 2024 (A certified Google course). “Tara Uzra Dawood”, President of Dawood Global Foundation, LADIES FUND, helped me with international mentorship so I could promote my business internationally. She connected me to the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women UK & I graduated in the Mentoring Women in Business program and the road to financial growth in 2024 from there. Women entrepreneurship certification, at Cornell University USA NY 2024. My company “Metal Bling” is a Pvt Ltd, It is registered in Pakistan by IPO and applied for a trademark too. It got registered in the UK as well. So, we work on a global level of course as I have taught women for free in the whole of Pakistan while traveling, so I have female artisans from all over Pakistan there to work with me.

Where can people connect with you to access your handcrafted accessories?
People can connect to me through WhatsApp business and & also through my website www.metal-bling.com. & other social media platforms & pages mentioned above, from all these platforms one can easily connect, access & buy our metal accessories.
How pocket-friendly is it & how much in demand are these accessories nowadays?
Our products are a little costly. It’s not easy to work on metal with tools. One needs strong arms & nerves to work on it with patience compared to other handicrafts. Some craftsmen don’t continue but I’m blessed with great female artisans who have been working with me for 9 to 10 years. Our accessories are really in demand as they are antiques which are highly valuable & precious all over the world. We get sheets that are polished in blackish color tones to make them look like beautiful antique pieces. Our products attract people from Pakistan as well as customers from all over the world too. Like in the USA, Gulf states, Canada, UK, etc.
Do you teach this art of metal embossing professionally/globally? Tell us about your contribution to it.
I have been teaching this art for three years. My online classes are very famous & I have a lot of students there. My contribution initially was that I taught it for twenty (20th) whole years for free, So a free-of-cost learning process and no marketing & no selling was done at that time. I taught women all over Pakistan for free. When we entered the twenty-first (21st) year, I started teaching with fees. Meanwhile, I observed that in Pakistan, there were no tools easily available, and it was very difficult for students to find tools & on Amazon, it was too expensive, including the shipment charges, so I started designing tool kits. These are a few contributions & others are mentioned above.

Did you have any family support to pursue your artwork? Also, Is your family & spouse cooperative & supportive of it?
Yes, I have the full support of all male members of my family, whether it is my father, husband, brothers & sons, although it was bootstrap, I never asked for any financial help from my family for “Metal Bling”, I used all my investments by my own but yes for legal matters, operational issues or security concerns, my family has always been supportive & are there for me.
What advice would you like to give to women of Pakistan and all around the world related to art and how to make it a profession?
I would like to advise women to be more productive & utilize leisure time in pursuing some hobby or creative activity. Work hard on your craft & then learn the skills to convert it into a business or adapt it as a profession. So that people can buy it & you will be recognized for your work. It will give self-satisfaction and self-recognition. It will also help the family, the country, the society & this positive activity will run in your generations as I think women are very powerful beings who can strengthen anything, although it is not an easy task, it is a hard way but yet very payable in the end. So, we should always try to recognize our skills & potential & make the best out of it.
What are your thoughts on the current state of Pakistan’s Arts and Crafts industry? Do you feel we are doing justice to it? How to compete internationally?
I think the Government policies should improve related to Arts & crafts. The handicrafts are not given any importance & not taken seriously. There is no support from the Government, and no law or constitution related to it has been established as of yet. A lot of cooperation is needed from the government’s end for this area to flourish. Artists are precious; we should deeply cherish them & recognize their work. Helpful & user-friendly policies should also be established for export. One window operation has been helpful, but the customs department has been really bad related to their contribution in this matter. Our system needs a lot of improvement in many areas to compete on the international level as Pakistan has the best artists and craftsmen. Only a little support from the government is needed so we have a budget for our cultural handicraft’s heritage.
Any memorable or unusual incident happened during your artistic journey?
Here, I would like to mention that once, there was a lady who had been calling & tracing me to make a Holy box as she saw in her dream that it had to be made by me only. I make “Tabarrukaat boxes” for Moye (hair) Mubarak of our Holy Prophet Mumammed S.A.W.W.I was shocked & surprised by the incident. So, it was a memorable holy incident so far.
What exciting projects of yours should art lovers look forward to shortly?
My upcoming projects in the year 2025 for which the fans should be excited are Metal & Resin Art, antique doors & interiors.