4 years in the making: why I built Fayakunu Art Studio

My journey has taken me from fitting carpets to restoring old Alfa Romeos and Morris Minors, finishing their paintwork by hand, and renovating interiors with care. Over the years, I’ve poured myself into woodwork, pottery, metalwork, and design — hands-on crafts that taught me patience, process, and humility.

It’s been a decade in the making, but I had to put a lot of my creative side on pause. After witnessing how creative practice can light someone up — offering more than just skills but direction, dignity, and purpose — I realised that in Bradford, we needed this.

Fayakunu Art Studio is more than a workshop. It’s a response, a place built for those who’ve been left out of the narrative. A way of showing that culture, especially culture born from the global majority, deserves not just a platform but permanence.

My background spans interior architectural design, ceramics, woodworking, classic car restoration, and vocational craft. I’ve spent most of my life working with my hands — but also with my heart. Advocating for access, equity, and cultural dignity in a city that’s often been overlooked. Navigating burnout, bureaucracy, and the lonely weight of carrying a vision from sketch to structure.

One of our early milestones was the creation of The Bekun — a public sculpture that brought together light, glass, heritage, and community storytelling. Now, we’re completing the transformation of the Fayakunu building for a grand opening in September 2025.

The space will house:

• A full wood workshop with bandsaw, hand tools, and power tools

• A ceramic studio with potter’s wheel and electric kiln

• A metalworking hot room

• A digital fabrication corner including a Wazer waterjet CNC cutter

• Dedicated areas for composite casting, and automotive design— with thanks to the Cultural Capital Fund from Bradford 2025, City of Culture

  
  

  

Our programme includes:

• Pottery throwing and glazing

• Carbon and hemp fibre casting

• Wood turning and Japanese joinery

• Automotive craft and restoration

• Islamic art, geometry, and STEAM-based mental health seminars

• Heritage workshops, guest artists, and outreach with local schools and colleges

  
  

This is just the beginning. In time, Fayakunu will grow into a national and international hub where art, sustainability, and culture shape a new kind of creative economy rooted in dignity and design.

We’re not just teaching skills. We’re building platforms for self-expression, vocational training, and cultural restoration.

We’ve come a long way — through persistence, faith, and the support of those who believe in the power of culture. In the months ahead, we may be calling on that belief a little more because building something this meaningful takes a community.

If you’re building something of your own — keep going. It’s worth it, not just for what you build but for who you become in the process.