Jewellery passion lures FIFO worker
Salma El-Batanouny has left behind her high-vis work uniform and the red dirt of Port Hedland in favour of Claremont's pristine shopping precinct.
After two years as a FIFO worker, El-Batanouny recently made the difficult decision to abandon her lucrative civil engineer's salary to transform her hobby of jewellery and accessories design into a career.
"It's a strange feeling but swapping Port Hedland for Claremont isn't a bad thing," she told AAA of the change in direction.
"It's really hard to give up the engineer's salary, I was shaking when I put in my resignation. It was really scary to begin with - taking that first leap."
While working three weeks on, one week off, the 27-year-old would spend her downtime designing for fun, travelling to Egypt, where her family is from, to have creations she dreamt up brought to life.
When friends showed an interest in her Egyptian-inspired accessories, El-Batanouny decided to take the next step, launching Gyptian as a passion project in 2012.
Two years on and the Leeming-based designer is preparing to open a flagship store for her label at Claremont Quarter on Saturday.
"I never imagined this - having my own store was never on the cards for me," El-Batanouny said. "Everything has just fallen into place and I'm more than happy that it's got to this stage.
"It's quite surreal. I've made very few commitments in my life - I've never rented a house or anything so when I walked into the store and realised 'This space is mine and this is the commitment I've made', I knew it was time to grow up. It's a good feeling."
While she's excited to focus on Gyptian full time, El-Batanouny admitted she will miss FIFO work.
"Some people think it's strange but I really liked being in Port Hedland and I really liked my job," she said. "I enjoyed being out in the field so it was a difficult decision to make but I love doing this. I'm happy for a change."
