Naz Muessel and Süreya Köprülü.
Creativity always thrives at the crossroads, where different worlds entangle into something new. Perhaps no crossroad is as old and storied as the Levant. Its boundaries shift like sand over time, seeping south into Egypt, north into Turkey, and west into Syria—defined by cultural currents over geographic lines. At the crux of continents, the Eastern Mediterranean region is marked not by centuries but by civilizations, fed by the historic Silk Road and Mediterranean shipping routes. Each chapter carved new layers of art and culture.
In its honor, Levant—a new home line founded by childhood friends Süreya Köprülü and Naz Muessel—pays homage to this monumental legacy. Merging shared passions for history and design, their new tabletop collection showcases craft traditions molded by these intersecting cultures through millennia. “This mishmash is so elemental to the Levant,” says Muessel. “Our brand is about celebrating the beauty in overlapping cultures.”
Their mood board is both ancient and intimate, mixing archaeology with personal memories. With Köprülü being half Turkish, and Muessel half Iranian, “we both come from a very mixed cultural background, and have spent time in the Levant,” says Köprülü. “We talk about things we’ve had in our childhood homes, or comb through museum archives and snapshots from our travels,” adds Muessel. The result is a stylish mix of ceramics, glassware and table linens. Imagine bowls made by Egyptian ceramic masters, platters featuring 16th-century blue-and-white Iznik motifs, and gossamer Turkish lace placemats and napkins woven with playful patterns.
Rather than a sweeping modernization of historic handcrafts, the aim is to “reimagine them,” explains Köprülü. “Working with the artisans is very important to our process.” The duo plays with proportions, enlarging archival motifs to celebrate their intricate beauty, or adapting old techniques with new materials. In spirit, every piece they make becomes a living memory of the places that inspired them: the sacred sites of fallen empires, the passionate communities keeping old ways alive and the bustling ancient cities unfolding new stories. Together, they form “a more nuanced take on Eastern aesthetics,” says Köprülü. “We want to show people that there’s so much more to see.”
