In a world where colourful art often comes at a cost to our health and the environment, Orange Corners KRI alumna Shilan Shaban is on a mission to change that. Hailing from a small city in Kurdistan Iraq, Shilan has blended her background in biology with her passion for painting to create the first natural pigment brand in the MENA region: Shila Pigments. What began as a personal project born from concern about the chemicals in traditional paints has evolved into a growing business that celebrates sustainability, health and community. In this conversation, we explore how Shila Pigments came to life, how art workshops are bringing people together across Iraq, and why she believes that art truly belongs to everyone.
Hi Shilan! Could you introduce yourself and Shila Pigments?
My name is Shilan and I’m the founder of Shila Pigments, the first natural paint brand in the MENA region. I grew up in Akre, a small city in Kurdistan. An artist myself, I used to use acrylic oil paint, like any other artist. As a trained biologist, I realised that every colour contained over 20 different chemicals. And the packaging the colours came in was made of plastic, which couldn’t be recycled. It’s my view that art should heal, not harm, and at that time art was harming me. Like many artists in the region, I didn’t have a dedicated art space, I slept in the same room as I was painting. Imagine the smells and the chemicals!
So one day back in 2021, when I was out hiking with my brother, it struck me. Seeing the beautiful colours of the mountains around Akre, I picked up some rocks, took them back home and started researching how to make colours from rocks. Since then I never bought a single colour from an art store anymore. I started to experiment a lot to find out which colours are working, which stones are suitable, ensure the colours won’t fade. Because that was my main worry at the time, I wanted to make sure the colours won’t change.
This is how it all started. It was just meant for myself, I never thought of turning it into a business at first. After four years of experimenting, I felt confident enough about my paint, that the colours I had created were going to last. That’s when I joined Orange Corners, to think about it more strategically, to really develop this into a business.
Before Orange Corners, Shila Pigments was just an idea
Shilan Shaban, founder of Shila Pigments
What did Orange Corners do for you?
Before Orange Corners, Shila Pigments was just an idea. Those four months with Orange Corners helped me in so many ways. There’s a product now, we started shipping all over Iraq and are now expanding into art workshops.
My Orange Corners mentor was amazing. He opened a lot of doors for me, really taught me that business mindset. He was the one who made me realise I shouldn’t just sell a product, I should sell an experience. These days I’m working with a coffee shop to host art workshops. This combination is really new in Kurdistan. There hadn’t been a place yet where people can come to drink coffee, have some food, and then paint. People are loving it. Last month we did two workshops, and over 65 people attended, men, women, people from all walks of life. There was a 9-years old girl with her grandmother. Some were artists, for others it was the first time ever touching a brush. All strangers coming to paint, and they end up being friends.
Here in the MENA region people often believe art is for artists, but I believe art is for everyone. My workshops are not just for artists, or limited to a specific age or gender. Art should be accessible for everyone. You don’t need to be a professional artist to enjoy painting. This is what Shila Pigments is ultimately about: a community where you can paint, where you don’t get judged, and where you can enjoy yourself using colours sourced 100% from nature and from our land.
Our workshops turn strangers coming to paint into friends
Shilan, Shila Pigments
You mention regular paint is harmful for your health. In what way?
While doing research, I found that 40% of the artists or people doing art develop health issues related to paint. Recent studies have found carcinogenic minerals or heavy metals in regular paint, for example. Imagine a kid playing with these colours! Some people also have sensitive skin that responds to the paint, or feel it in their lungs, they have issues breathing. One of my favourite artists, she even had to quit painting because she couldn’t stand the smell of the paint anymore. But there were no alternatives in the market. Even though back in the days, before industrial manufacturing, there was only organic paint. The pyramids in Egypt, they only used natural colours, and they’re visible until today. So the idea that natural colours fade, that’s simply not true. It all comes down to the binder used.
How do you get from a rock to paint, and do you still produce everything manually?
When I first started, I did everything myself by hand. I selected a rock, and using a hammer I took small pieces off.. and with an old machine I worked the pieces until it became a powder. That was the first 2-3 years, before I won OCIF. But any business, if you want to scale it, you need to have some people working with you. It’s so hard to do everything by yourself.
Social responsibility is important to me. My mission goes beyond making eco-friendly colours from nature. These days, I also provide employment to three women from three different villages in Kurdistan. Coming from a similar background, I know what life’s like for them. In Akre there wasn’t much to do, I went to school and came back home. There were no job opportunities, so women just stayed home all day. The women I employ help me collect the raw material. It’s an easy job for them, they can collect the material from their own surroundings. I trained them: we went on hikes together, I showed them what stones work, which stones won’t. And I bought machines for them. Small machines, but now they won’t have to process everything by hand.
My mission goes beyond making eco-friendly paint. I also provide employment to Kurdish women in different villages.
Shilan, Shila Pigments
What is your vision for the future?
First of all, to create more products. We’ve been in the market for about three months now. Our main product is a box with paint, each box contains eight colours, a brush and one binder – from Kurdish gum. All of them powder, so people can feel the earth when they mix their own colours. As an artist, I enjoyed that feeling of mixing these colours, and I also wanted others to experience the same. And on a practical level: if you don’t like this particular binder we provide, you can user another one. You can use walnut oil if you like a more oily effect, for example. In the future, I’m also planning to develop ready-to-use paint, like watercolour palettes for children.
I’d also like to start exporting products, especially to other parts of the MENA region, as to my knowledge there aren’t any other companies around who provide natural paint. I know people who use natural paint, but I haven’t come across another business to provide it yet. But for now, my main focus are the workshops, because I saw how much people loved it.
The success of the workshops surprised me a little, to be honest. I made this proposal to a new coffeeshop, and I was really honest: I told them I had no idea how many people would show up, because Shila Pigments was still very new. Within two days of starting the social media promotions, all seats were booked. . People came to enjoy themselves, try new things. After that, people kept asking for more. So we added more workshops. So I’m planning to do 1-2 workshops a month, not just in Erbil, but also in other cities. Suleimaniya, Duhok, maybe Baghdad. Start from Kurdistan Iraq and after that to the MENA region. There’s a few places I have in mind: Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Jordan. That’s the plan for now.
What do you need right now to scale your business?
As a relatively new business what I probably need the most right now are collaborations. With art galleries for example, maybe even in the Netherlands! I can provide Shila Pigments products to sell in galleries. Or if there are established business men and women looking to invest in something different, we can talk about expanding internationally. There are plenty of options really.
As a relatively new business what I need most right now are collaborations!
Shilan, Shila Pigments
Any last advice for starting young entrepreneurs?
It doesn’t matter where you start. I started in a very small town, and I’m planning to expand internationally. Don’t say ‘it’s my environment that’s not helping me start my own business’, that’s just an excuse. If I can do it, you can do it too.
My family wasn’t on board initially. When I said I’m going to start a business, they thought I was just wasting my time crushing rocks. But I had a vision and I really want to do this. So if you want to start something, please start and don’t give up. Even if you’re in a small city or small village, you can do this!
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