Wednesdays in Red Hook: Soraya Shah

Welcome to ‘Wednesdays in Red Hook’, a close-up look into the day-to-day life of people in our community, including the hard work, unexpected encounters, and delightfully mundane moments that make up an average Wednesday in Red Hook.

Soraya Shah is the owner of Fiber Content Studio in Columbia Street Waterfront, where they design and weave textiles on computerized looms for the interior design and architecture trade. Soraya collaborates with various weavers throughout the Northeast who produce fabrics for the studio. While the interior designers that Soraya works with rarely divulge who their clients are, Soraya can share that 20 years ago one of their designs was used in Ben Stiller’s home in Hawaii.

6:29 a.m. Soraya’s alarm clock goes off and that alarm clock is named Halima, Soraya’s nearly 7-month-old daughter. Sadly, Halima has her first cold. “It’s high drama, low morale,” Soraya shares. “We do a diaper check and I make a bottle. She eats almost nothing and goes back to sleep … so I do too.”

8:30 a.m. It’s time for their second attempt to wake up. Soraya gives Halima some Tylenol and cherry flavored medicine that she quickly spits up with a look of betrayal. Halima eats a little and eventually falls back asleep—which means Soraya has a few minutes to check emails and jot down a mix of design ideas and a to-do list.

9:30 a.m. Halima is awake again and it’s bath time for both mom and baby. Halima loves bath time, but today she is a bit grumpy due to her cold. To cheer her up, Soraya lets her play on her little piano, something that brings Halima a lot of joy but drives Soraya a little nuts. 

10:30 a.m. After a bottle, Halima falls back asleep, which gives Soraya a moment to pack up for the day before they head to the studio.

11:15 a.m. Soraya and Halima make a pit stop at BORED on their way to the studio. “[We] get some coffee, look at cool, weird stuff, and say hi to Andrea,” says Soraya shares of their stop at the eclectic coffee shop on Columbia Street.

11:30 a.m. Coffee in hand and baby in stroller, Soraya arrives at their Summit Street studio. “This is where I work every day, designing handwoven textiles and managing my small business,” Soraya explains. “Halima is my studio supervisor three days a week; the other days she hangs out with Dad and supervises him.”

1:00 p.m. There is a CODE BROWN situation. A framed picture of Sylvester Stallone (or “Saint Sly, my first love” as Soraya calls him) watches over Halima as her diaper is changed. “We make it out alive and now it’s time for another bottle,” the battle-ridden mother shares. 

1:42 p.m. “Feeding doesn’t go well. I clean up projectiles,” Soraya reports. 

2:00 p.m. Soraya and Halima head to Cobble Mail to send out sample fabrics to clients. Riyadh, the Cobble Mail clerk, has been working hard at befriending the skeptical Halima. 

2:30 p.m. Back at the studio, Halima naps in the carrier and Soraya uses the opportunity to eat lunch, before sitting down at the loom to weave a new design sample. 

4:30 p.m. The esteemed writer of the beloved Red Hook Star-Revue column “Wednesdays in Red Hook” arrives. After a tour of the studio, Soraya, Halima, and Alice (the aforementioned esteemed writer) head to Jalopy Tavern where they discuss Soraya’s business and life in Red Hook. Halima hangs out in her carrier and stares intensely at people. “I call this stare down the Judgy Judy,” Soraya shares over a beer.

5:30 p.m. After Alice departs, Soraya and Halmia head back to the studio. “Hal eats a little and hangs out in the bassinet while I finish pulling some sample requests for a client, and then it’s time to clean up,” Soraya shares. “I try to spend 15-20 minutes at the end of the day tidying and organizing the studio for the next work day.”

6:35 p.m. Work is done for the day and our duo heads south down Van Brunt Street. 

6:45 p.m. Soraya and Halima stop by Brooklyn Ice House to say hi to Soraya’s husband, Tim, and a few of their friends, including Charlie, Aisling, Robbie, Hugh, Charney, and other Red Hookers walking by.

7:30 p.m. Once at home, Halima gets a little quality time on her piano while Soraya unpacks from the day and washes the dishes.

7:45 p.m. After a diaper change and a bottle, Soraya reads Halima “The Going to Bed Book” and it works almost too well … She’s out in three pages.

8:30 p.m. It’s time for Soraya’s dinner, a bowl of “mediocre pasta” that they’ve reportedly been thinking about since they woke up. Just a few bites in, Halima wakes up, so Soraya picks her up and lets her fall asleep in their arms. “I eat noodles and try not to let any of them fall on her head,” Soraya shares.

9:30 p.m. As for Soraya’s night time ritual, this is what they have to share: “I wish I could say I have some lovely night time ritual, but I just do some cleaning up, take my pants off, and get into bed. I don’t really sleep, so I lay in bed watching garbage reality or crime shows that make me feel better about my life choices.” 

10:30 p.m. Still sick, Halima has a hard time sleeping and wakes up a few times. Soraya promptly soothes her until she goes back to sleep. Like most nights for Soraya, this one ends with them “mak[ing] lists on [their] phone … think[ing] of all the things the next day may bring. But before you know it the sun is starting to come up and the next day is already arriving.”