The Artist
Annem Zaidi
Annem paints women through cloth, colour, and posture, their faces left unseen. For over a decade, these figures have filled her canvases. WAIR brings that same attention to a piece you can carry.
Origins
Kuwait. The National
College of Arts.
Bethesda.
Annem Zaidi trained at the National College of Arts. In her paintings, a fold of white fabric or a turn of the shoulder gives a figure its presence against a dark ground.
Her practice has taken her across the Middle East and to Bethesda, Maryland. The women she paints remain at its centre: a sleeve, a stance, the small details through which a person becomes recognisable.
With WAIR, the relationship becomes personal in another way. You choose a silhouette for its shape and the way it fits your day. If you ask for paint, your initials or an idea of your own become part of the piece, worked by Annem in Bethesda.
Hand-finishing a commission — Bethesda Atelier
Your letters. Her brushwork.
Initials painted by Annem, with the small variations that come from working by hand.
The Process
An object first.
A painting, if invited.
Step 01
The Conversation
Choose your initials from the collection options, or share an idea for original artwork with Annem. A colour, a flower, a reference with meaning to you: there is room to begin simply.
Step 02
The Studio
Annem paints on the completed bag in Bethesda. Initials are drawn by hand, without stencils, preprinted transfers, or digital printing. Small differences in the brushwork are part of the work.
Step 03
The Delivery
The finished piece arrives in WAIR packaging with its care notes and studio details — personal enough to gift, practical enough to carry every day.
Guiding Principles
What we hold close.
One Hand, One Piece
Annem paints each personalized piece in her Bethesda studio.
Your letters, by hand
The initials are yours to choose. Annem paints them individually, so the line carries the movement of her brush.
Shape and surface
Different leathers give each silhouette its feel and shape. Choose the curve, texture, or colour you want to reach for each morning.
A small collection
Six silhouettes and a limited number of painted commissions each season. For an idea beyond the collection, speak with Annem about a bespoke design.
What we make
Six silhouettes.
A place in your day.
From a small crossbody to a bag with room for more. Each is a finished piece in its own right, designed in Bethesda and made in small batches in Pakistan.
The collection ranges from $160 to $220. Five silhouettes offer hand-painted initials; The Bridge is offered in plain leather.
Explore the collection
How we work
Choose a piece.
Make it personal.
Keep the leather plain, choose initials from the available options, or bring Annem an idea for original artwork.
Regular in-stock pieces dispatch in 3–5 business days. Painted collection work adds about two weeks. For a bespoke design, the brief, timing and terms are discussed together.
Plain collection pieces are returnable within 30 days of delivery, in unused condition. Painted commissions are final sale for changes of mind. Read the return terms and quality guidance.
Where we are
Bethesda,
Maryland.
The studio · Visits by appointment
Annem completes the painted work here. Visit by appointment, explore the collection online, or send an idea to begin a conversation with her.
From Bethesda, WAIR welcomes enquiries from Washington, DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia, as well as elsewhere in the United States.
Collection orders include complimentary U.S. shipping. Bespoke delivery arrangements are agreed for each project. We currently ship within the United States.
Contact the studioFrom the Studio
Notes from the atelier.
Slow reading on leather, paint, and the way a piece earns the time someone spends with it — a journal written from Annem’s studio.
No. 01
September 21, 2026
Choosing a leather bag for a third anniversary
A practical guide to a third-anniversary leather bag: choose the shape, consider hand-painted initials, and leave time for painting and shipping.
Read the piece
No. 02
May 10, 2026
Inside a commission — from your first message to the finished mark
Explore up to three hand-painted initials on eligible WAIR bags, original artwork and bespoke bag design. Understand each commission path before ordering.
Read the piece
No. 03
May 4, 2026
From canvas to leather — the artist behind WAIR
Annem Zaidi trained at the National College of Arts. Explore how over a decade of painting women through cloth and posture informs WAIR’s painted leather.
Read the piece
Begin Yours