What does a small cutting from a grandmother’s plant, carefully tucked into a suitcase and carried across borders, reveal about the migrant experience? For Iranian illustrator and storyteller Roshi Rouzbehani, these objects are far more than possessions—they’re emotional anchors, holding memories, identity, and ties to a past left behind. Her latest project, Migrated Keepsakes, currently seeking support on Kickstarter, dives into the personal stories of Iranian women through the keepsakes they cherish during migration. For your branding website, this resonates deeply—authentic narratives shape branding identity, and Rouzbehani’s work is a masterclass in this.
The seed for Migrated Keepsakes was planted in 2011 when Rouzbehani left Iran, limited to a handful of belongings. Over time, these items transformed into powerful symbols, embodying her brand value as carriers of her essence. “They weren’t just things—they held my identity and my loved ones,” she reflects. This realization sparked a broader curiosity: What do other Iranian women carry when they leave, and what do those choices mean? To find out, she posed a question on social media: “What ‘unnecessary’ item would you never leave behind due to its emotional pull?” The responses—heirloom jewelry, handwritten letters, fragrant spices, even resilient plants—painted a vivid storytelling visual of love, loss, and defiance.
Rouzbehani’s focus on Iranian women’s experiences is intentional. Migration is often reduced to numbers, policies, or headlines, sidelining the personal—especially women’s—narratives. “For many, it’s not just crossing a border; it’s an existential fracture,” she explains. Migrated Keepsakes shifts this lens, using everyday objects to illuminate the emotional layers of displacement. This approach underscores why storytelling is important: it breathes life into the unseen struggles and triumphs, making the abstract deeply human. These keepsakes—silent witnesses to upheaval—offer continuity in unfamiliar places.
The book itself is a fusion of written tales and Rouzbehani’s evocative illustrations, creating a compelling storytelling visual experience. Her minimalist style often isolates objects on the page or cradles them in their owners’ hands, emphasizing both their detachment from home and their newfound weight. “I wanted to honor how these women described their keepsakes,” she says. She captures the imperfections—worn edges, faded engravings, signs of use—that turn ordinary items into vessels of history. For some, like former political prisoners, these objects carry profound pain and resilience, a duality she finds humbling to portray.
Recurring themes emerge: identity and strength, with keepsakes as extensions of self and proof of survival. Nostalgia, love, and grief thread through too, linking past to present. “In a new world, they ground us,” Rouzbehani notes. Her own perspective evolved: “Migration is an emotional metamorphosis—keepsakes preserve who we are.”
Now crowdfunding on Kickstarter—building on her success with 50 Inspiring Iranian Women—Migrated Keepsakes fosters community building. “It connects me directly to supporters who feel invested,” she says. The Iranian diaspora and creative circles embrace it, showing storytelling’s power to unite. She envisions more—workshops, exhibitions, discussions—to spark conversations about identity.
For your branding website, this highlights brand value. Stories like these don’t just sell—they forge bonds, reflecting humanity. Rouzbehani hopes migrants find validation and others gain empathy. “Keepsakes tether us to our roots,” she says. She’s already planning future works on women’s voices and memory. “This is only the start,” she promises, proving branding identity and why storytelling is important go hand in hand.
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