Friday March 29th, 2024
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Egypt's First Baby Casting Agency has Come to Cairo - and it's Not What You Expect

'Baby casting' - something to do with modelling, right? Wrong. Think more literal. It's a place to have your baby's first moments cast and framed forever.

Staff Writer

Mona El Badrawy is the half-Egyptian half-British founder of Baby Casting Egypt, a start-up making plaster casts of babies’ hands and feet (and boots!). The concept has proven so popular the company's first social media video got over one million views in the first two weeks. “The kids’ industry is booming, and the Egyptian market is thirsty for new ideas!” says El Badrawy. “My father studied dentistry in England, and the whole thing began with him using his dental plaster to experiment on my son!” The resulting plaster rendition of her son’s foot sowed the seeds for her innovative idea. Baby Casting Egypt casts kids’ hands and feet in white plaster, which can then be coloured. Most clients tend to opt for silver or gold, but Mona is enthusiastic about wild colours. How about casting a limb – or the whole baby? “You can cast anything in to a mould,” Mona tells us, “and it is very possible to cast, for example, a leg. In the UK, bum casting is very popular!” When asked about whether she was planning to bring bum casting to Egypt, she keenly stated, “I’m up for anything! I have been totally blown away by the interest and support I’ve had so far, and I’d love to see how it would fare in Egypt!” When working with such young children – many of whom are newborns, she acknowledges the importance of credibility and responsibility. Working under the umbrella of the maternity industry in Egypt, Baby Casting Egypt collaborates with two hospitals as well as a skilled photographer who specialises in newborn photography. The company's tiny clients are cast at Rofayda Maternity Hospital and Dr. Yosri Gohar Hospital, which actually offers new parents her casting service free of charge! 

Now we're just left wondering if El Badrawy would be prepared to cast our bottoms in gold! 

To see more chubby smiling faces getting cast, check out Baby Casting Egypt's website, Instagram, and Facebook.