Persianness #1: Shiva

A baker in the French countryside

Welcome to the first story in my Persianness project!

Shiva Shirazi is a baker and all-around creative Iranian who is currently living in the French countryside with her husband. We met on Instagram and my curiosity went soaring. Very quickly we decided I should visit them on their farm for a weekend in June. This story and the photos are a result of that beautiful encounter.

I’m starting with Shiva’s story because it wasn’t a traditional interview. Over the 3 days these then-strangers hosted me at their current home on a friend’s farm in central France, I got a wide view of their relationship, their creative work, and their respective roots. This is not just Shiva’s story as a baker, but a deeper look into how all these fragmented pieces have come together to build one dynamic life.

These profiles and their photos will live on the Gusto! website, that I have revived with this newfound motivation I’ve felt since embarking on this project.

Thanks for reading, many more stories and photo essays in the pipeline!