… It all started with a roll of fabric.
Summary:
Growing up, my mum was my inspiration. Her passion for tailoring inspired my dream to become an airline pilot.
Learning with just a thread and needle, she went onto handcraft airline seat covers for major airlines like British Airways and Britannia. Her funny stories of sending them “on a world tour” made me laugh and sparked something within me. I knew then, as I strongly know today, I wanted to fly those airplanes. I dreamt to fly those passengers mum always talked about. This is more than a dream; it is a legacy to continue what mum inspired.
Her story inspires me to give my absolute, authentic self in everything I do. Therefore, I have a second dream. To inspire. I never want any kid to feel what I felt when told, “you’re unrealistic.” This is why why I began The Proficient Airman – to empower new dream-makers.
In this blog, I will share my mothers dream giving birth to my dream. (longer version).
My mum’s dream
For as long as I remember, my mum has loved tailoring – from clothes to upholstered furniture, you name it – my mum has tailored it to a high-precision. In fact, most of our swag and tail curtains and sofas have been tailored by mum.
Mum created aircraft seat covers
At the age of 6, I remember playing on the floor as mum tailored aircraft seat covers. Watching as the machine ran along the fabric, I was in awe at her ingenuity, attention-to-detail and passion to tailoring.
Her working history
Back then, she worked for P&M (Parviz and Mehrangiz) Sabeti (now known as Sabeti-Wain Aerospace).
She was one of three employees. Since then, Sabetti Wain has grown to 500+ employees across the UK, United States and Middle East.
She worked really closely with the founders Parviz and Mehrangiz.
Their children – Paymen and Mahnoush were like her own. They have now grown to become the new directors of Sabeti-Wain Aerospace!
How her dream shaped mine
It has always been her dream to tailor. Coming from a poor background – she taught herself with a needle and thread on paper… the rest became history.
The level of precision in her covers was second-to-none, with no room for error. She was the best in her craft. Identical covers were sewn one after the other. Having an industrial machine at home meant weekends and evenings were spent working away with a small lamp light, especially when deadlines drew close.
We had no TV back then – it was just my mum and I with the machine on quiet weekends.
A Young Boy’s Dream…
She would tell stories of how these covers will be flown thousands of miles – seating hundreds of passengers each time. Hearing this as a young boy, butterflies ran wild in me. I knew strongly then, as I know strongly today I wanted to fly those airplanes. I wanted to fly those passengers my mum always talked about.
Seeing mums passion first-hand makes me proud of her work ethic and inspires me to give my absolute, authentic self in everything I do – including in my passion to fly.
The more she told me about airplanes, the more I fell in love with the idea of soaring the skies. And the love hasn’t stopped since.
Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes tour (2024)
Recently, my mum and I visited the factory again. It was an emotional reunion – Mahnoush and my mum spoke about old times. Seeing Mahnoush grow as a little girl to becoming the director today was an overwhelming happy moment for mum. They caught up about personal lives as I was given a behind-the-scenes tour of the factory.
I was really fortunate enough to see the production in progress. I was one of the very few given a complete tour – from the delivery inventory, the material room, the chair design workshop to the production line and packaging room.
I cannot thank my mum enough for continuing to dream. Had she stopped dreaming – my dream in becoming an airline pilot would’ve died with hers. So here’s a message for all you reading…
Don’t give up on your dreams. Live your dream and let it fuel a new one for someone else. That’s exactly why I began The Proficient Airman!