Momtaz Begum-Hussain

Momtaz Begum-Hossain (; born 8 December 1981) is an English freelance journalist, craft expert, and presenter.

Early life Begum-Hossain was born and brought up in London, England. Her parents are from Bangladesh. She has three sisters.

Begum-Hossain graduated with a BA (Hons) in geography from the University of Sussex. She then graduated with a course in magazine journalism from Harlow College.

Writing career Begum-Hossain's interest in journalism began at school, where she set up two magazines. She was fashion editor of the University of Sussex student magazine Pulse and contributed to student newspaper the Badger. After graduating from Harlow College, she worked as a junior writer for BBC Children's Magazines. She was then assistant editor and then editor of Popular Crafts magazine. Her work has appeared in magazines for adult and child crafters. She has also written for local and national press, including The Guardian and The Independent.

She has a blog called Craft and Travel. She previously had a blog called The Crafts Café published by Creative Choices, which is a career website for creative people. In 2014, her third book, Kolkata to Kathmandu: Travelling tales from India, Bangladesh and Nepal, was published. Her fourth book, Hello Rainbow: Brighten up your life and mind with color therapy, was published in 2021.

Crafts design Begum-Hossain started working as a freelance crafts designer, and crafts teacher running workshops. She also runs craft workshops across the UK incorporating textiles, papercrafts, jewellery making and printing and dyeing. Her first presenting role was as a teenager on Channel 4 Child's Eye. She then became a regular guest contributor on the BBC's Network East TV series Café 21.

In 2011, she appeared on the BBC Two craft series Mastercrafts where she studied an apprenticeship in weaving. In 2015, she was on the judging panel for the Asian Curry Awards.

In January 2018 she launched The Desi Woman Podcast where she interviews game-changing South Asian women. Listen on iTunes, Spotify.

In September and December 2020 she Hosted The Handmade Festival, a three-day online crafts event.

In March 2021 she is holding an online colour festival to mark International Colour Day.

Recognition Begum-Hossain was Fashion Journalist of the Year 2019 at the British Bangladesh Fashion and Lifestyle Awards. She has also been named one of the Top 100 influential crafters in the UK.

Personal life Begum-Hossain is a Muslim. She lives in Greenwich, London. In 2003, her mother, Rehana Begum, died. In September 2010, her father died.

Books