Studio Lél is a stone artistry atelier founded in Peshawar in the early 1990s by artist Farhana Asad after she discovered a stone-inlaid box at a local market, crafted by a displaced Afghan artisan. He introduced her to the ancient technique of pietra dura, known locally as parchin kari, and together they began translating nature’s beauty into stone artworks. Three decades later, shared authorship remains at the core of Studio Lél’s philosophy. The atelier brings together local Pakistani and displaced Afghan artisans, whose material traditions converge in craftsmanship and artistry.

Under the artistic direction of multidisciplinary artist Meherunnisa Asad, the atelier extends these traditions into contemporary sculptural forms. Meherunnisa works primarily in pietra dura alongside metalwork, lapidary, scagliola, cloisonné and verre églomisé, in a material palette ranging from Hindu Kush serpentine and Balochistan onyx to lapis lazuli carried across the border from Badakhshan. Her ongoing series *War Gardens* explores the persistence of ornament in landscapes marked by conflict, approaching craft as an act of shared authorship rather than execution. Studio Lél received the World Crafts Council Award for Excellence in 2024 and has exhibited internationally.