A Conscious Christmas: 5 Gifts for Her
Check out these great finds under $50! 1 Recycled brass ring by Soko 2 Mina shorts by Sudara 3 Handblocked printed toiletry bag by Graymarket Design 4 Khadi woven scarf by Bunosilo 5 Ethically sourced cotton tee by Mayamiko
A Conscious Christmas : 5 Gifts for Him
Check out these great finds for under $50! 1 Handmade African Kitenge Bowtie by Angelo Lgitego 2 Hand-felted slippers by Kancha 3 Recycled tire card holder by Global Goods Partners 4 Bamboo socks by Braintree Clothing 5 Organic Crane Print Tee by People Tree
Artesan Profile: Les Sublimes, France
We recently connected with Alexis Assoignon co-founder of for-purpose Parisian fashion brand Les Sublimes, to learn more the challenges and opportunities establishing a sustainable European fashion brand. Les Sublimes is a young company. Officially founded in Paris in Fall 2015, the brand was launched via a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo in June 2016. We were […]
An online marketplace for Dharavi artisans
Dharavi, Mumbai is home to what is often referred to as one of the largest slums in Asia. Depicted in several films, including Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay and Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, it is a city within a city and home to over 1million people. Dharavi is often cited for the informal economy and enterprise […]
Travel Tales from Yennie Tse, Founder of Fourth Sector Collection
Through Yennie Tse’s love for creativity and design, coupled with her trained background and experience in business and community development, she has created the Fourth Sector Collection, a social enterprise that is now in the research and development phase. Fourth Sector will aim to create sustainable partnerships by working with artisan weavers in developing countries […]
Artesan Profile : Connected In Hope
Earlier this month we featured Minke Dancha in our series celebrating International Women’s Day, who works with Connected In Hope. We caught up founder, Ryane Murnane to learn more about the organization. My background is in social work, and my early career was spent in Atlanta working with pregnant women who were battling drug addiction. […]
Letting serendipity lead to a weaving village in Laos
Guest blogger Mary Louise Marino is a startup social entrepreneur and founder of Indigo Lion Artisan Boutique. Her three-month journey across Southeast Asia and Northeast India is in part to connect with artisan groups, learn about their work, and begin selecting her initial collection for her shop. Serendipity connected her with village weavers in Thabou […]
3 models of social entrepreneurship
Through our work in this sector, we routinely come across highly talented and passionate social entrepreneurs dedicated to developing the skills of the marginalized and disenfranchised through craft production and/or preserving traditional crafts. Their work is often immense as they are not only developing a workforce but running a business too. Many struggle with […]
Sustainability in Gift, Home Decor and Fashion
This past weekend, we got to visit the Handmade Global Design section at the NY NOW trade show and it was terrific to catch up with some old friends (including Aid to Artisans , Darzah, Child’s Cup Full and Stitchwallah) and make new friends too! With the UNDP’s Sustainable Development Goals fresh on everyone’s mind, […]
Notes from the field: reflections on working with big retail
by guest blogger Sarah Sternberg For many producer groups and artisans, getting an order from one of the big retailers is the dream. We wanted to learn more about what it takes to achieve that goal and reached out to our friends at Songa Designs to learn more from founder Sarah Sternberg. Three years ago […]