Mayiet

Maiyet is "pioneering a new luxury brand celebrating the rare and unexpected". They are currently working in India, Colombia, Kenya, and South Africa and just launched their debut collection at Paris fashion week. The company was started by Paul Van Zyl, a South Africa human rights lawyer and winner of a Skoll social entrepreneurship award and Kristy Caylor formerly from Band of Outsiders and and Gap. The two realize that a successful and sustainable path encourages business and preservations of culture. After much traveling and research Paul decided that the best way to facilitate growth within the developing world would be through a luxury brand "that sourced from and forged deep partnerships with master craftsmen in developing countries. We agree and welcome this beautiful new collection to the ethical fashion world!

Folk Art Favorites

"International Folk Artists Preserve Cultures and Create Opportunities" and make beautiful things!

Palestinian Pottery.

Pleated skirt from China. Photo does not do this piece justice. It's stunning!

Shipibo embroidered textiles.

Lakiya Weaving, nomadic, tribal women from the deserts of Israel create the most amazing naturally dyed woven, wool textiles. They were my absolute absolute favorite!

Gorgeous patterns in these South African baskets.

Shawls from Mexico.

Amazing woven hats from Southeast Asia.

This doesn't even stratch the surface of all of the beautiful things at this year's folk art market. If anyone have any questions about the market or want more info. on any products, artisans let me know and I'll try and help!

Cameroon

One of my favorite artisans at the Folk Art Market was Ngang Ignatius Fru, from Cameroon. His natural fiber bags caught my eye right away (one of my friends saw the photos of the bags on Facebook and said they looked so Proud Mary...I agree)! I scooped up a few to add to the Proud Mary Market. They are SOOOO cute. Excited for whomever gets one! Shop here!

10% of these sales will be donated to the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market for the wonderful job they do supporting global artisans like Ngang!

Ralli Quilts

I'm on my way to Santa Fe! So excited to see all of the beautiful crafts from around the world. I'm especially excited to check out Ralli Quilts, handcrafted, quilted home decor from Pakistan and India. The colors, patterns, and of course tassels (my current obsession) are amazing. I'll be sharing some photos and stories from the Folk Art Market this week. Stay tuned!

Emergy

"Emergy is a curated collection of jewelry from emerging designers and artisans from emerging economies". I met founder, Ashley Rudolph at our pop up shop in May and she was discussing her new social venture. I'm happy to be able to share her first line of jewelry made by artisans in Rwanda. The collection consists of paper beads, natural cord, and brightly colored textile necklaces and bracelets. Congratulations on your new venture Ashley!

Stories of Indigo

One of the things I'm most looking forward to in Santa Fe is going to see, 'Blue Alchemy: Stories of Indigo'. It's filmed in India, Japan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Mexico, El Salvador, and the US and tells the story of the history of Indigo and present day artisans still using Indigo in their textile production.

Aboubakar Fofana is an indigo artisan from Mali. I've admired his work for years and cannot wait to see some of his blues in person.

Desert Jewelry

I'm volunteering at the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market in July and am soooo excited to see all of the amazing crafts from around the world. I'm going to feature a few artisans attending the show each week up until then...

The Tuareg are a nomadic group living in the Northern Sahara desert. Above, is the work of the Koumama family, a 25 generation family of master silversmiths. 25 generations! That blows my mind. I love the geometric designs in their jewelry and can't wait to see it in person!

(images from here)

Starfish One by One

Happy International Women's Day! I wanted to introduce a wonderful Guatemalan organization, Starfish One by One. Starfish believes that "an educated girl can change the world". They work with indigenous Guatemalan girls, ages 12 and older to encourage them to continue with their education through secondary school. They have a traditional scholarship program as well as a unique mentoring program pairing university educated young women from the same community who can be role models and advocates for their mentee/student throughout their higher education experience.

Facts:

3 in 4 indigenous Guatemalan families are in poverty or extreme poverty

Only 5% of indigenous girls finish primary school

Girls with 7 years of schooling marry 4 years later and have 2.2 fewer children

Girls reinvest 90% of their income back into their families

Proud Mary is partnering with Starfish to donate a percentage of sales from our new "Proud Mary Market" to help fund the mentoring aspect of their programming. We're thrilled to be working with this amazing organization! "Proud Mary Market" announcement coming soon!

Incredible photos from Kate Lord.

Awamaki Lab Project

Awamaki is a Peruvian non-profit that works with weavers in the sacred valley of Peru between Cusco and Machu Picchu to provide skills training and market access for their textiles. The Lab Project is a 4 month design residency that allows young designers to work directly with the weavers and sewers in Peru to create a collection that allows the designer to learn from indigenous textile artisans and allows the artisans opportunity to create for and sell to a larger market. A Win Win. Photos above of Neili Vallin's Collection and amazing traditional dress. The pattern in the little girl's skirts are incredible!

Nest/FEED Guatemala

Getting back from an amazing weekend in NY with Nest. Nest is an inspiring and unique non-profit that works with women artisans in developing countries to facilitate micro-loans, business development, and market access for women's craft based businesses. Proud Mary has been involved with Nest for several years, since we started working in Guatemala and it's been wonderful to see them grow! We were lucky to be able to hear Lauren Bush speak about her FEED Project, especially FEED Guatemala where the bags and pouches are produced by Nest artisans in Guatemala. The pouch provides a nutrient packet for one child for a year and the bags provide for 3 kids for a year. Guatemala has the highest percentage of malnourished kids in Latin America. Great project! (photos from here)

Ghana Made

Now this is my kind of clothing company...AFIA is a sustainable fashion line produced using traditional Ghanian textiles sewn by Ghanian seamstresses. The end product is a gorgeous collection of super chic dresses giving economic opportunity to the artisans involved. Owner, Meghan Sebold is currently raising capital for her project on Rocket Hub. Support socially conscious entrepreneurs!

Uganda Skateboarders Union

I can't believe I haven't heard about this yet! I discovered the Uganda Skateboard Union yesterday on Good and was and am incredibly inspired! This amazing group of Ugandan kids started this skateboarding org now NGO out of love for the sport and to provide a fun, healthy outlet for local kids. They raised money to build a new skateboard in Kitintale and continue to raise funds to repair the park and receive boards, shoes, and other equipment. I worked with Stoked, a mentoring organization in LA and NY, in NYC for almost 4 years and saw first hand the positive influence skateboarding can have on kids. It's a relatively cheap way to keep kids busy, build self esteem, and it's super fun. Swiss photographer Yann Gross has made a video about group and his book of photos "Kitintale" are beautiful. Check out Yann's site here. Follow the union on their blog here and find information on making donations here. (Top 2 photos from Uganda Skateboard Union, Bottom 3 from "Kitintale" by Yann Gross)

Aid for AIDS

The Times had a powerful article (and photos) today about the AIDS war (focused on Africa) "falling apart". The article states that the number of people with ages increases by a million people a year but the money for treatment has stopped growing. Scary. The economic crises has stopped the stream of donations to AIDS focused charities and the U.S. and large charities are focusing more of their attention on mother and child health. I think that is extremely important and hopefully part of a sustainable solution for AIDS prevention but still heartbreaking.

Energy in Common

Everyone has heard of Kiva.org...the amazing microfinance organization where you can choose a loan recipient to give micro loans to for their small business ventures. Its a great poverty fighting tool. Now along comes Energy in Common, another microfinance org whose loans go to fighting ENERGY poverty. So cool. The current entrepreneurs are accepting loans to install solar home systems and clean stoves. Makes sense...the more "light time" the more kids can study and men and women can work to provide for their families. Check it out!

Haitian papier-mache

I love this papier-mache rooster made by artisans in Haiti. The artisans making these are currently working outside of their homes/workshops in tents since the earthquake. More orders mean more money to put towards a new workshop! Available online at Aid to Artisans.