We Left our Hearts in Ethiopia: Ambassador Trip - Part 3

Hand-loomed with Love by Tirunesh!

This week we launched our newest collection of scrumptious hand-loomed cotton scarves from Ethiopia!

  

The women who make these scarves used to suffer under back-breaking work for less than $1 a day.  Now they have been trained in the traditional artisan skill of hand-looming!  Sophia and I are both major fans of all things hand-loomed, so we are thrilled to be able to offer scarves that will help employ these women using their new skills.  We collaborated with a wonderful non profit called Connected in Hope to help turn their traditional skills into simple, modern designs.

Tirunesh, one of the precious ladies weaving our new scarves, shares her story with us in her own words (translated, of course):

“I am grateful to be a part of this group because I feel safe and I have friends…I work hard and try always to do my best.”

“My name is Tirunesh and I was born in Bahir Darin Northwest Ethiopia.  When I was 27 my husband and I moved to Addis Ababa hoping to find a better way of life. We were very poor so I began carrying fuel wood to help support my four children. I did this every day for 17 years.

Each day I would get up early to collect wood in the Kolfe forest. I would tie the branches into heavy bundles I could carry on my back to the markets in Addis. It was hard work for little money. There were many challenges. I took my daughter to the forest with me and she collected wood too. It was the only way we could earn enough money.

One day a lady came to the forest where I was collecting wood and gave me the opportunity to learn weaving on a traditional wood loom so I wouldn’t have to carry the wood anymore.  I learned to wave and began working with 13 other former wood carriers.

For years I have been weaving scarves. I am grateful to be a part of this group because I feel safe and I have friends. Because of our new partnerships, we are selling many more scarves and my income is growing.

Today I live with two of my children. I am happy and praise God for his provision. I work hard and try always to do my best. My dream is to continue weaving scarves and to have a sustainable income.”

Our scarves were featured in several blogs this week. We’re thrilled to get so much great press.  I’ve included links below in case you’d like to check out what these great blogs had to say about our new scarf collection!

fidoo:

mommy loves coffee: 

lady lux: 

groomed LA:

fashion mixed tape:

As I type this blog, I’m wearing the Gete black and white scarf, and one of my other favorites is the grey/white infinity Mulu scarf.  I love them and hope you will too.  Support these amazing women and be one of the first to purchase our newest collection.  

We have a special for FREE shipping thru March 30.  Use code: RLscarf

Blessings,

Kirsten

Education for the Children of our Artisans!

Dear Friends…I am so thrilled to let you know about the opportunity to help fund scholarships for the precious children living on Enototo Mountain in Ethiopia through our partnership with Tirzah International.  

 

These are the children of our Ethiopian artisans, and we want to help send them to a good school where they can receive a good education.  We’ll be sending back our proceeds from our sales to help launch this initiative, but we are also giving you the opportunity to help us directly fund these educational needs.  You can help us transform the lives of these children through your both your purchases with Raven + Lily, as well as your direct donations!  I’m truly thrilled about this!

Here’s the lowdown:

Raven + Lily’s partnership with the women of this area has made a dramatic difference in the lives of these women. They are taught new skills which enable them to get jobs, regain purpose and dignity in their lives by supporting themselves. But often the children are not able to attend school (their hope for a better future) because of the cost.

Currently, only 64 children need school scholarships, which provide for their school fees, uniforms, textbooks, school supplies, transportation to and from school, and sports clothes and shoes. Education is the key to a brighter future for these children, breaking the cycle of poverty.

For only $37 per month, a child can attend school! Will you join us in providing hope for a better future through educating these amazing children?

Click here to sponsor a child.

*please note, you will be redirected to the Tirzah International website (our non profit partner for this initiative) where you will be able to make your 100% tax deductible donation.

Andinet’s Story

One of my favorite aspects of Raven + Lily (and in particular, my role with Raven + Lily) is getting to share the stories of the women in our partnerships. These women are so honored to have their story shared because they have overcome hardship and are experiencing hope, dignity, and purpose through our partnership.  On a recent trip to Ethiopia, Esther Havens (humanitarian photographer) and Lori Fox (lead designer for R+L) captured a new story to share…the story of Andinet.  

Here is Andinet’s story in her words:

I used to sell food from the country side in the city and had a good life with my family. My husband became ill and died, so to support my daughter and I,  I left her with family members in the country side and went to the city to get work in an Arab country. After I filled out my application, I had to get tested for HIV. I found out I was positive. I was shocked. I decided to stay in the city and move to Entoto because I heard I could be healed by the holy water. I thought I could be healed then go back to my daughter and everything would be okay. After 3 years I decided to return to the country to get my daughter and move her to Entoto with me. I got her tested and she came back positive too. I have now been at Entoto for 8 years. I joined the jewelry making program in the beginning, 4 years ago. I am so thankful I do not have to stay at home alone all day. I love coming to work and talking to everyone. I tell them everything. They are like family to me. In the future I would like to save enough money to move into the city so my daughter and I can have a better life. When they first started the savings accounts here I did not like it and did not understand it. But now I am so happy to have it. I recently had some kidney problems and I was able to use money from my savings to help pay for it.

Thank you Andinet for sharing your story with us.  You are a beautiful soul and we’re so proud of you!

Interview with Our Lead Designer - Lori Fox

For the past 2 weeks, Lori, Sophia and I have been finalizing the Spring/Summer 2012 Collection, prepping for our next photoshoot, and brainstorming for Fall/Winter 2012!  Its been a whirlwind of creative juices flowing, but one of my favorite aspects of Raven + Lily!  I love seeing all the ideas come together!

As promised, I’m posting an interview with the Fantastic Miss Lori Fox (our lead designer) so you can get a glimpse of what inspires her and what she’s experienced first hand with the women in our partnerships. Besides her claim to fame for Lady Gaga’s hairbows, she’s oozing with crazy, wonderful design ideas.  We are so blessed to have Lori on our team!

1.  What inspired you to be part of R+L?

I graduated from the Fashion Insititue of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) in Los Angeles. While I was studying there our professors would ask at the start of each quarter, “Tell us your name and why you are here.” I stood up and said, “My name is Lori Fox and I want to help get women and children out of sex-slavery and somehow do that with fashion.” I didn’t know how that was going to happen, I didn’t even know if it was possible, but I had a dream. While I was in FIDM I was introduced to Raven + Lily through a friend. What they were doing was exactly what I wanted to do, so I became a volunteer. Now I have the honor to work for R+L full time designing products that are helping raise women out of the many injustices that poverty produces. FIDM-Lori second from left on bottom row

2.  What inspires you as a designer?

There is something about traveling that puts me in a heightened state of awareness and causes me to be in the moment and incredibly inspired. Experiencing the colors, patterns, textures, food, and nature from a new environment and culture is like nothing else for me. It is my love. I also rip out inspiring photos from magazines which used to drive my mother crazy when I was young. Sorry mom. I’m a book junkie as well, so if a book has illustrations or architecture or art that inspires me I usually buy it. I enjoy museums. One of my favorite museums to go to is in Dallas, the Nasher Sculpture Center. I was able to work there for a year and the art I experienced there changed my life and gave me a new love for design which led me to fashion school. All the images and photos I collect from these locations I compile into inspiration note-books ranging from make-up to interior design, clothing to D.I.Y. ideas. I’ve been making them since college. 

Lori as Liechtensteins “Head with Blue Shadow” with the late Mr. Ray Nasher at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas.

3.  What women have inspired your life?

I’ve been so fortunate to have strong women who have mentored me through the years. My mom is incredibly crafty and resourceful and can always make something out of nothing. I get that ability from her. A woman I knew in High School, Marsha Allred, took me under her wing and gave me spiritual guidance that led me into humanitarian and missions work. At the University of Texas-Arlington I had a wonderful creative mentor in the theatre costume department, Diane Simons, who gave me a love and curiosity for sewing, exploring, and collaborating. While I was at the Nasher Sculpture Center the late Dana Mullins taught me a wealth of information about design, product development, leadership, and marketing. And currently an amazing and innovative film maker, Lauralee Farrer, has by her example of strength, confidence, creativity, and ability to think outside the box, challenged me to push those boundaries in my own life. These women have all had a direct and significant impact on my life and I am so honored to know them.

Working with Lauralee (one of the women who inspire Lori) on a film

4.  What is most inspiring about going to work with our partnerships?

It is seeing the tangible change for better that is happening in these women’s lives. When I first went to visit them in 2009, many of the women were just entering the programs. Their eyes were hopeless, they were emaciated from not eating properly, and sickly from not taking their AIDS medications.  Now when I go to work with them there is so much hope in their eyes, they are full of life and joy in the midsts of the terrible hardships they have endured. They are filled out and looking much healthier. Last time I visited Ethiopia they had started savings accounts! Working with women in Ethiopia on last design trip in September.

Muhammad Yunus, in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech said, “To me poor people are like bonsai trees. When you plant the best seed of the tallest tree in a flower-pot, you get a replica of the tallest tree, only inches tall. There is nothing wrong with the seed you planted, only the soil-base that is too inadequate. Poor people are bonsai people. There is nothing wrong in their seeds. Simply, society never gave them the base to grow on. All it needs to get the poor people out of poverty is for us to create an enabling environment for them. Once the poor can unleash their energy and creativity, poverty will disappear very quickly..” 

Working with the women in Burundi

You can see that first hand with these women. They love the work they are doing now and they are like sponges for knowledge. The women in the programs and the people who began these programs that we partner with are a continual encouragement and inspiration to me. 

Crafting Bullet Casings into Beautiful Jewelry: Part 2

(Before reading this post, be sure to read Part 1 from last week’s blog about hand crafting beads from bullets.)

There is a labor of love and history that goes into each and every bead in our designs.

We source beads, charms, and pendants from remote villages to create jewelry designs in partnership with a job training program that targets supporting HIV positive women.  We strive to honor both the bead makers and the women in our partnership through a direct, fair trade relationship.

The women in our partnership have been ostricized by their famililes and communities because of the stigma associated with AIDS.  They come to a mountain to live in community with other HIV positive Ethiopians.  Some come with their children as widows.  Some come with their HIV positive husbands.  All come to wash in the “holy waters” on the mountain believed to bring healing from their disease.  Most resort to begging and waiting to die.  They have lost hope.

When we first started our partnership two years ago, there were only a few skilled women, and most of the women still showed signs of sickness and discouragement.

Today, the jewelry design center is buzzing with activity and joy.  There are now 150 women in the program and a large waiting list of more to enter as our orders grow. Hope is contagious.

The women gather throughout the week to fulfill our orders, working together based on their skills and level of training.

Our lead designer just returned from Ethiopia last night, sharing that the women are so confident and proud of their work.  Many of them now have savings accounts which has become a tangible result of empowerment.  

She showed them our website and they grinned ear to ear.  When I hear reports like this, I too grin ear to ear and know that its all been worth it!

What was once meant for harm (bullets) now brings hope and life to these women….the ultimate example of upcycling for good.

Why don’t you join this redemption story and purchase something from our jewelry collection for yourself or someone you love.  You’ll be directly part of bringing hope and dignity to an HIV positive woman in Ethiopia.  

You can feel beautiful inside and out when you wear our Ethiopia collection.  Each original handmade piece of jewelry embodies redemptive beauty.

(all photos by Esther Havens)

Our Goods have arrived…volunteers + boxes galore!

After a month of waiting, our shipments from India and Ethiopia finally arrived last week! Our little studio was suddenly flooded with boxes!

Never fear!  Many of my wonderful Austin friends came to the rescue to help us unpack and organize all the amazing goodies.  It felt like Christmas!

And today another group of lovely ladies spent most their day helping me organize all our wholesale orders!  They lovingly packaged the goods for many wonderful boutiques, museums, and other online venues.

My favorite volunteer of all was my sweet 13 year old chihuahua, Lumiere.  I love how she coordinates with the style of our studio showroom! 

We’re almost ready to launch our online store!  Thank you for your patience.  We can hardly wait for you to start shopping!  Stay tuned…any day now…

Story of Amleset

Its a joy to share the redemptive stories of the women in our partnerships like Amleset from Ethiopia.  When I met her for the first time 2 years ago, I remember how proud she was of the first designs we created together (including our popular Ella Necklace she proudly models below).  

She and her husband are HIV positive, yet Amleset and her family are thriving because of the wholistic support they receive from our partnership that cares for people living on Entoto Mountain.  It wasn’t easy for her to learn how to make jewelry, but she persevered.  This is her story in her own words:

“My family and I used to live in the city. We heard on TV about HIV. My husband was working for the military and was becoming sick a lot so he decided to go and get tested. He found out he was positive, then I found out I had it as well. Our kids were scared to go to school because of the stigma so we decided to sell everything and move to Entoto where there is no discrimination. Everyone has HIV/AIDS there so we are all the same. I used to beg on the mountain and I stayed there for the holy water {in hopes of being cure}. My life was very bad. Begging is like being dead.  I was living in death. My husband…started to help with the Entoto Project when they first came to the mountain. He introduced me to them. I am so thankful for the opportunity {to earn income}. Once I was frustrated because the jewelry making was very complicated.  I am changed because of this program and now I am called to help other human beings.  My heart and eyes are open. Now you can go into my home and there is food there. Thinking about this makes me want to cry. I know God helped you to help me and now I am changed.”

I love this photo of me with Amleset (far left) and some of the other fun ladies in our Ethiopia partnership.  They were so shy while making the designs, but when my husband asked to take a few photos of them with the designs we created, they came alive!  This was featured in the New York Times a few years ago. It’s definitely one of my favorite memories of what it looks like when women feel empowered through design!

(Many thanks to my handsome husband, Mr. Brandon Dickerson, for these great photos!)

Austin Fashion Week

Its Austin Fashion week, and last night the historic Driskil Hotel was dripping with designers, fashionistas, and gorgeous gems for the Jewelry Showcase. We were thrilled to be able to introduce our Fall 2011 collection at such an occassion.

My dear friend Tiffany Schwedland made me a lovely tunic to wear to the event.  She’s quite a talented designer, and I’ve always wanted her to make me something.  This was the perfect occassion.  Thank you Tiffany!  I accessorized my silk top with a Raven + Lily clutch, necklace, and belt, of course!

I must say our display area looked lovely, and we seemed to have lots of buzz that evening!  Many thanks to Michelle, Jackie, Sarah, and Lauren for being incredible reps for Raven + Lily that night.  They were amazing!

My new designer friend Dean Fredrick was also showcasing that night.  He’s known as Austin’s “Bada** Jeweler”.  Our studio showrooms are in the same building on 5th street, and he designs gorgeous conflict free diamond rings and bracelets.  He and my husband are rockstars for cheering me on during my presentation.  

As my models were waiting backstage, I quickly gave them the backstory of the designs they were wearing.  They were visibly touched to know they were modeling something so special.  

We were the last company to be showcased.  I like to think of it as the “grand finale” for the event. :) I kept envisioning the Ethiopian women so I wouldn’t be too nervous.   Their beautiful creations on those beautiful models were only a glimpse of their deep beauty. What a joy to share their story!

Behind the scenes with the Fantastic Miss Fox

I just discovered a series of photos of Lori Fox, our lead designer, during her last design trip to Ethiopia, Kenya, + India.  I’m thrilled to share a glimpse of Lori through these behind the scenes shots taken by Esther Havens.   Lori is one of the most talented, thoughtful, + creative people on the planet.  Full of wonder + adventure, she’s the kind of gal that is a perfect travel partner because she’s so flexible + patient.  I think these photos capture her cool, calm + collected vibe.  In addition to overseeing the development of our collections, Lori is also the art director + stylist for our photo shoots.  She is indeed fantastic!

Lori heads back to Ethiopia in just a few weeks to develop our Spring collection, and then she’s planning to relocate from LA to Austin to take on the position as our official full time lead designer.  I can hardly wait!

                         On location in Ethiopia, Kenya, and India

In a few weeks, I’ll post an interview with Lori as she embarks on her next design trip.  I’d love for you to hear more from her heart.  Truly, I am thankful to have the “Fantastic Miss Fox” as part of our team.