Wooln: Socially Responsible Knits

November 20, 2015November 23, 20162 Comments

It’s that time of year again when I look forward to wearing a cozy knit hat and sweater around the house, sipping tea with a blanket over my legs. Somehow this is much more comforting than cranking the heat in the house and pretending the cold season is not upon us.

Hippie in Disguise Danielle Chassin Ace & Jig dress Wooln snood

Brunch Addict snood from WOOLN and Arbor dress from Ace & Jig

As a vegan I am apprehensive about wool products, but also believe that humans can have symbiotic relationships with animals and that ethical wool is not an oxymoron, but a reality for a small portion of wool produced. I’ve been thinking more and more about the overall impact of goods (the entire lifespan) from production to waste, and how those goods which may be less harmful to animals in the production phase, like micro-fleece clothing, are harmful at the ecosystem level and also negatively impact the lives of many animals, mostly insects (which I count as no less valuable than other animals). At the end of their useful life these products live on forever as landfill. So I’ve had to seriously reconsider opting for animals fibres more often for the greater sustainability of these fibres (wool is biodegradable). Luckily there are more and more companies sourcing ethical wool and making beautiful things with it. Enter Margaux and Faustine…

From France to New York (and many places in between), Faustine and Margaux are two mothers who share a passion for knitting and social responsibility. They recently launched a small knits shop, WOOLN, with an innovative twist. I absolutely love what they are doing and hope their model, that is, doing business with the aim of benefitting society at large, will be adopted by other businesses.

Margaux, Faustine, please, tell me a little bit about yourself. What is your background? How has it influenced your creative pursuits?

Margaux: I was raised in the French countryside and have always wanted to move around the world…which I did many times in my adulthood: I studied in the UK and France, then lived in Italy, New Zealand, Australia and back to Paris. I now live in Brooklyn and I’m thrilled! I believe that starting from zero again so many times makes oneself creative, even not intentionally.

I quit my serious job 5 years ago to dedicate myself to my passion: knitting. My life is all about yarn, needles, wool, patterns and softness since then! (And I confess, sometimes I dream of going back to the countryside!)

Faustine: Sometimes, I feel I have had many lives already, and that I will probably keep going on having “circles of life.” When I finished my Business School in Paris, I went into working in finance in London. And felt so “creatively” frustrated that I gave up after only a few years and settled myself as a full time artist in New York (mostly painting until I started sculpting a year or two ago). This also correlates with when I had my first child. After being a full-time-artist-and-mum for almost 4 years, I met Margaux and we launched WOOLN, and since then, it has been providing me with the perfect balance between creativity (we do everything ourselves, the patterns, our website design and I am the one who makes all the illustrations, the packaging bags, etc…), and business (strategy, sourcing, IT, etc…).

What part of the world do you live in?

M: Brooklyn, NY. Did I already tell you I love it here ?

F: Manhattan, NY. I have lived in 10 different places, and it is by far my favourite place to live in the entire world! Having said that, now that I have a family of my own, I feel I could pretty much live anywhere and be happy, as long as I have my children and my husband with me.

How many children do you have and how would you describe them?

M: I have 2 beautiful girls Cosima and Sidonie aged 3 and 1 and a half. They are both very cheeky!

F: I have one girl who is 4 and one boy who is 2. They are obviously both equally cute but I can’t decide who gives me more work! And I also have 2 stepchildren from my husband’s first marriage; they are 15 and 9, they are very cute too and don’t give me any work! (They do not live with us). When we travel, we use an entire row of the plane! They all get along so well, it’s the cutest thing to see.

What is your favourite thing to do as a family?

M: A picnic or an exhibit in a big museum where we can run. Also we love spending long holidays in our family home in the south of France.

F: We love travelling, and now that Joseph is over 18 months, it is getting more fun every time. We are just back from a trip on the US West Coast, which was amazing!

What are you passionate about?

M: Knitting (and cheese too!)

F: Knitting (and cheese too!)

What inspires you?

M: French indie movies, my husband and many of my NZ friends. Kiwis have something special.

F: Reading, travelling, going to museums, watching documentaries, and… Pinterest!

Can you tell me a bit about Wooln? What do you design and how do you source your materials?

WOOLN is a line of hand-knit accessories, knit by grandmothers and retirees in New York with socially responsible yarn.

M: It took us a very long time to find the perfect yarn; we wanted something local, 100% natural, soft and socially conscious. We finally sourced two types of yarn:

One is a 100% American wool – spun and dyed in a family owned spinning mill in Nebraska, with sheep grown up here in the USA
The other one is an extremely soft Royal Alpaca yarn. The company works responsibly with artisans in Bolivia and Peru.

I love your term ‘wool agency,’ can you explain what this means to you?

F: Wool Agency was actually the first name we had found for the company. We changed it to Wooln, because we felt Agency was not really what we were doing, like a nanny agency or web agency was not necessarily what we wanted to be associated too. We picked WOOLN because we liked the vowel drop, which reminded us of other “sharing businesses” like tumblr and flickr, and it felt more 2.0, which is the DNA of our company: we only sell online, we communicate with our knitters via emails, we found a few of them via Craigslist, we raise money via crowdfunding on Kickstarter, our PR is only through bloggers, etc…

By creating WOOLN, we try to match 2 things that matter equally to both of us: having an amazing product, be fashionable, and cool and great looking, as well as doing something good for society, which for us means working in a socially responsible manner, and promoting a new way of buying. We hope we will be able to fulfill those two goals, and not just be this socially responsible company, or this fashionable brand, but a cool mix of both.

You have an innovative and socially responsible business model, can you tell me more about it?

F: Our model is very innovative as it has not been widely done in the fashion industry; however, it is anchored in the sharing economy trend. We are using talents that are otherwise barely taken advantage of to create a cool product and give consumers a new way of buying. With WOOLN, the act of buying is very personal: buyers know who made their hat, they can know more about them and really have this connection, which is something completely different from what they get by going to one of those big fast fashion brands. Our mission is to create connections between people, and to make buying a question of people, not just of material things. [Danielle: every WOOLN item comes with the name and information about the knitter and you can read more about each knitter on the WOOLN website.]

I love that you share mini biographies of your knitters and the illustrations are such a special touch. Who does your illustration work?

M: Faustine! She is the best illustrator! When I saw her illustrations, drawings and paintings in her studio for the first time I was very impressed. It came naturally that she would draw WOOLN faces for our packaging and branding we didn’t know yet that she would also sketch our knitters.

F: I have always loved drawing, and drawing for WOOLN allows me to really feel complete and fulfilled with this whole experience! Business with an artistic twist.

One of our Kickstarter rewards is a sketch from me, and so far it has been the most bought reward! It is going to take me a month worth of drawing, but I won’t complain, I just love it!

What has made you the most proud of yourself and your business?

M: Finally getting this project that I’ve had in my head for so long REAL! Being able to forget about fear and judgment, and more practically, visiting a huge number of senior centres in New York to find our great knitters! And of course raising these 2 adorable little girls.

F: Even though we are only in the first year of WOOLN, it is the biggest achievement for me. I feel like I have been waiting for so long to have this fulfilling experience, and everything now comes together, providing me with everything I need to be balanced: doing something for the benefit of society, doing business (I am definitely business minded), being creative and artistic! What else could I ask for? (maybe more time for my family but I do not want to push it…)

What are your dreams for your business and motherhood?

F: Our strategy is really to take one collection at a time, and keep making headway. We have already learnt so much and the season has barely started! On a longer term basis, we hope to add a cotton collection for the warmer months (even though we both enjoy spending our summers in France with our parents and children rather than working in sweaty New York…) And probably extend our locations, maybe start having senior knitters on the West Coast would make sense!

As a mother, I do not have any dreams or goals: I am just trying to do my best and enjoy every little moment with them. Before having kids, I did not really understand why people would say “enjoy every minute of it, it goes by so fast.” Now I do. It does go by way too fast! And I want to make the best of every minute.

Merci Margaux et Faustine // Thank you Margaux and Faustine!

Readers: you can find WOOLN’s online shop here and on Instagram @wooln_ny.

Let’s be friends! Please come find me in other places:

Bloglovin: to subscribe to my blog feed
Instagram: @hippieindisguise
Pinterest: Hippie in Disguise
Twitter: @hippieindisguis
VSCO: HIPPIEINDISGUISE “Wanderlust and Minimalist Fun”
Facebook: Hippie in Disguise
*New* Private Facebook Discussion Group: Slow, Eco, Minimal Living just ask to join, we love to welcome new people
*New* Author, Sisterkeeper & Muse for Saturn*s Sister : Use my Discount Code: HIPPIEINDISGUISE to join the community or browse the blog here

Have you subscribed to the Global Guardian Project yet? They are monthly learning capsules for children and families to learn about global stewardship. Each month features a different country’s wild life, landscape and challenges, and includes art projects, activities, meditation, recipes and more! Use my discount code: HIPPIEINDISGUISE for 10% off , you can read more about it here

Tribal Dreaming with Heidi and Kimberley

November 19, 2015Leave a comment

In late summer Sen got a special package in the mail, it contained an Earth Warrior necklace from friends in Australia, Heidi and Kimberley. Sen put it on immediately and has not gone a day, or even a moment, without it since. I initially got this necklace for Sen as a reminder of his connection with the earth and the rhythms of nature inside him and around us. At this time Sen was also starting to verbalize his care for the natural world and I thought the necklace would be a nice ‘thank you’ for his thoughts and serve as an embodied reminder of the importance of stewardship. It did both of these things, and more.

Sen also started school around this time and he was very apprehensive, to say the least. Sen is an introvert and so the thought of a room full of new people and new routines was worrisome for him. We supported him through this transition in a variety of ways, but one thing I said that seemed to resonate was that his warrior strength and care for the earth could be directed toward himself when he needed it. I started noticing that when he showed signs of nervousness he would pause and place his hand on his necklace. It seemed that after these pauses he felt some peace and confidence and could move on. I would never have guessed that his necklace would be such a great support in this way. The energy put into that necklace by Heidi and Kimberley has helped my little boy immeasurably.

After experiencing such positive outcomes from the necklace I asked Heidi and Kimberley if they would share more about themselves and the necklaces they make (under the name Tribal Dreaming). In the interview that follows, Heidi and Kimberley have shared a wonderful glimpse into their hopes and dreams and how these intertwine with their daily rituals in their home and with their children. It is inspiring to see two people live such an integrated life where their values and passions are lived and breathed every moment. Thank you Heidi and Kimberley for sharing your way of life and for putting such good intentions out into the world.

Heidi, Kimberely, what part of the world do you live in?

We are from Brisbane, Australia.

How many children do you have and how would you describe them?

We have five gorgeous children between us. Heidi has two boys Archer (4) and Rafael (18months) and Kimberley has 3 girls Estella (5), Ellula (2) and Elsie (4months). Our children, like us all, change from one day to the next so holding the space for them to discover and experience every part of themselves is something really important to us. It’s a daily challenge especially since we are rediscovering lost parts of ourselves every step of the way. They are all spirited individuals so it’s quite the juggling act meeting everyones needs in our homes. Our kids really are our greatest teachers aren’t they?

What are your core family values?

We are committed to conscious living and try our best at incorporating this into all aspects of family life. From what we eat, wear and speak, this is strong throughout our days. We are actively involved in non violent communication education which we have found an invaluable tool to nurture our relationships. The spoken word has so much power so we set an intention of mindfulness around what we say especially to our little loves.

How do you spend most of your days?

Our days are spent immersed in life. Constant demands of the varying ages of our children. Both of our husbands work shift work so we are the home-makers. It’s busy and intense and has it’s ups and downs but we love it all at once. We are always striving for ‘balance’ in all aspects of our lives, we never quite manage to achieve this perfectly but we find that just being aware helps.

Being a stay at home Mama in our modern society is quite isolating so we have both placed great importance on finding our own village to keep our sanity while raising these pure little people. We love to get out first thing and explore the neighbourhood on foot to ground us into the new day and create a strong connection with our surroundings. The children witness the small changes as the seasons change and form relationships with neighbours. We both feel a connection with the Steiner philosophy on daily rhythms so we try to stick to a light flow of breathing in and out throughout the day and weave play dates and outings within. The afternoons are usually at home for rest and then pottering in the garden, climbing trees, being dinosaurs or fairies, acrobats, digging holes and for us Mamas just trying to stay present and mindful as best we can.

We always finish our days with nourishing food, stories and cuddles and then if we are lucky some time to unwind and breathe out for ourselves before the new day begins. Yoga and meditation is also an important part of our week and we try to get this in wherever we can.

Ro has a Puka Bells Necklace from Tribal Dreaming

What is your favourite thing to do as a family?

We both love being out in nature with our families. Everything seems easier when we are all outside and where there is only mother nature to play with. We do a bit of camping all together and these are some of our most treasured times. We always comment on how enjoyable it is and how at ease the kids are. Lovely to get back to our true nature, needs and desires as humans.

What are you passionate about?

We are passionate about conscious living, slowing down, random acts of kindness and living in harmony with Mother Earth and the universe. As we have entered motherhood, one of the biggest challenges we have found is finding balance in our lives. Self love and taking the time to be present has slowly become a priority for us. When we give first to ourselves, the love flows out into all areas of life and everyone benefits. We are learning to quieten all the noise and check in more regularly with our hearts and faithfully following its guidance and wisdom.

We believe in abundance and the power of our own magic, creating a life we love, an authentic life; one of togetherness, connection and community. Then, to weave this into our lives to nourish and provide for our families and the greater community. We both truly believe in the need as woman to create and make alongside our sisters and since starting this project together we can feel a fire inside us burning bright.

What inspires you?

The world around us is so full of inspiration we both get quite overwhelmed at times. When we are together planning and creating we both bring lists of all the things we have read/seen/watched/imagined to help us keep some order. We are passionate about life and everything that surrounds us. It is a blessing and a curse which never leaves us bored!

What is Tribal Dreaming and why did you decide to start your own business?

We have both been on our own individual journey of healing, self discovery and transformation to move further into our own light, truth and authentic self . Our souls had been craving a channel for the inherent creativity that was bubbling under the surface, and as we continued to make choices to follow our dreams down wildly unconventional paths, Tribal Dreaming was born.

A common interest we have always shared are pieces of beauty that can be worn for healing, balancing and the expression of who you are at that moment in time. We are especially passionate about finding unique, healing and soul inspiring pieces for our children. Our Children being the true beginning of Tribal Dreaming.

What are your dreams for your business and for motherhood?

We created Tribal Dreaming to be a part of our parenting journey, it’s much more than making jewellery, and so far seems to have a life of it’s own, evolving all the time. What started as making jewellery for our children is now so much more. We have lots of exciting plans that we’re working on. One thing we are really good at when we meet up is getting carried away talking about our ideas and plans for Tribal Dreaming. We both get all giggly and excited and feel inspired and then realise that the season of our lives at the moment is so intense, with our families, that we can’t action all these ideas as quickly as we’d like to so we take a big breath and try and calm down…We’re certainly not lacking in the ideas department!

Our dreams for motherhood and our business are connected. We are totally open to being the best versions of ourselves and living a life we love, trying to stay aligned in ‘love’ all the time and reflecting this message in our business. Motherhood has been transformative for us both. We both had the most wonderful pregnancy and birthing experiences with all of our children and have chosen to ‘unschool’ our children. Our husbands are supportive and believe in us and our dreams. Our business allows us to do what we love, stay at home being the ‘home-makers’ for our families, and work doesn’t feel much like work at all. We feel like we are children in a sense too, undoing and learning about who we are in this crazy world. We strive to make our homes secure and loving for all, a place where our children are free to be who they are without unnecessary limitations. We want them to feel and have freedom in life, to know and live their truth, feel secure in who they are and be connected to mother earth and her rhythms.

Could you tell me more about your decision to donate funds to support women in developing countries?

We are so excited about this! We have just recently launched our new ‘Rock Your Chakra’ range and have made a commitment to provide the funds for 3 Birthing Kits per necklace sold through Birthing Kit Foundation Australia (BKFA). The BKFA works to provide a clean and safe birthing environment for women in developing countries to reduce the incidence of infant and maternal morbidity and mortality. These packs are very simple but provide the essential items for a hygienic birth which makes a huge difference for these women. We had the most amazing birthing experiences and truly believe every woman should enjoy the right to birth safely. It really is the least we can do for our fellow sisters and we plan to get more involved with this association as we grow. We have set a very big goal of donating 3000 before the year is out!

Thank you so much, Heidi and Kimberely for sharing your way of life and your projects. Friends: you can shop the Tribal Dreaming collection online here and you can follow Tribal Dreaming on Instagram @tribaldreaming.

I love how Sen gently holds his Earth Warrior necklace

You might also like my post:

Slow Living Project

Sa Ta Na Ma Meditation for Children

Slow Fashion: Four’emKi for women and children

Social Responsibility: WOOLN Knits

Ethical Wool: Love Your Mother in Luv Mother

Fashion for Good: Punjammies Made From Hope

Let’s be friends! Please come find me in other places:

Bloglovin: to subscribe to my blog feed
Instagram: @hippieindisguise
Pinterest: Hippie in Disguise
Twitter: @hippieindisguis
VSCO: HIPPIEINDISGUISE “Wanderlust and Minimalist Fun”
Facebook: Hippie in Disguise
*New Private Facebook Discussion Group: Slow, Eco, Minimal Living just ask to join, we love to welcome new people

Released: The Ro Dress

November 3, 201516 Comments

It’s here! The dress Ro and I designed with Mimobee! It’s hard to believe that what started as an idea back in June, arrived in the mail last Friday, and is available for pre-sale today! Surreal, to say the least.

If you are new around here, Ro and I were invited to collaborate with Mimobee for their collaborative capsule collection this fall (you can read about the process here). A few Instagrammers and Bloggers were invited to design a piece that represented their aesthetic. The final collection includes our boho inspired look, a street-inspired blazer, a minimalist dress, and a conceptual shirt.

Ro and I always have ideas for garments we’d love to bring to life, but never thought a serious brand would come asking. So when Mimobee asked, we didn’t hesitate, even though we were pretty scared that our lack of any technical skills might sink the ship! We figured hard work could take us pretty far. However, we never imagined that our collaboration with Mimobee would be fun, so much fun! Being involved from start to finish we learned so much, and Ro is already starting to put together ideas for her next piece. Should she get asked again…But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

For our dress, we wanted to design a garment that was elegant, comfortable and functional. Something that we would want to wear everyday, but was still dressy enough for an occasion. We also wanted to make something that could celebrate all shapes, with the drawstring waist and sleeves, the dress is unfussy so it can grow or shrink as needed. Finally, in the interest of slow fashion, we wanted to ensure our design would be relevant beyond this season, by incorporating some classic design elements.

We hope you love the dress as much as we do! If you do, you can buy it here.

Important details:

The dress is available for pre-sale ONLY for the next two weeks (sales close Sunday, November 15th). The dresses will then be sewn and shipped by early December.
All aspects of production take place in California, in the same space where Mimobee owners, Tom and Helen, work and where all the designing happens, the sewers are paid fair wages and work in excellent conditions. It’s a Mimobee family.
The dress is sewn from 100% organic cotton and dyed using eco-friendly dyeing methods.
The dress is available in size 2 to 16. That’s right mamas, some of you will fit into that size 14 or 16, so get one for yourself!
In addition, 10% of sales will go directly to the Jane Goodall Institute, a charity close to Ro’s heart. The Jane Goodall Institute works to preserve great apes and to improve global understanding of conservation issues to safeguard the planet for all living things. (For the last two years, Ro has chosen to raise funds for the Jane Goodall Institute in place of birthday gifts. After getting a little package in the mail with the name, photo and story of the chimp she is helping, she told me she couldn’t imagine ever wanting gifts. Giving a gift on your birthday is way more fun!) You might remember that we raised money for the World Wildlife Fund when we collaborated with Gardner & the Gang.

If you’d like a chance to win a dress, follow my blog by email, WordPress or Bloglovin and leave me a comment letting me know that you did. If you are already following, just let me know in a comment that you’d like to be entered in the draw. I will be giving away two dresses, so you have two chances to win! Visit my Instagram account to find out another way to win a dress.

Thank you to the Mimobee team for being so amazing to work with. Thank you to everyone who shared their ideas and gave feedback on earlier designs. And thank you, in advance, for buying a dress and supporting the Jane Goodall Institute and a young designer’s dream. Find the dress here.

[UPDATE: Congratulations Piper and Poppies, who entered on the other blog post here, your name was drawn for the dress! Please send me an email to claim your prize]

Ro’s moccasins are from Canadian brand Manitobah and are available in a range of colours, in both children’s and women’s sizing. You can find them here.

Nena & Co Reincarnating Traditional Fabrics into Modern Bags

April 22, 2015October 20, 20174 Comments

Growing up, there was an eclectic, beautiful, and growing collection of textiles in our home. My mother had gone to school for fashion design and loved fabrics of all kinds. ‘Treasure’ to my mother was finding a high end textile in the remnant bin that she could sew into the most fancy romper or dress for one of her girls. There’s no doubt in my mind that I formed an appreciation for colour, pattern and texture through my many visits to the fabric store with my mother. I loved seeing my mom’s eyes light up at a discounted piece of upholstery fabric, that less than 24 hours later she would have transformed into the most gorgeous fall coat for my baby brother. As with most creative types, my mother was always collecting things, mostly fabric and buttons, for future projects, waiting for inspiration to strike.

My father also contributed to the household collection. He appreciated my mother’s fondness for textiles, so when he travelled for work (which was often, far and wide) he would bring her back fabric, table cloths, batiks and other local fabric arts souvenirs. My favourites were always the South American textiles and specifically the Guatemalan ones. I loved the bold colours and embroidery, the geometric patterns, and the animal and floral motifs.

Needless to say, growing up in that environment, Guatemalan textiles and handmade clothing and accessories have become nostalgic for me. So when I came across Nena & Co bags I was immediately smitten. Not only are the bags beautiful, they are handmade (including hand woven fabrics), many from repurposed huipils (hand woven traditional garments), and each bag is one of a kind. The bags seemed to meet my litmus test. Beautiful: check. But more importantly: handmade, sustainable, fair labour, and socially responsible. Check marks all around.

What’s more Nena & Co makes giving back to the community that produces their bags a normal practice. Through a variety of projects, Nena & Co helps the communities they work with by providing purified water, or, more recently, supporting outreach programs that teach women how to deliver babies and provides them with birthing kits.

It is undeniable that I love beautiful things, but more important to me is always the story behind the thing, the creative inspirations, and the production ethics. I was really happy when Ali, the owner and designer of Nena & Co agreed to do an interview with me. I can gush to you about the outstanding quality of my Nena bag and how much I love using it, but I expect you will be more compelled to love the bags when you hear straight from Ali about why these bags are so important to her and to the people who sew them.

Tell me a little about yourself. How did Nena & Co get started?

I started Nena & Co because my family is from Guatemala; I ended up lucky enough to be first generation American (on my mom’s side of the family). This could be one of the reasons I believe in social responsibility. When visiting a third world country you have to ask yourself: “why am I one of the lucky ones to have so many opportunities and these people don’t?” Because of that, my love for design, and my heritage, I decided I wanted to create opportunities for people that want to work and do it in a dignified way, which is important to all of us. The people I work with in Guatemala are amazing talented artists. They have learned complex specialized trades from the time they were children. When these craftsmen have to leave home to work in factories to do jobs unrelated to their skills, they often end up performing jobs that are not equal to their talents, interests or artistic nature.

We are a new business that has only been around since May of 2013! Oddly enough my Dad had been encouraging me to do this for 10 years, but it wasn’t until I met my husband three years ago that I felt I had the vision to move forward with it. And once I did, it all came so naturally!

Where do you find your creative inspiration?

I find creative inspiration all around me but there are two specific things that dominate my creative process: 1) What I perceive as a daily need in a product. 2) I invest a lot of time and money in understanding the various textiles made in Guatemala. By doing this I don’t just learn things like how cotton is grown, dyed and loomed. I always learn the story of the artisan. This might be my greatest motivation as I try and design products that truly flatter the hand made fabrics that come from such inspiring people.

What is your favourite part of what you do?

Getting to know the people that work for Nena & Co. in Guatemala is by far the most rewarding part of what I do. Of course I love designing and seeing a finished product that people love. But the most rewarding part of my job is becoming friends with the artisans that work for Nena & Co. and learning their story. Guatemala is a country whose people have suffered from recent civil war, corruption in their government, and great poverty. Even with all of the negative influences they have pulling on them, they greet you with warmth and will share whatever they have. When we meet with our craftsmen we like to teach them business principles on how to place a value on their product based on materials, technique, quality, and time since most of them do not know how to do this and are used to foreigners “haggling” down their prices. We honor their work and we do not underpay our employees or craftsmen.

We value what we make but also want to be fair to our customers and set our prices accordingly. I think we should all ask ourselves “what is my social responsibility,” and although we can’t all start a business, I’d like to think I’ve created a way for people to give back with meaningful purchases or “shopping with a cause” through Nena & Co. and other brands that follow the same business model. I love what we do, the people I work with love what they do, and I hope you can see the beauty in Nena & Co. products.

The motivation and reason I started Nena & Co was because I am half Guatemalan and it was my dream to one day give back to families from there. It’s been a learning curve but we’ve come to a point where we don’t just manufacture in Guatemala but we’ve created sustainable work for Mayan women and men who are able to earn above just “fair wages” and in a dignified way with our company. It is rigorous work that we don’t take for granted. We are so grateful to be able to share our heritage and their beautiful talents with our customers.

Whenever I get home from a long trip to Guatemala all I usually think is I can’t wait to come home and take a warm shower, eat a hot meal and snuggle my husband and watch a movie. Then I started thinking of all the women we work with and the homes we visited and I know they never get to do what I just described. If they have water, it’s definitely not hot, there is no heater to warm the house or a cozy bed to snuggle in. They work from when they wake, doing household chores, tending to children and livestock and then making time to weave to earn money. Don’t get me wrong, I really like nice things and I don’t feel guilty; rather, I feel responsible. I feel a great responsibility to continue to design, collaborate and build a business to give these women and men an opportunity to create a better future for themselves.

What’s next for Nena & Co? Do you have any exciting new products or projects in the works?

I’m striving to create more and more products where we can integrate newly woven textiles into the products so we can continue to give the Mayan men and women sustainable work. We have created three new collections to do just that: the Resort Collection, the Sustainable Line (we just launched the newest addition to that line the Sustainable Mini Carryall), and the Kids & Baby Collection. All these projects are near and dear to my heart and have created so many more jobs than we could’ve imagined when we first started out.

***

A few photos from our Sunday stroll last weekend to showcase my bag — make sure to scroll all the way to the end for details on the Nena & Co Giveaway that I am hosting.

You have a chance to win your own reincarnation of a traditional garment into a modern, stylish and responsible bag by participating in the giveaway that I am hosting on my Instagram account here. The giveaway closes Sunday April 26th, 2015 at midnight in New York City. Good luck to everyone!