ME to WE Atelier debuts in Holt Renfrew’s H Project
How can a necklace or bracelet empower two generations of women in Kenya?
You create an initiative for women, by women. Together, ME to WE and women in Kenya are celebrating beautiful handmade jewellery that reflects Kenyan culture—and looks great in your wardrobe. Attached to each piece is an even greater story of transformation. With every purchase of a ME to WE Atelier product at Holt Renfrew’s Uncrate Africa boutiques, a girl in Kenya receives the gift of education, providing her with the tools to create a brighter future. This fosters a unique cycle of change, where women are empowering the new generation.
For us, it began with a group of women from different backgrounds, with a shared goal: to celebrate quality craftsmanship in a way that empowers and sustains their community. Decorated in traditional Maasai clothing with layers upon layers of beaded jewellery in blue, yellow, red and white, Kenyan mamas bring inspiration to the pieces from their own unique style. We were delighted to host Alexandra Weston of Holt Renfrew’s H Project in our Atelier last fall. She was able to meet the mamas to learn about how they bead each piece using skills passed down from generations of mothers and daughters. A mix of English and Swahili was exchanged alongside laughs, hand gestures and song. By working with ME to WE, these women earn a sustainable income for their craft and are able to send their children to school and provide for their families. Equally inspired by one another, the ME to WE Atelier collection for the H Project began to unfold.
At our atelier in Nairobi, our in-house designer Kessa Laxton began pulling rare materials like Ghanaian glass matte beads, ostrich shell beads, kente fabric and indigo mud cloth fabric. Alongside Alexandra and the mamas, they began creating jewellery that fused the traditional beading practices of the Maasai with a fresh, contemporary twist. The result is a line of bespoke pieces with limited-edition, locally-sourced materials.
The woman behind ME to WE Artisans, founder and CEO Roxanne Joyal, has seen this transformation from the beginning and helped the program grow to now include over 1,200 Kenyan women. Many of these women do not have an education and had to rely on their husbands to provide for their families. When she witnessed these talented women selling their beadwork at a loss at oversaturated markets, she knew something had to change. This was talent that could be used to not only earn an income and affect a household, but completely change the role of women in communities. By leveraging their artistic ingenuity, Roxanne says she’s seen that every dollar earned directly impact a woman’s household, children and greater community.
As part of Uncrate Africa, we’re also privileged to deliver our handmade products alongside many great brands who work with artisans worldwide, including MADE, FEED Africa, Indego Africa, LemLem and Dannijo, among others.
Shop ME to WE Atelier now at Uncrate Africa boutiques located in Holt Renfrew stores at Bloor Street, Yorkdale, Calgary and Vancouver. On May 1st, you can find this collection available for purchase at shop.metowe.com.
The journey of the Tatu Bracelet starts in a little place on the outskirts of Nairobi. Here in our atelier, artisans craft the bracelet that will travel across the world to you.
The atelier where Fundis (leatherworkers) and mamas work on Artisans products is surrounded in lush greenery and bright flowers, and is only steps away from this house where ME to WE Trips participants stay overnight on their way to our camp in the Maasai Mara.
Inside the atelier, the shelves are stocked with shades of soft Kenyan leather. Fundis work at different stations to create an assortment of pieces, like the traditional Malaika Wedding Necklace shown here.
Happy to show us his trade, Ezekiel readied his station.
Each piece of a Tatu Bracelet is measured carefully.
The leather is cut into strips using wide blades and a cutting board.
The strips are then cut to length so they are able to wrap around the wrist three times.
Once the strips are prepared, they will be distributed to our 1,000+ mamas who will stitch on the finishing touches of beads and brass.
There are so many ways to show your love for someone—hanging out, giving a gift, lending a hand or doing something sweet. As the ol’ adage says, ‘it’s the thought that counts’! Just like our Artisans pieces are handmade with love by mamas in Kenya, here are a few ideas where you can use your hands to create a Valentine’s gift bursting with love.
1. Craft a coupon book
You can make a digital version of this or get crafty with paper and scissors! On each page, make a coupon for things you can’t buy. Here are a few examples: foot massage, car wash, vacuum a room, one load of laundry, etc.)
Download our super cute and printable coupons here!
2. Create a killer playlist
Select songs that remind you of your friend, family member or special someone and make a playlist they can easily download to their phone or iPod. You could even go old school and burn it on a CD with a cover made from a photo of you two together.
Hardly anyone prints photos anymore…we have them on our phones or computers and tend to share digitally. Make a nice old-fashioned gesture by printing off a few of your favourites together and framing them! These are some favourites from our trip to Kenya.
4. Sentimental sticky-notes
Share some hand-written sweetness by writing down compliments and nice quotes on sticky notes, then stick them all around the house, their locker, the inside of their car or anywhere they’ll notice!
5. Make ’em a meal!
What’s their favourite dish? Pizza? Tacos? There’s loads of recipes on the ‘net you can find to cook up something sweet and spicy without emptying your wallet at a fancy resto. Here’s two of our favourite recipes: Risotto with heart-shaped beets and a layered chocolate cake. They’re a lot easier to make than you think!
VEGAN RISOTTO WITH HEART-SHAPED BEETS
Risotto is a yummy Italian rice dish that’s super rich and creamy! The beets will turn it slightly pink for the full Valentine’s effect.
Ingredients
2-3 beets, with leaves and stems cut off
2 tbsp of olive oil
2-4 Garlic cloves depending on personal taste
1 leek
1 tbsp minced onion – we used Simply Organic (optional)
1 cup of Arborio/Risotto rice
4 cups of vegetable broth
1/3 cup nutritional yeast (optional – adds B vitamins and cheesiness!)
Vegan parmesan to taste (optional)
Pepper to taste
Directions
Boil beets in a pot of water until you can easily pierce them with a fork (about 20 mins). Set them aside to cool.
Cook the leeks, minced onion and garlic in olive oil in a pan over medium heat, stirring often until the onions become soft. Add rice and stir for one minute.
Add broth in small doses—about a half cup each time, stirring constantly until the broth is absorbed by the rice.
While that is cooking, prep the beets—slice them into tiny pieces. Set a few larger chunks aside so you can take a pear knife and carve hearts out of each slice.
Once risotto is near completion add the beets and let cook for a couple minutes so the beets heat up again.
(optional) Add in the nutritional yeast and vegan parmesan at the end for cheesy goodness
Garnish rice with heart-shaped beet slices and enjoy!
MINI CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKES
Ingredients
1 cake mix of your choice (we’re chocoholics)
1 can of frosting of your choice (we chose vanilla to mix it up)
1 wide-mouth glass or round cookie cutter
Directions
Make the cake according to box directions and pour batter into a 9 x 9” baking dish. We used a round pan, but you can use anything that’ll contain all the batter.
Let cool completely. Once cool, take a round cookie cutter (preferably 3”) and punch shapes out of the cake. If you don’t have one, use a wide-mouth glass or a knife to carve out rounded shapes. Make at least 4 circles, 2 for each cake—one for you and one for your lover!
Frost the top of 2 cakes and stack together to form one, like a sandwich. Do the same to another set, then frost the tops of each and sprinkle your favourite candy on top.
Make as many mini cakes as you can, or use the leftover cake to make cake pops! Simply mix it with frosting and roll into balls. Keep them in the fridge before serving or freeze to eat later.
In Swahili, the word for friend is rafiki. Show your friends how world-changing your love is this Valentine’s Day with a chance to win matching XOXO Rafiki Friend Chains! Each one makes a life-changing impact in a Free The Children community overseas by providing one year of health care to a child. What sweeter way to share your love than to change the world together?
Here’s how to enter:
Tag a friend in the comments section of our Contest Photo on the ME to WE Facebook page
Six winners will be chosen randomly throughout the Contest Period. Each winner will be notified via tagging on ME to WE’s Facebook Page and will receive two XOXO Rafiki Friend Chains. There’s no limit to entries, so increase your chances of winning by tagging your friends in each Contest Photo!
The contest will run from 12:00 am EST on February 12, 2015 until 11:59:59 pm EST on February 14,2015 (the “Contest Period”). Six (6) winners will be selected at random. ME to WE will notify winners by tagging their profile on the ME to WE Facebook wall. Each tagged winner that complies with these Contest Rules and Regulations will receive two (2) XOXO Rafiki Friend Chains (approximate retail value $19.98 CAD). Participants may enter as many times as they wish, but will be selected as a winner no more than once. Chances of winning are subject to the number of entrants.
3. ELIGIBILITY
No purchase necessary. To be eligible for this contest, entrants must tag a friend in the comment section of a Contest Photo (defined below) posted on the ME to WE Facebook page (www.facebook.com/metowe) during the Contest Period. The term ‘Contest Photo’ refers to a photograph posted by ME to WE promoting this contest and directing Facebooks users to tag a friend in the corresponding comment section. Two (2) Contest Photos will be posted during the Contest Period. This contest is open to all residents of Canada, excluding Quebec, who are thirteen (13) years of age or older. This contest excludes employees of Free The Children, WE Day, ME to WE and We365, their affiliated companies or subsidiaries, and their advertising and promotional agencies (“Employees”) and members of the Employees respective immediate households and any person domiciled with any Employee. ME to WE will not accept entry for this contest by phone, fax, courier, mail or email.
4. THE WINNERS
Six (6) winners will be selected by a member of the ME to WE team during the Contest Period at the ME to WE offices located in Toronto, Ontario. Winners will be announced and notified (via tagging) on the ME to WE Facebook page and must contact ME to WE at [email protected] within three (3) business days following such notification to redeem their prize. Winners must correctly answer, without assistance, a time-limited skill testing question provided by ME to WE. If a winner does not meet all requirements of the Contest Rules & Regulations, another winner will be selected in their stead from the pool of remaining eligible entrants. The contest closes on February 14, 2015 at 11:59:59 pm EST; should a winner contact ME to WE after this time and within the prescribed three (3) day notification period, yet not meet all other requirements of the Contest Rules & Regulations, ME to WE reserves the right to select a winner in their stead notwithstanding the expiry of the Contest Period.
5. PRIVACY
By entering the contest, entrants hereby consent to have their Facebook account and name tagged on ME to WE’s Facebook page in the event that they are chosen as a winner.
6. OTHER
ME to WE assumes no responsibility for any failures of the ME to WE or Facebook website, for any problems or technical malfunction of any computer online systems, servers, access providers, computer equipment, software, failure of entry to be received by ME to WE on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website, or any combination thereof including any injury or damage to an entrant’s or any other person’s computer related to or resulting from this contest. ME to WE reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to change, cancel or suspend this contest should a virus, bug or other cause beyond the reasonable control of ME to WE and its advertising and promotional agencies, corrupt the security or proper administration of the contest or for any other reason. Entries are subject to verification and will be declared invalid if they are illegible, mechanically reproduced, mutilated, forged, falsified, altered or tampered with or unlawful in any way. Entries submitted by unauthorised means or by spamming will be disqualified. In the event that it has been determined that an entry has been made in a manner not sanctioned by these rules, the entrant and all of his/her entries will be disqualified. Entrant agree to abide by the contest rules and the decisions of the contest judges, which are final. ME to WE and entrant release Facebook, Inc. (“Facebook”) from any liability, claims or damages associated with this contest, and acknowledge that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or in association with, Facebook. This contest is subject to Federal, Provincial and Territorial laws and regulations in Canada, excluding those of the Province of Quebec.
Here’s a little dose of happiness to kick off the week! Because sometimes it’s the small things that make us smile.
Alpaca wool socks (aka the comfiest socks EVER)
Seriously, could anything be more comfy? This particular pair was handmade by an artisan who lives deep in the Andes Mountains. We love them for sleeping, chilling and keeping feeling in our toes during polar vortex weather. So much so that we might just fly back to Ecuador to get another pair.
Super cute baby elephants
Baby elephants. Bathtime. Enough said. We recently visited the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi, Kenya and met these cuties. They’re all rescued elephants who have been orphaned and whose herds struggled against threats like poaching, deforestation and drought. After being rehabilitated, they’ll be reintegrated back into a wild herd.
Porcupines in love
Is there anything better than a good love story to brighten up a day? Dorit is a porcupine who’s grown up at Israel’s Ramat Gan Safari Park. Because she was orphaned as a baby, Dorit can’t survive in the wild—but it seems she now has a new wild friend. Park staff couldn’t figure out why they kept finding quills and droppings outside Dorit’s cage—until they investigated and discovered that a wild male porcupine had been visiting every night. Can you say “awwwww”?!
A purrrrfect park
We already love cats—or any kind of furry friend, really!—but cute cats + doing good? Sold! We just heard about this park in Lima, Peru that’s home to dozens of stray cats. Locals leave food and water for them, and there are even volunteer groups dedicated to kitty protection—like this one that raises funds for veterinary care and even sets up an adoption booth each weekend to find foster homes for the cats. No word on whether they’d let us bring some kitties back to North America, but this has totally inspired us to visit our local animal shelter and meet the creatures there in need of homes!
Some good karma
Did you know that across Canada and the U.S., Moksha Yoga studios hold regular “karma” classes, and the price of the class is a small donation given to local charities? We love the idea of calming our minds, getting in touch with our inner zen—and spreading love and kindness at the same time.
That one local coffee shop…
Where you know you can find some good music, a place to catch up with friends, a friendly barista who knows your order—and where a delicious cup of fair trade coffee is always waiting for you.
Moments that make us realize how big the world really is
Just look at those stars. Sometimes this world blows us away.
(As seen over Kenya’s Maasai Mara and captured by Inna Yasinska)
What’s something that made you smile today? Let us know in the comments!
Consciously Styled Tips: Your Perfect Holiday Outfit
Need to amp up that little black dress for party hopping this season? Whether you’re exchanging gifts with friends or celebrating at a family gathering, you can transform your outfit into a whole new look—one that’s stylish and world-changing. All you need is one of your favourite black dresses and a few pieces from our Artisans line of jewellery.
With a black dress, any accessories will work, no matter what the colour. Think of it as a fabulous blank canvas! For holiday, we like black and gold pieces that add a touch of shine and elegance such as the Transformation Necklace, featuring a hand-stamped charm and Soko Market Bracelets with glass beads and brass accents. For more sparkle, we paired them with a pearl Ashe Bracelet, highlighted by a rondelle bead. We also love to play with some chunkier, statement pieces and went with the Transformation Charm Bracelet Set of 3 with a coloured tassel made in India and an inspirational brass charm with the word ‘soul’ inscribed. And to accentuate our holiday manicure, the Mini Salama Peace Ring is a perfect choice. It’s hand-beaded onto soft Kenyan leather and is probably the most comfortable ring you’ll ever wear!
All of our Artisans accessories support the talented women in Kenya who create them. They get to share their traditions with the world and you get to enhance your wardrobe. And, if you’re wearing multiple Artisans pieces, your global impact is multiplied! The jewellery featured in this post collectively provides over a month of clean water to a family overseas, a pre-natal workshop for two mothers, a school lunch to a child, and a package of vegetable seeds to a farmer. Combined, that creates a huge wave of change in a Free The Children community overseas! Shop these pieces and more world-changing jewellery at shop.metowe.com.
Mama Leah: From the shade of a tree to the light of leadership
A canopy of leaves stretching across the horizon balances atop gnarled bark. It’s where lean silhouettes of giraffes mark the ground as they graze its branches and it’s where one woman’s journey to empowerment began—beneath the Acacia tree.
Mama Leah was the first woman to join Artisans. Shaded by the hot Kenyan sun, she sat under the tree with other Maasai women and shared stories as they beaded. It was a place where she could do the handiwork she loved using traditions learned from her mother. Soon, this shaded area would serve as a catalyst for improving her life and the lives of many women in her community.
Selling the beautifully beaded pieces at the local market was unsuccessful. Other women were trying to earn some sort of income through beading, too, which kept prices extremely low, making the trek to market more trouble than what it was worth. With three sons and a daughter at home, Mama Leah struggled to put food in their bellies and afford fees to send them to school.
When she met Roxanne, founder and CEO of ME to WE Artisans, Mama Leah’s life started to drastically change. Together, they formed a group of 20 women and began small beading projects which earned every mama stable wages.
“I used my money to buy one sheep and build a new house for my family,” she explained. “And I was able to educate my kids!”
Beading up to 50 rafikis in a day, the groups of Maasai mamas grew larger and larger under the Acacia trees. Now, over 1,200 of them have turned their traditional art form into a livelihood. Like Mama Leah, some have even used their wages to buy goats, a coveted animal in the community that provides daily nutrition and income from milk. It also gives a family the chance to send their children to school.
“It’s not common for a mama to buy a goat because it’s expensive—only the men buy them,” added Mama Leah. “But with work from Artisans, we’re able to. A goat is just like a bank because you increase your money. You buy it at a cheap price and once it grows fat, you can multiply that price when you sell it.”
Since buying multiple goats and affording to send her children to school, she says she understands what it means to be an independent woman and is happy she can take care of her family.
“Empowerment means you have changed from one thing to another,” explained Mama Leah.” Before, I was a mama taking care of my animals but now, I work for myself, I depend on myself and I can support my family.”
To shop Artisans products that support the empowerment of women like Mama Leah, visit metowe.com/shop
