NYIGF time again ...

We've mailed our postcards, sent our Eblast, maxed out our marketing budget.  Just as I was trying to figure out some new, and inexpensive, way to reach new and old buyers, I got an email from Vianza, a social platform + marketplace for designers, indie retailers, & suppliers to buy, sell, source, & profit –free from geographic limits, asking me if they could interview me and include us on their blog.  The media goddess must have sent them to me!

My thanks to Vianza, for the interview and the space on their blog.  Take a look, at our story and their concept.  Very creative and interesting.

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See you in NY;

Ellen

Creative Women, Booth 6308,
 

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New products, ( Beyond Burlap runners, Dots Tablecloths, Rattan Napkins and more) media kits, price lists, re-organizing our booth ... these seem to be the hot topics on my mind lately.  But, at the same time, I'm trying hard to make time to enjoy my garden (it's lovely this year except for the rabbits and the leek fungus), take a swim in the lake, walk before the birds stop singing in the morning, and watch the sun set each night.  I'm also trying to be "laid back" (I am a product of the 60s ad 70s.) by not counting how many days 'til August 13 and the beginning of the NYIGF.  Rather, this year I've created a contest between the NYIGF and my lovely purple runner bean.  I'm betting my runner bean will be at top of my pergola (see picture of runner bean and pergola above) before I leave for NY on August 10.  Certainly more fun than counting the days on the calendar.

In case you want to know who wins, come to Creative Women's booth at the Show ... 6308. You'll get to see our new products and find out the race results.

Ellen

It would be hard for a company like Creative Women — founded for the purpose of creating economic opportunities for women in countries like Ethiopia (and, okay, for getting our hands on those beautiful hand-woven textiles) — not to be a fan of a magazine like Hand/Eye, with its mission to "engender intelligent debate among artisans, exporters, designers, artists, wholesalers and importers, retailers, and consumers so that all may make smart, ethical, and inspired decisions about their activities."

And then, when they feature us on their blog, how could we not want to brag about that? Check out Annie Waterman's piece here.

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~ Amy

Almost two years ago, a man came to our Burlington, Vermont studio to have a first-hand look at our hand-woven textiles. He told us about his business, Vermont Farm Table, where he made wooden farmhouse furniture, mostly to order, and sold it on the web. He had heard about our Ethiopian cotton tablecloths and napkins, and thought that they would complement his tables.

He was right.

Now he's opened a storefront in Burlington, and it looks terrific. I had to snap a picture with my cell phone the first time I walked by and saw his beautiful tables in the window—with a selection of our beautiful napkins arranged on top. I sent it to Ellen right away, but unfortunately didn't save it to post here. So here's a screen capture from their homepage:

Vermont Farm Table's showroom in downtown Burlington. You can see one of our Silk and Cotton Throws over the table at the back, and a Stripe Napkin hanging over the box in front.

~ Amy

Just back from the NYIGF (well I took a few days off in NY to see family and move at my own pace, rather than the show's pace).  Definitely our best show … great location, good customers who I really enjoy seeing, and a chance to see the friends we've developed among the other exhibitors over the years.

I used to be so nervous before each show.  Now I'm a bit more confident that our booth will hold its own among all the others in the Handmade section.  And the press seemed to agree … HandEye, an exciting and elegant on-line and print magazine featured us during the show.  And otto included Creative Women on their site during the show, with a close up of our booth.  Good press is priceless!

In photos, our booth seems to look like a collection of unrelated textiles, rather than the story I try to create.  But people ooh and aaahed; I'm happy.  Take a look at our site, if this photo doesn't move you.

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Nice to be back in Vermont,

~ Ellen

I love this time of year in the office. There's so much happening, and so many different projects to coordinate, and samples of new products coming in, and … well, let's just say that there's a lot going on.

Ellen's getting ready to head to New York for the International Gift Fair (we'll be in booth #6308), so for the last two weeks we've had piles of blankets, scarves, tablecloths and napkins in various places around the studio, waiting to be counted or ironed or packed. And there are many lists in circulation, from products to be displayed to the booth furnishings on which to display them.

My lists revolve around new items that need to be posted on our website (have I included all the new colors? Do the links work? Has the price list been updated?), and then updated in the on-line catalog that NYIGF posts for us. Lots of fussy little details, but I love the finished product.

It seems odd, but despite all the details that have to be handled, we've been very calm here in the office. Is it possible that practice really does pay off?

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Our poor mannequin, stripped of her usual scarf & shawl, waiting to be boxed for shipping.

~ Amy

This morning on my walk, I was thinking about how I now need to create a Hassle List on our white board.  I believe that if I don't stay on top of my hassles (become the "squeaky wheel") then those hassles will never be resolved … or at least not in my favor.

On the way to work, I checked my IPhone and found out that the bank in Mali, which had been sitting on my $1600.00 wire for six weeks and not depositing it in the account of Cooperative Djiguiyaso, my supplier in Mali, finally was convinced the money belonged to Djigui, not the bank.  Hassle #1 … settled.

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Then, at work, I got an email from my broker at UPS, forwarding Customs and Border Protection's ruling that I had complied with their requests and they would not be charging me duty on my current shipment from Ethiopia.  Of course, under AGOA (African Growth and Opportunities Act) they were not supposed to charge me duty, but they had the right to ask me certain questions: they did, I replied.  After more than a bit of wrangling, they agreed with me.  Hassle #2 … settled.

It's a beautiful day in Vermont, we're almost ready for the New York International Gift Fair (Booth 6308); things are looking good.

Come meet us in NY … see the wonderful accessories our colleagues make for us.  It's one of those days when things go right.

~ Ellen

Well, I've been back from Ethiopia and Mali for over a week now. I'm always interested in how quickly I forget the parts of travel that I didn't like (lack of control over my time, sitting in my hotel room one too many nights, not getting things done at my pace) and how much I relive the parts I the trip that I loved.

Here are a few that I keep returning to:

• new product development in Ethiopia (you must come to our new booth, 6308 at the NYIGF to see what we've been working on). After seven years, we're getting better at making beautiful things. Expect to see new tablecloths, scarves, cocktail napkins, pillows, and a fabulous silk/cotton throw … all with an eye to fall and Holidays. But here's what I remember … the amazing process of making something by hand. Each one of the threads (below) is dyed by hand, then one by one, each thread is tied on the loom by hand, and then woven by hand. It's an amazing process.
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• the beauty of the hand-crocheted shawls made by the woven we work with in Mali. It was over 100°F in Bamako, but the women of this coop sit under the shade of a few leafy trees and create beauty while earning a living.
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• the energy and majesty of the Niger River … kids swimming, men fishing or shoveling sand from the bottom and carrying it by hand to the shore to make bricks, women doing their laundry. And in the midst of all this productive activity, we took a boat ride up the Niger to Kalobougou, the pottery island, to see women (and young girls) throwing, glazing, and firing utilitarian pottery sold throughout Mali. Another world …
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Enough … a lot of new images and the start of many new products.
Happy Spring …

~ Ellen

As I'm getting ready to leave Vermont and go to New York City for the Holidays, I've been thinking about all the people who have helped make this Creative Women's most successful year. Without sounding like the acknowledgment section of a book, many thanks to our customers (both wholesale and retail), the media, all those who gave me advice (mostly useful), the people we work with in Ethiopia, Swaziland, Afghanistan, and Mali, our UPS folks in Louisville and Burlington … and our staff. It's great knowing you're all out there, helping make this business possible, and being part of our mission to create jobs and make a difference.

A few updates, before the year ends …

• Creative Women is now working in Mali, with Cooperative Djiguiyaso.  We're introducing their elegant and refined crocheted pillows and a crocheted shawl at the NYIGF in January.  These wonderful new products are hand-made from organic cotton and are the perfect example of going back to the roots … using traditional skills to create contemporary products.
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• Victoria Magazine, many thanks for your support; just featured us in their December issue. Take a look.

• Finally, I got to be a Disruptive Woman, and no one was offended. On December 2, in D.C., I spoke to the annual event of Disruptive Women in Health. It was great to be in a room full of people who understand the implications of what Creative Women is doing. I also submitted a piece to their blog, making the case for employment being a Public Health intervention. How nice to have an audience and be able to tell them about Creative Women, our history, and our impact on women's lives.

My greeting for this holiday season is simple … wishing you a wonderful holiday and a calm 2010.

~ Ellen

The first time I traveled to Africa, I was working with the Vermont Service Corps, helping to develop a needs assessment study for a District in rural Uganda.  One afternoon, as I was spending time in Kampala, the capital, I saw a sign that said "Zebra Crossing."  I was so excited; I had never seen a live zebra before, but did wonder why zebras would be loose in the middle of major city.  I kept walking and saw the black and white stripes of a pedestrian crossing … ah, a zebra crossing.

That's what I love about working cross culturally; I have constant opportunities to challenge my perceptions of the the world and think about how others see me and my values.  When I first started working with Menby's Design, the first producer that Creative Women worked with in Ethiopia, I sat down with Menby and one of the weavers.  The weaver looked at the colors that I chose for a pillow and said to Menby in Amharic, "I don't want to weave that.  The colors are ugly."  Menby, as only another Ethiopian could do, responded, "It doesn't matter if you like the colors or not; it only matters what they think in New York."  Certainly better said by her, than me.

Sometimes I read it all wrong.  Take the netela, a lovely, gauzy shawl that Ethiopian woman have been wearing for generations.  In Addis, some women wear the same netela for days, protecting themselves  from the sun, winds, and dust as they go about their daily work.  Other women, those who can afford more than one, stick one in their bag and throw it over their head, or their suit jacket, when the weather changes.
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While looking for new products in Addis, I saw so many women wearing netelas. Some were rather dirty, often bordered with what I considered garish colors. So  when asked if I wanted to import them,  I  would just say "No, I don't think American women will wear these."

For about five years, we had a few  netelas on our shelves, but never showed them at the gift fairs. Then last year, I hung one in our booth at the NYIGF; buyer after buyer, while poking around and digging through our textiles, would be drawn to the netela.  "What's this?" they would ask while fingering the fine cotton, "Can I buy one/some?  What about these colors and the lurex ... can we change that?"  So the traditional netela underwent some westernizing (and we're still working on more changes), but the fine weaving, the soft cotton, and the delicate hand-stitching remain.  I'm hoping that my certainty that Americans won't wear these will be 100 percent wrong and we can start a new fashion trend here …
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~ Ellen