January 2010
18 posts
Buy Good. Do Good. Be Good.
CLOTH is a contemporary lifestyle brand that acknowledges a mass shift in human relations from observatory to interactive. We take design and lifestyle inspiration from various cultures, but respectfully include them in the process. CLOTH is produced by refugee and displaced women living in the United States, drawing from an untapped pool of millions of women. The producer’s story comes...
Chitown
Candance and I are finally together after a year of not seeing each other. I am in continual awe of the beauty of friendships that are so tightly sewn together that a certain aspect of time never escapes through the seems. I saw her profile from a distance in the airport and immediately felt like I had seen her the week before.
In Chicago we are catching up on the time that did sneak through...
i am displaced.
It’s something I’ve always been aware of but as this project progresses and more conversations are had with family, friends and strangers…I become increasingly aware of the misconceptions we hold of refugees and displaced people. To get my point across I’d like to share a personal story.
I was displaced. Born in Wisconsin, I am and always have been a citizen of the United...
Beautiful song, “Hooyo” by Somalia
the error of my thoughts.
Today was a mind opening day.
I woke late and realized I needed to meet Aminat in less than ten minutes time. my stomach churned, I wanted to cancel. I called to tell her my friend who would be teaching us to sew couldn’t make it and therefore I couldn’t either. She picked up with a loud and beautiful HELLO! and I melted. “Hello Aminat, I’ll be there in ten...
Wax Cloth from Mali
How two phenomenal women are pioneering...
“I had so much fun chatting with Oona Mitchell of CLOTH on our show today. Oona Mitchell and her business partner, Candance, best friends for almost ten years, decided they wanted to take more of an involved approach in their passion for fashion (no pun intended) by providing employment opportunities for refugee women who are in the midst of their resettling process in the US. Oona and...
CLOTH and Haiti
If you are a compassionate person, which many of us are. The photos, reports and video of loss of human in life is overwhelming and far too heavy for even the strongest hearts to handle. I’ll admit I feel quite hopeless. Sure I can donate money, I can pray, support and continue to plan a fundraiser to raise funds for Yele but at the end of the day all that’s left are tears. Tragedy...
WatchListen to Oona talk to Megan Shiebe about CLOTH and empowering refugee women. Or click here for the link.
WELCOME
Hello everyone! Welcome to ourCLOTHshop.
We will be launching our full website APRIL 1st, where you will be able to buy from ourClothshop. Until then, we are raising funds, getting sewing machines, and making connections with our new women business partners.
If you would like to help, please consider making a donation, it will help us greatly! If you have any questions send us an email or tweet...
Opportunities come and go
Early this week I got an email that forty industrial sewing machines would be going to the dumpster unless someone claimed them. We wanted to to claim them. Excitement set in with a heavy dose of daydreaming. The machines, the space, the women owning them and being paid to use them. It was perfect! One problem, they were in New York, Candance is in Chicago, and I’m in Portland. One other...