Thursday, May 19, 2011

Jean Genie

Jean Genie
Belt - Courtesy of HereJ ($14!), Top & Pants - Vintage, Shoes - Villains SF, Jewelry - Konstantino + Vintage + Flea Market

Well, Blogger is back up and running, but all of the comments were deleted from my last post! Bummer.

 I wanted to draw your attention specifically to this radsauce belt, courtesy of the brand new online shop www.herej.com.   It's a super-cute shop full of win run by an adorable gal named Jane; I think Jane might also be a KTownian. Jane was kind enough to gift me this belt and a pair of crazy acid-washed jogging shorts that are more closely-related to underwear than to actual clothing deemed acceptable by society, which means that I am obviously in love with them and can't wait to show them to you in a future post. In the meantime, take a gander at www.herej.com. I think y'all will find some treasures there.

Today's real "talky" part of the blog is about Jishike, a line of bags founded by Ralph Lauren alum Sinead Fyda. While volunteering at a school in Tanzania, East Africa, Fyda became inspired to work with local women outside of the classroom in an effort to dramatically improve the quality of life for them and their children. By teaching 25 of these women how to sew and craft stunning bags in a variety of shapes and sizes, Fyda was able to provide their families with sustainable income, manifesting in electricity for their homes and a greater contribution towards their children's educations. Each product on the Jishike website lists the artisan who made it, along with the time it took her to craft the piece, and what her family can do with the money you spend to purchase it. Also, the bags are amazingly cool, and given how phenomenal the story is behind them, I would even be willing to carry a clutch. Loyal readers will know that this is shocking, indeed!
$115, 10 days of labor, profit funds two months' food and rent for artisan's family

$85, 10 days of labor, profit funds two months' food and rent for artisan's family

$80, 10 days of labor, profit funds two months' food and rent for artisan's family



$175, 12 days of labor, profit funds two years' schooling for one of artisan's children

$175, 12 days of labor, profit funds two years' schooling for one of artisan's children

$60, 7 days of labor, profit funds one year's schooling for one of artisan's children

$60, 7 days of labor, profit funds one year's schooling for one of artisan's children

Aren't they just perfect? I think the little pouches, coming in between $50-$60, would be a wonderful gift; it's really a shame that Mother's Day already passed!