24 March 2010

Houston: JADETribe

Are you ready to go bazooka? Dying over these handbags by JADETribe. I first spied them about two months ago at Cabana in Dallas. A few weeks pass and Bonnie Basham started carrying one of their clutches around. Then I pop into Meadow in San Antonio and went ape over their tiny wristlets. It was a sign. It was time to buy.
But here's the best part: Kimberly Hartman, JadeTribe's founder, is from Houston, went to University of North Texas, and lived in Dallas. Hartman now lives in NYC and came up with this idea: source incredible textiles from around the world, pay the artisans a fair price for their work, then employ women to sew the bags while paying them a living wage. They get a decent paycheck, you get a killer bag. Win. Win.
It's kind of an incredible time right now. With Lauren Bush's Lauren Pierce Atelier, JADETribe, and Gaia, this seems to be the way that many designers are doing things, helping others while helping themselves. It's amazing really, and such a beautiful way to do business, don't you think?

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