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There’s something majestic about the winter—its cool, cleansing air, silky white snows and bare-leaved trees that awaken the landscape with their stark geometry. As a child, winter was a time for fun and adventure—a time for wonder, for play, for sledding and for snowmen. We love the way hazel & pine captures that spirit in their most recent photo series featuring our Indego Africa Kids Collection!The two cuties photographed below spent a day playing outside Indego-style, wearing some of our pattern-happy textile rompers and shirts, along with hats and vests from our Handspun Hope organic merino wool collection. They even brought along two of their favorite friends – our hand-embroidered sleepy star bunnies! We love how our Indego brights play off the classic winter whites – the perfect way to add a pop of color to any wintry day! Now we want to jump outside in the snow…
A New Year, a new you, and a new desk to go along too! When January comes around and the holiday buzz dies down, it’s the perfect time to get organized and set your intentions for the year ahead. Our favorite first step? Reorganizing our desks!At Indego, we love to surround ourselves with beautiful objects that not only inspire us but also help us keep our odds & ends in order (that’s what we call a win-win!) From brass pen stands, to eyelash fringe baskets, tin elephant boxes & more, here are a few of our favorite handmade items to give you the awesome desk you deserve. Cheers to a creative and fulfilling year ahead!
Hide Your Plastic With Indego Africa Star Baskets!With little ones, comes lots of...plastic. From animals, to toy trucks, and all that fun stuff, sometimes it may seem there can never be enough. For those days when you’re walking through your kiddie’s room and wondering what happened to the floor, we have the perfect solution: our newly launched star-printed fabric baskets! These ultra cute, kid-friendly pieces are a great way to hide all your plastic (plus, with two handles, they’re easy to move around.) Parents of the world: you may now de-clutter in style…
This Giving Tuesday, we are inspired by the incredible artisans we’ve met in Ghana who—against all odds—are determined to create brighter futures for themselves and their families. Since the beginning of Indego days, it has been our vision to change the lives of female artisans across Africa. That’s why, after eight years of impact in Rwanda, we are so excited to bring our mission to Ghana and empower more women who are deeply in need of resources and opportunities.
In Ghana’s poorest regions…
women on average earn less than 50 cents per day
almost 70% are illiterate
up to 50% have no formal education
We are committed to addressing these inequities by providing artisans with opportunities to earn sustainable income, receive education, and achieve their dreams.
In January of 2016, we plan to complete our Ghana launch and bring life-changing economic empowerment and education programs to more than 150 local artisans.
But we need your support to make it happen. Help make an impact this Giving Tuesday.
A guest post from our Creative Director on Babiekins MagazineWhen I was pregnant with Iris and thinking about decorating a nursery, I wanted to have a room that felt both light and airy but also was filled to the brim with playful, unique and meaningful things. I didn’t know if I was having a boy or a girl so I figured I could start with all-white-everything and add pops of color once our little lovebug arrived. I loved the idea of my little boy or girl growing up and discovering the pieces in their room and me being able to tell a story about each and every one of them. Once Iris arrived and I knew she’d be a collector like me, I wanted even more for her room to feel like a special treasure trove with well-loved pieces that all could grow with her. Naturally, there are many beautiful baskets and items from indego africa and many precious gifts and keepsakes from family and friends. Even now she loves to say hi and by to all her dolls and toys and we often walk around the room and touch all the special pieces. For me, Iris’s room is definitely the most magical place in our home and I hope that when she is in there she feels all the love and the memories that it holds for her.Shop the Collection!
West-Africa-born, NYC-based fashion & lifestyle blogger, Fráncia Cooper, radiates global chic. Her blog – frannycoop.com – is a treasure trove of inspiration featuring gorgeous style images, beauty tips, travel diaries & more. We were thrilled to team up with her to photograph our new fall collection of wide-brimmed felt hats, cozy handmade knits, Ghanaian brass jewelry & more. Scroll down to see the shoot images and read what Franny had to say about Indego Africa, global women’s empowerment, and the fashion industry.
originally posted on frannycoop.com
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“I am beyond excited to share this powerful collaboration that I did with Indego Africa for the launch of their Autumn/Winter 2015 collection. The entire collection is an absolute gem - cozy knits to warm you up, wool hats to complete boring outfits, capes to shield you from winter’s shiver along with the cutest brooches for a more refined look. What’s even more charming about this brand is that all items are handmade in Ghana and Rwanda.
It was such a pleasure working with the Indego Africa team. Indego Africa is a non-profit social enterprise and lifestyle brand that supports women through economic empowerment and education - confronting poverty by helping female artisans become independent business women. All of the profits from sales are used to fund educational training programs for these women.
In today’s world, why women should support women in business goes without saying. What’s understated, however, is why women in the fashion industry are lacking in positions related to design. It is a little unnerving to think about how many male designers have positions of power: think Olivier Rousteing, Raf Simons, Marc Jacobs, etc. Of course their talent warrants the merit of their success, however, isn’t it a little counter intuitive how the male gender rampantly controls the design of women clothing? You would think that since our clothes are made for the female form, female desire, and overall female experience they would be designed by us. Patriarchy has its place even in the garment industry and this is something that should not be overlooked. I support brands like Indego Africa because I’d like to see more women empowered in design positions in hopes that the fashion industry can become equal.”
We love Franny’s passion for women’s empowerment & the way she rocks all things Indego! To check out her blog, click here.
Shop our Fall 2015 collection
This September, we are going back-to-school! Our Leadership Academy is a six-month advanced business education program that empowers women to become entrepreneurs and agents of change in their communities.While most of our artisan partners had their education interrupted by the 1994 genocide {92% never completed secondary school} today they are reaching extraordinary heights – creating a ripple effect of empowerment and opportunity in communities across Rwanda. Press play to find out why our CEO believes in the power of education and why you should too!
On a farm at the base of Rwanda’s majestic Virunga Mountains roam a flock of sheep. Tended and cared for night and day, this herd is part of the Handspun Hope project – a True Vineyard Ministries initiative dedicated to employing and empowering Rwandan widows.
Handspun Hope employs 58 people in Rwanda to hand-spin & dye 100% organic merino wool. We are thrilled to now call them an official cooperative partner and to launch our brand new collection of winter-weather must-haves – hand-spun, knitted hats and vests for adults and kiddies alike!
Handspun Hope began in 2007 when Diana Wiley, Executive Director of True Vineyard Ministries, traveled to Rwanda on a trip with an international relief organization. While there, she was deeply moved by the genocide widows she met and struck by the stark conditions of poverty in which they were living.
On that very same trip, she came across a livestock-sharing project at a church in Musanze, Rwanda’s northern province. She observed that while various families in the community were receiving sheep to cultivate, they were mostly using them for sustenance. That’s when it occurred to her: “what about the wool?” From there, Handspun Hope was born.
Handspun Hope seeks to create sustainable employment and income-earning opportunities for women in Rwanda by helping them make high-quality yarn from local sheep’s wool. While wool-spinning was once a common practice in Rwanda, the skill was completely lost after the 1994 genocide. Diana {after teaching herself!} taught a group of women in the community how to spin wool using a drop spindle, eventually upgrading to spinning wheels to increase their productivity, as well as the quality of the yarn.
She and the True Vineyard Ministries team also bought a plot of land in Musanze and began importing sheep from Kenya to populate it. While they began with 25 sheep, they have since grown their flock to 150, and continue to expand it with the goal of creating a sustainable supply of wool in Rwanda and, accordingly, more employment opportunities for local women.
We love Handspun Hope’s mission and philosophy, as well as the incredible handmade process behind their products – one that spans nearly a year to reach its completion. Over the course of eight-month cycles, a shepherd tends to Handspun Hope’s sheep - caring for them day in and day out, keeping them clean, and feeding them with the best possible minerals and nutrients to ensure that they remain as healthy as can be.
When their wool has grown to its optimal length (and the longer the better), the shepherd begins the process of shearing the sheep, shaving off the wool by hand. The artisans then triple wash it clean, picking out any grass or pieces of debris that may remain. They card {i.e. disentangle} the wool, comb out the fibers, and feed it into a spinning wheel, making one ply at a time and feeding it back into the wheel to create whatever thickness they desire.
Once the yarn is ready, the women dye it by hand using local plant and vegetable material – like flowers and onion skins – or 100% organic imported dye. The final result is richly saturated, vibrant, high-quality {and eco-friendly!} yarn that is perfect for making soft and luxurious accessories and apparel items.
While historically Handspun Hope’s artisans have made yarn and sold it to other companies to work with {rather than creating finished products} we are very excited to share that for the first time - for our order - the artisans hand-knit the yarn to create each item themselves {a skill which, we might add, they learned for the first time last year!}
We are thrilled to partner with Handspun Hope and to support an organization that is creating products that are truly 100% Rwandan-made. Keep your eyes peeled for more on this inspiring group & check out our collection here:
*photographs courtesy of abbey henderson
