Back again with more feel good (do-gooding) gift ideas! Today's shop is actually a non-profit social enterprise (oooh, sounds fancy) that my sister sent me a link to (she's got her finger on the pulse, people!) and that I've now fallen in love with! Not only because they are seriously doing good in the world, but their stuff is freaking beautiful and modern! (aka, These things are now on my forever wish list.) We're heading over to Indego Africa!
Indego Africa:
I could try to tell you all about them, but I'm going to just steal their own words to do that (I know, I'm such a lazy typer!). So, here's what they do:
"We work with 25 groups of more than 1,000 women in Rwanda and Ghana to sell products that are designed in New York City and handmade in Africa—combining traditional techniques, local materials and amazing artisanal skill. We provide our partners with fair, consistent income for their artistry which, in turn, enables them to care for themselves and their families.
We invest all of our profits from product sales, with grants and donations, into education programs for the artisans who handcraft our products. Our courses range from leadership and entrepreneurship to financial and business management to skills-based vocational training & more."
How cool is that?! 100% of the profits go back to help these women be entrepreneurs. How many retail places can say that?! And, like I said earlier, their stuff is actually beeeeaaauuuutiful! Okay, okay, so when you look at some of the prices, you're going to be like, WTF (unless you're richy-rich, then you're going to be like, oh, what a deal!), BUT, try to take off your sweat-shop-price goggles and think about the actual labor that went into these, and the fact that you're paying a FAIR wage for that labor. PLUS, if you need to justify spending this kind of money to someone (like a significant other), remember that ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of these profits go to back to education and training for these women. So, REALLY, it's not like you're shopping for yourself, YOU ARE MAKING A CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION, and you're getting a thank you present in return!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You're HELPING TO MAKE A DIFFERNCE IN THIS WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG!!!!! So, really, you're practically being a saint by buying these things......and people love saints, and saints deserve pretty things.....Yay! You totally have the green light to shop now!
I could seriously just list all their baskets and such, but - ain't nobody got time for that! So, I picked out my very favorites (this is a lot of pink stuff, but it all comes in other more neutral colors), and then added a bunch of other cool stuff for all the special people in your life:
My Favorites/For the Ladies in Your Life:
Eyelash Fringe Catch-All Pink - $125 - handwoven sisal and sweetgrass - 8" x 9"tall - comes in bigger and smaller sizes
I don't even know what to say. I die every time I see this..... I mean, I love storage options, but THIS is like THE most beautiful basket I've ever seen. And all shades of my favorite color....sigh.
Pink & Orange Zig Zag Plateau Basket - $60 - handwoven sisal and sweetgrass
I absolutely LOVE this color combination! But for those of you that don't love a burst of beautiful obnoxiousness, it comes in several other less in-your-face color combos. This is a good gift for someone that loves pretty things, plus, you can use it to collect stuff, or as a fruit bowl! It also has a loop on the back to just hang it on the wall and be pretty.
Marrakech Handle Basket - $240 - handwoven sisal and sweetgrass - 14" x 18"tall - More drooling....
More beautiful storage options! And a lid! This is perfect for a mom who wants to hide toys quickly. Or for anyone that needs to do a quick 5 minute clean for those drop-in visitors. Just throw all your random junk that everyone has in here, pop on the lid, and then everyone can just ooh and ahh over your cool basket!
Copabu Arrow Bowl - $88 - handcarved jacaranda wood, hand-dyed sisal - 12" x 4" Also, there's a smaller version with triangle shapes instead of arrows for $55 - Triangle Copabu Wooden Bowl
See, not everything on my list is pink! Another cool gift for someone that loves home décor.
Coral Burst Plateau Basket - $60 - handwoven sisal and sweetgrass - 12" x 3" - Mint, Pink (though the site says coral), and Navy = My new favorite color combination!
Just another version of the pink and orange one above, but I love it.
Open Weave Floor Basket - Hot Pink - $175 - handwoven sisal and sweetgrass- 15" x 9.5" - pretty and super functional!
Clearly I'm obsessed with storage. Beautiful storage that is. Again, this is awesome for those of us that have a lot of toys, or other crap, to try to gather quickly. This would be good on a deep bookshelf, or just out on the floor.
Dumont Tassel Hat - $110 on sale! - 6.5" x 7", 2.5" rim
Who doesn't love a good hat? Oh...didn't wash or brush your hair today? Throw this on, and you're stylishly unkempt! I know I'm not the only one, amiright? Pretty sure any gal would love this as a gift...as long as you don't say it's because her hair looks like a hot mess and she should cover it up.
Pink & Grey Kente Hat - $95 on sale! - 6.5" x 7.5", 3.5" rim
Another cool hat. Another thing any gal would like to get!
Floral Panama Hat - $150 on sale - 2 sizes available (click the link to see)
Another pretty hat.....I'm PRETTY sure I need this for when I go to Florida. Like, for real. As does any girl that is going to be on a beach ever.
Okay, so those are things I must have in my life immediately, and that you could get for any girl, chick, lady, babe you know. Now, let's talk about other stuff that I think would make GREAT gifts for everyone else!
For Babies/Kids:
Navy Jumper - $40 - sizes 6 months to 4 years - 100% cotton (yay for no plastics) - also comes in light pink
Flamingo Onesie - $36 - An American Apparel onesie with a handstitched flamingo
Boys Button-up Blue - $25 on sale - sizes 6 months to 4 years - 100% cotton
Magic Wand - $20 - woven sweetgrass stick and cotton star - so sweet!
Ragdoll - Pink - $75
Sleepy Star Bunny - $95 - the belly of the bunny can be monogrammed or have other things sewn on.
Sun Bunny - $40
Hand Embroidered Unicorn Doll Cushion - $75 - NOT just for kids. I think anyone needs this in their life.
Boys Bowtie - $20 on sale - look how happy this bowtie makes him!
For the Men in Your Life:
Men's Shirt - Pink - $55 on sale
I love this shirt for a guy! Yes, it's full of pink, but any guy that's confident enough to not care about that is who I wanna buy for.
Triangle Peace Basket - $48 - 7" tall x 3" wide - handwoven sisal
This basket is not necessarily just for guys of course, but I put it here because it's a little more masculine than all the pink ones above. This would make a good gift for any guy that is decorating his place and wants to make it look less dorm-ish, or just needs a good looking place to hide some ugly stuff, like an alternate junk drawer.
Miniature Brass Surfer Figurines - $95 - recycled brass
These would look cool on a bookshelf, or a little nook, or sitting on top of a pile of books on a coffee table. Guys think about this kind of stuff too, right?
Mudcloth Pillow (with down insert) - $175 - 12" x 20"
Even though mudcloth is hot right now, I'm usually not all gaga over it. Here's an exception. I LOVE navy and white, and seeing those usually kind of preppy colors done in a global print is pretty sweet. Again, this is great for that bachelor pad (or bachelorette pad really).
Okay people, these are my picks for Indego Africa. This stuff is BEAUTIFUL and anyone on your gift list would be happy to receive any of these. Hope you enjoyed all that eye candy, because I certainly enjoyed pulling it all together. This is probably my favorite shop now. AND, it's a great shop to support if you care about using your money to help others.
Until next time!