I told you a week ago about the Beads for Life Project and posted a picture of the beautiful beads the women in Uganda were making, well I received my package and WOW!! they are beautiful. The colors are definitely what some would call a Kaleidescope of colors from Africa. While obviously very delicate, when put together in a piece they are beautiful! But I won't just tell you about it, of course you can see for yourself (click to enlarge)
The silver bead in the middle is a Hill Tribe bead, 99.5% silver from Thailand, another Fair Trade favorite of mine. I hadn't decided yet what I wanted to do with the beads from a Charity standpoint, but I've already received two orders just from wearing the bracelet I made for myself, so I'll just take 1/2 the proceeds from that and give back to the organization. Still a work in process, but I'll keep you posted.
About the project:
Contest:About the project:
BeadforLife eradicates extreme poverty by creating bridges of understanding between impoverished Africans and concerned world citizens. Ugandan women turn colorful recycled paper into beautiful bead jewelry, and people who care, open their hearts, homes and communities to buy and sell the beads. The beads thus become income, food, medicine, school fees -- and hope. It is a small miracle that enriches us all. All profits from BeadforLife are invested in community development projects that generate income and help people work their way out of poverty.
If you have a great idea on how I can consistently use these beads in my business, to raise money for the Beads for Life Project, please post your comments to this blog. If you have an idea for a specific design your thinking about, I'd love to hear about that as well. If I use your idea, I'll make you a special bracelet too! All ideas need to be submitted no later than February 12th. Please keep in mind that these are recycled paper beads, handmade, with a coating to protect the color and for durability, yet they are still delicate. I'll announce the winner the week of February 16th. Have fun Brainstorming!!
Publish Post
Unveiling,
Dee
1 comment:
If they are delicate I would say a choker length necklace with a simple pendant might be really nice - maybe something along the lines of the bracelet you have depicted. This way they are not bumped around like they would on someone's wrist. Maybe create 1 simple design designed specifically to benefit the project - large percentage profits donated for that one item ;).
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