Paying it Forward TOGETHER!

Naomi Weima models Peruvian Opal Earrings made by moms in Denver

Two weeks ago, I put all the bags on clearance and announced that 100% of the sales would go toward placing my final order with Haiti Design Co and DuHope Rwanda.  You bought the bags!

And now NEW Earrings and Necklaces from Rwanda are in the web shop!  Your purchases DOUBLED my goal with Haiti, and I placed that order today (they will be in the web shop in a few days).   DuHope Rwanda provides dignified employment for women who survived sex trafficking and are facing a future defined by hope instead of shame.

Horn and Leather Earrings made by DuHope Rwanda

Then I put all the necklaces on clearance and announced that 100% of the sales would go toward placing a fresh order for earrings with a group of women in Denver who are in an increasingly vulnerable position due to the pandemic.  You bought the necklaces!

And now new semi-precious gemstone earrings are in the web shop!  The women who make these earrings usually sell them for a  little supplemental income at neighborhood markets.   Well, of course there are no markets right now.  Their husbands, the primary wage-earners in their families, are in construction and are all currently out of work.  These moms are struggling through online learning with their school-age children with limited technology and language challenges.  Their mental health is being tested now that every member of the family is at home and out of work.  You see, these women and their husbands are part of the essential workforce in our country who will not receive government stimulus checks, though they pay taxes.  Currently, immigrants in the US who have green cards, have work visas, and are married to legal US citizens do not qualify for small business loans, government stimulus checks, or the paycheck protection program. 

Lapis Lazuli Earrings made in Denver

Because YOU SHOPPED the last two weeks, women in Rwanda, Haiti, and the immigrant community in Denver received a boost in the midst of this vulnerable time.  

7 Tips for Creating the Perfect Basket Wall

Guest Post by Mary Rachel Heard

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Before you do anything, look for inspiration! Check out Pinterest or do a Google image search or search basket wall hashtags on Instagram; do a little research before you get going. There are so many directions to go, it can be overwhelming. Having a vision before you begin will help silence the noise.

Tip #1: Use variety. Think: Size, color, texture. Do you want a totally neutral wall or totally colorful or neutral with a pop of color? On my wall, I decided to make it fairly neutral and let my favorite basket from The Sparrow Studio pop. 

Tip #2: Think about balance. Anchor a larger item on either side of a focal point to help balance out the wall. Build upon the larger items with smaller or different shaped items. Add a plant or vase on the higher side to balance it as well! 

Tip #3: Overlap. Or don’t! I’ve done basket walls in the past without overlap, and my current one is overlapped. Both options work great – just go in with a plan.

Tip #4: Think outside the box. Look around your house – whether in your kitchen or closet – for other items to compliment the wall. In this case, I used 2 of my hats! I love dual-purpose decor. 

Tip #5: Plan before hammering. To avoid lots of unnecessary holes, organize your items on the floor before you start. Once you have your vision, take a photo on your phone to reference as you hang the items. I like to also pop a 3M strip on the back and try the items where I want them on the wall as I go before committing with a hammer and nail! 

Tip #6: Don’t consider it final. Don’t be afraid to keep adding to it! If a basket catches your eye down the road, find a way to grow your wall!

Tip #7: Anchor a focal point. While basket walls can stand alone and be wonderfully balanced, I love anchoring a non-basket item in the middle and building around it. This time I used a mirror; I’ve also used a painted skull in the past. Antlers, mirrors, or other items similar work great!

The perfectly imperfect piece of home decor is my favorite kind! Gather items from all over; mine range from Anthropologie to Etsy to Target – and my favorite, The Sparrow Studio right here in Denver. I love supporting this small business that provides sustainability for female artisans in Africa. They have been a favorite of mine for years at this point! Check out all of their lovely baskets here.

Visit Mary Rachel at her blog for more great style tips for both home and fashion!

Sparrow Bookends on a Six-Year Journey (A Goodbye) PART 2

I wrote my very first check for 50 sparrow ornaments and 50 red paper bead garlands on August 6, 2013. 

And now , 6 years later, this is this is my 6th and final holiday season to sell ornaments from the Sugira/ More than Sparrows cooperative in Kigali, Rwanda.

These last 6 years have been a treasure to me for more reasons than I can enumerate in an email newsletter. This business started as a whim of a favor to Mimi Wilson with the simplest goal of putting some cash in the pockets of the ladies as their co-op was dissolving. Clearly, one thing led to another, including an exciting business relationship that lasted for 6 years. And now the business side of that relationship has come to an end for reasons that were not in my control and are not entirely my story to share.

And it feels like we’ve come full circle. My final order with the co-op is again primarily ornaments. And my goal at the end seems a fitting bookend to the beginning of this story and is just as simple as it was at the start- to sell some ornaments and put some cash in some pockets as the ladies transition on to their next season of life.

In the middle of these ornament bookends, miracles happened, friendships grew and were tested, babies were born, tears were shed, weddings were celebrated, women learned to read, kids started school, hundreds of pretty things were sewn and sold, thousands of paper beads were rolled, meals were shared, prayers were lifted, songs were sung, and hope was had.

Note: The Sparrow Studio is still in business with other artisan partners, namely Jane of Kuasa Collective in Kigali, Abraham in Kigali, Godwin in Tanzania, and Manos Emprendedoras in Denver.  But this is my last order with the Sugira/ More than Sparrow co-op, the co-op that was the reason why The Sparrow Studio began at all or endured these whole six years.  

Now that I said that hardest bit, it is my sincerest wish that all of these final sparrows will wing their way to the homes of friends.  And I hope that all the other wonderful ornaments made by the women who are WORTH INFINITELY MORE THAN MANY SPARROWS would also find their way to you, the angels, the hearts, the red paper orbs, the friendly little owls.  If you've been thinking of buying an ornament from Rwanda over the years, this is your last chance to shop for them!  Once they are gone, they will be gone for good unless you visit their shop in person in Kigali.   

I share a few thoughts about saying goodbye to a co-op of women I have loved dearly in my Instastories.   https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17925487528342314/

Thank you, dear friend, for joining me on this journey and for offering me so much hospitality, kindness, encouragement, and gentleness along the way, when I clearly had no clue what I was getting into!  I have all of the fond and grateful feelings for your part in our story.  

Happy Thanksgiving,
Annie Phillips

P.S.  If you want to join in on my first official ornament order with Kuasa Collective, buy yourself a hand-woven Nziza Ornament!  Kuasa Collective is the brand new business newly founded by Jane, my long-term business partner in Kigali.  Jane formerly served as the manager, translator, and designer for Sugira/ More than Sparrows.  

Sparrow Bookends on a Six-Year Journey (and a Thank You to Some Church Friends) PART 1

I would like to tell the story that has served as a beautiful illustration to me of how the Body of Christ works, where one member can’t say to another member, “I can do this all on my own; I don’t need you.” This story is about giving credit where credit is due. This story is my version of 12 stones in a river. It’s a story of some people in my church home in Denver and how those people moved behind the scenes to keep The Sparrow Studio afloat in the very beginning of this journey. It’s not at all a list of everyone who deserves to be thanked. It’s one story about one community- the friends who bought the very first sparrow ornaments.

with Mimi Wilson

Once upon a time, six years ago, I was chatting with Mimi Wilson after church, and she shared a few details about a women's cooperative in Kigali, Rwanda that she was volunteering with, while Cal Wilson was training medical students there. She mentioned that the coop was about to end because there was no market for them to sell the things they were making. I casually offered to buy 50 little sparrow ornaments and 50 paper bead garlands, thinking I would just take them around to my standard holiday season parties. It seemed like a simple thing to do that would be fun and would provide a little cash for the women in the coop as it dissolved.

Many of you have heard this part of the story. I could tell this story in my sleep. But I’ve never written it down.

Rolling paper beads and hanging them to dry in the sun

When the ornaments arrived, they were pretty awful. They were stuffed with mattress ticking. The fabric used were scraps collected off the ground at the market, left over from other people's sewing projects. Wings were sewn on backwards. Eyes and tails were falling off the sparrows. They were not good. I figured well, that would be the end of it, and I didn't have a plan for 50 ugly sparrow ornaments. I had also purchased 50 red paper bead garlands, and the paint was old and off-gassing and kind of sticky, also not good. The next day, I whispered to Rochelle VanRyn during our Thursday morning Bible study about the sparrow ornaments, because she was familiar with the co-op and Mimi's work. Rochelle didn't miss a beat and immediately replied, "Bring all the birds to Bible study next week. You can share about Mimi's work, and we'll call them 'training birds.' They are broken birds made by broken women and as the women heal, their birds will get better." Whatever you say, Rochelle. The next week, I dutifully brought the birds and smelly garlands and set them on the table in the back of the room, thinking perhaps some people would take one as a reminder to pray for the Wilsons and Rwanda. I shared the little I knew about the co-op and Mimi and I said the exact word Rochelle had used the week before and went to class. After Bible study that day, I returned to collect my basket of birds, and all but one had been taken. In their place in the basket was over $500 in cash. I had not planned for that, didn't expect that, and I didn't even have an envelope with me for money. I awkwardly stuffed the cash in my back pants pocket, grabbed by toddlers from the nursery, and hurried to my car.

Group photo with Laura Sager, volunteer manager and Usanase Jane, then translator

I had expected the co-op to close, since their volunteer leader, Mimi, was returning to Colorado. But two weeks before she left Rwanda, she met Laura Sager, who said she “had been looking for something like this.” So Laura began volunteering with the co-op in Kigali. And Laura and I began emailing. Since I had made all my initial donation/investment back plus a tidy profit on the sparrow ornaments, I did the only thing that made sense to me. I bought 100 more sparrow ornaments and 100 more garlands! I hoped Rochelle knew what she was talking about and that as the women healed, the birds would indeed improve. Mimi told me that “women heal better when they can create beauty.” I was in a season of life where I desperately wanted her words to be true for me too. If I could help create beauty, would it help me heal too?

Sparrow Ornament Batch #10

The next batch of sparrow ornaments and garlands were a little bit better. And being able to talk through things with Laura in Rwanda was amazing. More church friends bought all of these sparrows. Then my uncle, Trey Williams, offered to buy 500 sparrows and to send them to friends and colleagues as part of his annual Christmas letter. By the end of that first holiday season 6 years ago, I had sold 8 times more sparrow ornaments than my initial goal of 50 sparrows!

Garlands in Rwanda waiting for a volunteer traveler to bring them to me in Denver

It was really exciting and fairly nerve-wracking and fully overwhelming those first 5 months of working with the co-op in Rwanda. I don’t have a background in business or in sales. I am not a designer. I had two very young children with me at home. I had garlands of every color draped over every piece of furniture. My taxes were a hot mess, and it took the next 3 years to get all my paperwork squared away and filed properly. (Shout out to Heather Spreen for VOLUNTEERING as the first bookkeeper!)

Easter photo by Lonnalee Anderson

Friends pitched in left and right to hold my hands as I sorted through the next logical steps. Bryana Mansfield whipped up a marketing strategy document for me and created the logo for The Sparrow Studio, the logo for the More than Sparrows cooperative. She designed my first ever business cards and the product tags that I still use on everything made in Rwanda.

Christmas photo by Allison Carlson

Morgan Smelker hosted lunches and recruited everyone she knew to donate all their holiday catalogs so I could start “trend shopping.” She rallied people to send me ideas on Pinterest. Lonnalee Anderson hosted my first Easter photoshoot in her home and served as photographer. Allison Carlson hosted my first Christmas photoshoot and styled the most beautiful fireplace mantel.

Morgan Smelker designed all the characters in the nativity sets- this project lasted for 3 years from the first sample to the last needle-felted sheep completed! I had to learn how Morgan constructed them so I could teach the ladies in Rwanda. (Some Joseph characters had Hitler-ish mustaches).

Kathi Pitzer made all the patterns for the sparrow, owl, and heart ornaments and then made all the patterns for the pillows and kitchen towels that came next. Kathi wrote me a business plan to give me a little direction and was ever so patient every time I called her in tears because I had bitten off way more than I could chew. I remember telling her, “I didn’t see this coming!” about whatever thing had surprised me. She told me that was God’s grace to me, b/c I would have quit a long time ago if I could have predicted all those things that felt overwhelming. And like clockwork, after nearly every tearful phone call to Kathi, within a day or so her daughter-in-law Angela Pitzer would “just stop by” and would gamely buy up whatever inventory I had so that I would have the cash to place the next order with the co-op.

Terry Duffy re-sewed all our zippers so we could sell the pillows and stay in business!

Fast forward to the next phase of The Sparrow Studio, when Sarah Foster had joined as my business partner, and I been able to visit the ladies in Rwanda in person. We were about to have our first collection of home goods! Sarah had designed pillows and a few other things, and we were ready to expand beyond sparrow ornaments. Then when the first order of 72 pillow covers arrived in Denver, the zippers were too short and too week. They were all breaking. I was panicked (again). I posted a sad plea for help on facebook. “Did anyone out there know about zippers or upholstery?” Within minutes, Patrick Duffy replied, “Call my wife. Tell her what you need.” That sounded like a terrible idea; my spouse does not appreciate it when I volunteer him for things without mentioning it to him first. But as I said, I was panicked, so I called her anyway. I told her the problem and asked if she might be able to show me how to replace a zipper. She just said to bring the pillows over. And then she fixed them. All 72 of them. At no charge. Within a week’s time. I had spent all the funds from all the sales on those pillows, and I was sure that that was going to be the end of this strange adventure. But just like that, thanks to Terry, we were back in business again.

TO BE CONTINUED….

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Annie’s Texas bedroom

I was talking with a couple friends yesterday about baskets and how we use them in our homes. And I found myself chuckling, thinking that I used to think they were lame and pointless. (Organizing has never been my strong suit, so functional items to help with that are sometimes lost on me). And now I have baskets in every room in the house, in many materials, from as many countries as I have connections with people. Today I love baskets!

Sarah Caligiuri’s California breakfast nook

People all over the world have been making basket from the plants that grown in their region for thousands of years! We can learn so much about a culture’s history, plant-life, and artistry from baskets!

Kelly Bryant’s baby boy nursery in Conneticut

I posted some of my favorite basket displays on Pinterest! Follow along, feel free to re-post inspiration you find, and tag The Sparrow Studio to show us YOUR favorite baskets!

Mary Rachel Heard’s Colorado living room

Join me on Pinterest!

https://www.pinterest.com/thesparrowstudio/boards/