Who doesn’t feel great about buying something awesome and supporting a good cause at the same time?
I’ve recently stocked my shop on Weebly with a variety of authentic Haitian art, including original oil paintings on canvas, recycled metal wall hangings, and colorful leather sandals. Where did I get all this beautiful art? Let me tell you a story.
Several years ago, when my family lived in Maine, I met a group of people at our local church who took regular short-term trips to Haiti to help out the missionaries who lived there long-term.
I had the opportunity to join in on one of these trips. I will not go into all the details here, but let’s just say some of the cliches are true, like how you go to change things and help people, and it changes you.
For a while it was all I could talk about. I’d broken out of my sheltered little world and fallen in love with a beautiful, complicated, poverty-stricken country, full of strong, kind-hearted people, and I didn’t know how to go back to my life. I had to find a way to do something from where I was.
I made a lot of donations in the months after I got back, with money I didn’t really have, and I listed Haiti-inspired items in my Etsy shop and donated a large portion of the proceeds.
My mom was enthusiastically supportive of my new endeavors and purchased a collection of authentic Haitian art to re-sell.
The people of Haiti – if I can generalize that way – are also very talented and resourceful. They make painting canvases out of random scraps of fabric, and metal art from leftover steel drums.
I’ve continued to grow and change over the years, and realized there’s a lot I don’t know and the weight of the world is not on my shoulders. My Etsy shop has changed too. I’ve started to develop my own style, and I am working on getting to the point where it actually supports itself.
There are a lot of great charities out there, and sometimes donations are necessary and helpful. But the great thing about buying from artisans in a place like Haiti is that you’re not just giving them money, you’re giving them a sense of pride in their work and a chance to take care of themselves.
So please check out the shop section of my Weebly site {here}, and/or pass it along (it’s not all posted yet, please ask if you’re interested in the paintings). Hopefully you’ll find something you like and can feel good about buying 🙂
Edit: slight change of plans. I am creating a separate Weebly site to give the Haitian art & information (and my art) its own space. And we will be donating sales proceeds to charity. Details to come! Check out the site {here} and please bear with the changes!
(See original post on my Weebly blog {here})