Typhoon Rammasun

Typhoon Rammasan made landfall in the Philippines on July 15, plowing its way across the island of Luzon, where many of Elevita's artisans are located.  10 days after the disaster, Elevita entrepreneur Florita Escandor was finally able to send an image of Elevita's capiz workshop:

As devastating as the photo may appear, miraculously, the expensive capiz firing oven was undamaged, and the artisans have been working quickly to rebuild and fill orders.

Sadly, the home of Rosalia Doloires, one of Elevita's placemat weavers, was completely destroyed.  

The home was a makeshift dwelling hastily constructed by Rosalia's family after escaping the destruction from Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.  Thankfully, everyone in the family is safe, and they have started once more to rebuild their lives.

Florita also reports that nativity artisan Jonalyn Hubilla received damage to her roof, and that angel artisan Nina Mena's home was apparently destroyed.  Elevita is grateful to all those who continue to support the efforts of these underprivileged families by purchasing their products on Elevita.com.  

From Our Customers

Lots of great feedback from our customers this month!  Here are a few samples:

Betty Lou says, "Could you keep offering these cute stars and have them done in green for Christmas?"
Sure, Betty Lou, just for you!  Gorgeous table runner, too.  ;-)

The Opera House Art Gallery, a wholesale customer, put several Elevita nativities on display for a recent walk-through.  Beautiful!

And a family in Utah enjoyed a special order of Irene's beaded bracelets done in patriotic colors for their family reunion.  Love them!

We love hearing from our customers!  Send your Elevita stories and photos to info@elevita.com.

Christmas in July

It's time for Elevita's annual Christmas in July Sale!  The sale features 10% off all holiday products, including new nativities and ornaments.  This is a great chance to give our artisans whose work is seasonal an opportunity for business mid-year.

Elevita is also offering a special icicle ornament free with every order containing holiday items.  These ornaments are lovingly made of glass and crystal by a cooperative in the Philippines.

Visit www.Elevita.com today to take advantage of this special sale!  Many of our goods are regularly priced at cost, so this is a unique opportunity.  Offer is good through July 31st.

New Products at Elevita.com

We have several new products in our online boutique that we are pleased to introduce.  The first two are a result of our partnership with the Support Foundation in Uttar Pradesh, India.  The Support Foundation works with people who suffer from mental and physical disabilities. They provide a bridge between these stigmatized students and society by providing vocational and leadership training to help these students create dignified and self-sufficient vocations and lives. 

1. A lovely set of stationery with hand blocked-printed designs on quality handmade paper. Papers measure 6x8" and there are 10 pages and 10 envelopes per set.

2. A set of two notebooks with hand bock-printed covers on quality handmade paper.  Each book measures 4x6" and contains 30 pages each. 

From a new enterprise Elevita has helped start in the Philippines come these beautiful capiz shell bowls. Elevita's Capiz Shell Enterprise is helping provide work and school opportunities for about 20 artisans in need.

Nina Mena is a mother of nine children, a widow, and has only a 6th grade education.  She is also very talented, hardworking, and persevering and has been able to send all of her children to school.  Most of her children are married now but two families are currently living with her.  Nina makes these beautiful hand-crocheted table runners for Elevita to help support the next generation.

Elevita is honored to support these extraordinary artisans and their enterprises.  These are all beautifully made products and make lovely gifts for any occasion.   

Elevita's first store front

Elevita products were featured at the inaugural opening of the Opera House Art Gallery in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin this past weekend. The Opera House Art Gallery features works by many local Wisconsin artists as well as hand-crafted items from the artisans from Elevita.com.

It's a perfect combination of local art and international artisans. 

 The Elevita Indigo Skirt and Dress are shown in the background. 

http://www.elevita.com/Washable_block_printed_Indigo_skirt_from_India_p/is.htm

The biggest seller of the weekend was Elevita's Best Bag Ever and the Perfect Pouches
http://www.elevita.com/Best_Bag_Ever_p/bbe.htp

A big thank you to Nancy Howard and the artists of the Opera House Art Gallery for sharing this opportunity with the artisans of Elevita.com.

For more information on the Opera House Art Gallery go to: https://www.facebook.com/TheOperaHouseArtGallery

 If you are interested in carrying Elevita products in your store, boutique, or event, contact Info@elevita.com and ask about wholesale opportunities. 

New Products for summer

We are excited to introduce some fun new products at Elevita.com with more new products on the way.  For summer entertaining we have handmade placemats that are carefully woven of natural fibers in lovely neutral tones and are perfect for summer dining.  You will find them as versatile as they are beautiful.  They are handmade by Rosalie Doloiras, a mother of five children and a survivor of Typhoon Yolanda. 

Perfect for the 4th of July or just to add a splash of color to your table, these red-white-and blue stars will bring a touch of festivity to any summer table.  Each 2" star is carefully beaded by Rosalie Blanza, one of Elevita's new artisans in the Philippines.  There are five blue and five red stars in every set. 

This set of two notebooks feature hand block-printed covers on quality handmade paper. Each book measures 4-6" and contains 30 pages each.  They are made by mentally and physically disabled students of the Support Foundation in Uttar Pradesh, India, which works to provide a bridge between these stigmatized children and society.  The two notebooks come in a drawstring cloth gift bag, ready for gift giving.

  

This lovely set of stationary features hand block-printed designs on quality handmade paper. There are ten 6x8" pages and ten envelopes per set.  They are also made by the students of the Support Foundation. 

Remember:  Free shipping with each order.  These are gifts that do a world of good!

Happy Summer!

Wikipedia Entry on Elevita

Elevita friend Rachel Call has written a Wikipedia entry on Elevita.  Though still in the approval process at Wikipedia, we feel Rachel offers a great summary of who we are and what we do.  The text of her article is here:

Operating as an international online boutique, Elevita supports artisans from developing countries in achieving greater economic self-reliance by providing them with a wider world market for their products. Run completely by volunteer management, Elevita is a registered non-profit organization and uses 100% of its sales profits to fund meaningful humanitarian projects, focusing primarily on education.

History

Troubled by the extreme poverty they witnessed while on a trip to India in 2010, Kirsten and Keyne Monson yearned for a way to provide the many impoverished, but highly talented, artisans they’d met with access to a wider market for their goods.  They partnered with John and Shelley Hoffmire and decided to create a website which would act as an online boutique.  Through the website, artisans can connect with buyers from all over the world, rather than rely solely on the small and highly competitive tourist industry in their local areas.  All profits earned by Elevita from goods sold on elevita.com are then reinvested into local humanitarian projects.

Organizational Structure

Committed to paying fair wages to all of its artisans, Elevita purchases its goods at prices set by the artisans themselves. Elevita then sells the goods on Elevita.com as inexpensively as possible, aiming to drive more sales with low prices. As items sell quickly, Elevita purchases more goods from the artisans, empowering them with a growing market and new economic opportunities. One hundred percent of profits earned from the online boutique, Elevita.com, are reinvested into humanitarian projects in developing countries.

Elevita is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization run entirely by volunteers. Working as a volunteer advisory board, Elevita keeps in regular contact with both their artisans and their supporters, providing project updates on their blog, elevita.org.

Artisans

Elevita aims to assist artisans and artisan groups that: (1) have limited access to markets, (2) live in distressed areas, (3) are handicapped or otherwise marginalized, (4) work to educate women and girls. Supporting individual artisans and cooperatives from developing countries throughout Africa and Asia, Elevita’s artisans live in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ghana, India, the Philippines, Tanzania and Uganda.  Elevita’s artisans craft and sell items such as clothing, bags and purses, jewelry, items for the home, nativities and ornaments.

Projects

Although Elevita’s primary focus is on creating a wider market for artisans living in developing countries, they couple 100% of profits earned from Elevita.com with donations from supporters to carry out various humanitarian projects.

Secondary School Girls’ Hostel

Working in partnership with His Highness Maharaja Hanwant Singhi Chartable Trust, Elevita built a Secondary School Girls’ Hostel in Rajasthan, India. With construction starting in October 2013, the hostel will provide a safe place for girls from desert villages to stay while attending school.

BELIEVE International Scholarships

Partnering with BELIEVE International, a local organization in the Philippines, Elevita also provides scholarships to young, motivated Filipino students, allowing them to pay required public school fees.

Small Entrepreneurial Grants

In addition to purchasing goods from artisans, Elevita also provides small grants to promising entrepreneurs to assist them in growing their businesses.  In February 2014, Elevita provided funding to launch a capiz shell enterprise in the Philippines. Working with a local entreprenur, Elevita purchased an oven to help dozens of local women earn supplemental income by producing and selling capiz bowls, frames, jewelry and other goods.  Elevita has also provided funding to a Cambodian women’s cooperative to purchase sewing equipment which would enable the women to have a livelihood.