I was recently contacted by  Rethreaded which is an organization, in Jacksonville, with a mission to break the cycle of the sex trade; locally and globally.  I met with the founder, Kristin Keen, to learn how ASID Florida North designers can support their efforts by providing discontinued fabric samples from our design libraries as well as with donations of old cotton t-shirts, and by purchasing the beautiful products made with these donations.  Rethreaded employs women (who have survived the sex trade) in a variety of roles ranging from sewing to marketing and social media, to handling administrative duties.  These jobs provide opportunities for victims of the sex trade to start anew and gain skills they can carry forward to other opportunities.  Last night I attended an event, at the Rethreaded warehouse, where I heard the story of a young survivor who works for the organization and whose goal, now, is to start and run a Rethreaded location “somewhere” so that she can give back and help women and young girls “break the cycle”, as she did.   It was incredibly moving and I was so happy to be there to support the work that Rethreaded is doing.  Visit their website to learn more.  Following are pics from the event, of some of the lovely products; scarves, handbags, makeup bags, blankets, even men’s wallets.  All are one of a kind and hand made (some are made right here in Jacksonville while others are made in India).

 

 

Above and below are scarves and blankets made of Saris in India.

 

 

These scarves and hair bands are made from donated

cotton t- shirts  by Rethreaded employees in Jacksonville.

 

I  fell in love with, and purchased, a beautiful scarf, makeup bag

and a  plaid men’s wallet.  (Which was ironic – see previous post on plaid).