Fair Trade Artisan Made Ethiopian Table Runner

Ethiopian women artisans weave rayon and cotton together to create this bag's shimmering material.  Like sun-drenched peaks, the Akimbo zigzag pattern shows off the weaving talents of these artisans.  A striped inside rim and bead embellishment on the handles adds to its dramatic styling.  With generous handles, it works equally well as a tote or roomy shoulder bag. 

Made by a fully women-owned and operated organization that is transforming traditional designs and traditional roles of women into something new and beautiful. 

Additional details:

• Magnetic snap closure
• Lining includes small pocket
• Styles may vary slightly

Featured Artisans: Menby's Design

As one of the world's crossroads, Ethiopia has long blended elements of Middle Eastern, African and Mediterranean culture into something new.  Like the culture from which it springs, Menby's Design in Addis Ababa creates traditional textiles but then transforms these textiles into stylish, contemporary products. 

In collaboration with U.S. partner, Creative Women, Menby's artisans hand weave intricate, traditional textiles that include centuries-old patterns and designs.  However, they use a blend of rayon and cotton to give these materials a sleek, modern look.  Seamstresses then transform these designs into contemporary-styled products such as bags, table runners and shawls.

The founder of Creative Women, Ellen Dorsch, founded her organization after travels to Ethiopia.  Ellen was awed by the beauty of the textiles displayed in small, local bazaars and she was inspired by the potential to improve women's lives by introducing their products to the West. 

Today, the mutual collaboration between Creative Women and Menby's Design has inspired not only new products, but new lives.  Memby's is fully women-owned and staffed.  This itself is transformational in a society where women have had few rights.  Forced teen marriages are common, 74% of women have been subjected to female genital cutting, and the vast majority of women are illiterate. In Addis Ababa, where Menby's is located, women earn just 1/4 of what men earn for the same factory work. 

Revolutionary transformation often begins in small ways -- in this case it is also beginning in beautiful ways.