Beaded Earphones and Chargers from Kenya

A few weeks ago, Abigail swings by the showroom, brimming with news. I am thrilled to reconnect - our first time in over a year.

The first face of Ibu, Abigail graced our lookbooks, modeled our first Ibu looks . . . and, more than modeling . . . she lived and breathed the early life of the Ibu tribe. When LA called, she followed. I watched as Abigail took root in a new place; her ebullience will gather friends anywhere.

I'm working with women in Kenya, she tells me. They're amazing and making beads from recycled paper and my friend Emily and I handed them some ear buds and asked if they could bead some love into them and look at what they did! She's pulling out bags of colorfully beaded cords, chargers . . . tech with soul.

With them, we've started a cooperative and helped get their kids in school. I watch a video of Florence and Mary in Kibera and see the laughter in their eyes, see images of Abigail as she ought to be . . . surrounded by children and light.  

I was shaped by my experience at Ibu, she says. It stayed with me, and I wanted to do something myself. And she is! Sawa is a word heard in daily conversation in Kiswahili, No Worries. All Good. She's making that actually happen for women in Kenya - spreading the Sawa Life. The good life.

Can you imagine the joy it is for me to see this new work, to see my friend find her own way into something so perfectly hers? And that we can clap hands and collaborate now in the same sandbox?

We're throwing a party! I said immediately. Charleston will celebrate you and this new endeavor and the rest of our allies around the country must know about these. They are the perfect gift for anyone looking to put a little love on their cords.

Check out the video HERE, and then our website to fill every stocking with this new charged up vibe. And for those of you in Charleston, come party! We're feting the season with Abigail and lots of last minute gifts for you to pick up, wrapped and happy.  

There is something about passion passing from one life to another. Finding a voice - different, new - in each iteration. Abigail finding her own perfectly Abigail vibe, the Sawa life, and dancing to it. And you to yours. Joy.  

All the Best,

Susan Hull Walker