If there’s one thing I can get behind, it’s a company whose intent is to help people. And that’s exactly what the founder, Andy, of Weavesleeve is trying to do. To help the artisans in Guatemala preserve their culture. And help consumers by giving them a minimalist product that is functional and has personality.
The story behind the Weavesleeve is what I love. And the heart of why the company started.
In Andy’s words:
“During one of my visits about two years ago, I was spending time with some Guatemalan families I’ve grown close to and we began talking about weaving. All the women in these families know how to weave, but when I asked if they were teaching their children none of them replied in the affirmative. They simply said that it wasn’t profitable to weave and their time was dedicated to doing other things that could provide a living, so they hadn’t passed on the tradition to their children by teaching them.
When I left from that visit I thought long and hard about that conversation. It was troubling to know that the Guatemala that I knew and grew to love over a decade ago was changing, and that a country so culturally rich was in danger of losing that uniqueness.The wheels in my head started turning, trying to come up with something to help preserve their culture.
Over the last two years, I have made several trips to Guatemala specifically working on a way to help these people sustain themselves by weaving. I realized that selling unaltered pieces of handwoven textiles or table runners wasn’t going to be the answer. I needed to reach a larger demographic, and that’s where WeaveSleeve stemmed from. We take their handwoven art and transform it into handwoven sleeves to carry around everyday things.
Not only do WeaveSleeves help preserve a culture, they also help to show off each person’s own uniqueness. By offering over 50 color choices, you can finally carry something with you every single day that more closely fits your own style.”
You can watch a short video about Weavesleeve here.
Weavesleeve is currently ONLY found on Kickstarter. Haven’t heard of Kickstarter? Another thing I LOVE. Kickstarter is a space where entrepreneurs can bring their ideas to life. They launch a campaign on Kickstarter with a product they want to provide to the public. And they can give it a “test drive” on Kickstarter. To see if people like it. If it’s a company/dream/goal/product worth pursuing. They start by choosing a funding goal–how much money they want to raise. And then people can “back” the product by pledging to donate a certain amount of money. But you don’t get the product and your card is never charged if the funding goal isn’t met in the designated time. If you love the product, it motivates you to get other people to back the product as well.
The great news about Weavesleeve is the funding goal has ALREADY been met. Which means a.) people want it! and b.) now everyone who “backs” the product will get the reward! (on whatever level you “back”).
Devin Graham, also known as Devin Supertramp, is a video-making ninja (seriously, check out his videos on Youtube–they’re insane). He sent a few of his team members with Andy to document Guatemala and some of the artisans making the Weavelseeve. You can watch those videos below:
A behind the scenes video. I love behind the scenes stuff.
Devin’s main Guatemala video. That place is beautiful. I should probably travel there someday.
And this one is just fun. Andy takes some of the Guatemalan artisans to their first amusement park.
I read a quote by Donald Miller that I think of every time I see a good guy trying to sale stuff.
“I don’t want to be a salesman, but I also don’t want to forfeit the public square to snake-oil salesmen. I honestly think more good creators should sell more of their stuff as a way of helping the good team take more ground.”
This, my friends, is good stuff and it helps the good team take more ground. You can read all about it and get yours on the Kickstarter website today!
