NEST X MADE51 X CFDA Supporting Refugee Craftsmanship

NEST X MADE51 X CFDA Supporting Refugee Craftsmanship

by | Oct 19, 2025 | Artisans, News

The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Nest and Made51 have collaborated to create the Refugee Artisan Accelerator to impact the lives of refugee artisans through design.

This initiative connects refugee artisans with the global fashion community to expand market access, turning their traditional skills into income-earning opportunities and bringing refugee-made products to a wider audience.

Through craft, these artisans can reclaim economic independence, rebuild their families’ livelihoods, and preserve their rich cultural traditions.

The partnership aims to extend support to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) through a business accelerator specifically designed for artisan enterprises that work with refugees.

The partnership has led to the creation of capsule collections that highlight the artisans’ unique heritage skills while maintaining cultural authenticity and traditional techniques.

The curated collection includes handcrafted accessories; the work of refugee artisans from around the world, including Artisan Links, Bebemoss, Indego Africa, ROOTS of South Sudan, WEAVE, and Xoomba. Every purchase helps support sustainable livelihoods and meaningful impact.

Xoomba Indigo Stripe Fold-Over Fringe Clutch

Handwoven in Burkina Faso from 100% locally grown, organic, and fair trade–certified cotton, this lunch bag style clutch is a quiet statement of conscious craftsmanship. Gently folding over with a self-fringe edge and a discreet hidden clasp beneath the flap, it marries utilitarian design with deeply rooted West African textile artistry.

The fabric, known as Faso Danfani, is created on small traditional hand looms by the Bwaba people who have been displaced from rural villages in the region around the city of Nouna. The practice has been part of Burkinabè life for centuries, and is a communal act that preserves ancestral knowledge, supports local economies, and reinforces cultural identity.

Made in partnership with Xoomba, a social enterprise that works with internally displaced people in Burkina Faso. This clutch is fresh and steeped in heritage, a piece that honors the land, the people, and the timeless art of weaving that connects them.

Weave V-Handle Handwoven Tote

Crafted by refugees from Myanmar living in Thailand, this statement tote reimagines a classic form with a sharp, fashion forward V-shaped handle opening blending heritage and innovation. Each stitch, stripe, and fiber is a tribute to generations of craftsmanship and a testament to the beauty of tradition held in modern hands. This textile features traditional stripe layouts passed down through generations that carry the visual language of identity and regional storytelling, creating a tactile richness that machines cannot replicate.

In Myanmar culture, weaving is more than a craft it is a cornerstone of community, a means of economic independence, and a way of safeguarding ancestral knowledge. Made in partnership with WEAVE, a social enterprise that works with refugees from Myanmar in refugee camps in Thailand.

Indego Africa Handwoven Raffia Bucket Hat

Crafted entirely by refugees living in Rwanda, our floral bucket hat will be your favorite summer accessory. Made from sustainably harvested raffia palm fibers, each hat is a testament to the artistry, patience, and ancestral knowledge of Burundian and Congolese women artisans.

Using traditional weaving techniques passed down through generations, artisans honor centuries-old craftsmanship and techniques once used in basketry and ceremonial adornments.

Indego Africa, a social enterprise that works with refugee women in Kigeme and Mahama camps in Rwanda. This hat supports a lineage of artisans who uphold their culture through their craft, weaving together the past and present, one fiber at a time.

Bebemoss Syrian Crochet Rose Clutch

Handcrafted and made in Turkey, our Rose clutch bag is an exquisite example of Syrian crochet, a distinct and time-honored technique that blends intricate artistry with cultural storytelling.

Designed as the perfect evening accessory, the clutch features a sculptural surface of 3D crochet roses, symbolizing divine beauty, eternal love, and spiritual purity.

Gathering crochet is a way of preserving culture, sharing stories, and building bonds. Often passed down through generations of women, this form of crochet creates lace-like patterns with deep cultural symbolism. Made in partnership with Bebemoss, a social enterprise that works with Syrian refugees across four regions in Turkey.

Authentic Mayan Huipiles from Guatemalan Markets

Authentic Mayan Huipiles from Guatemalan Markets

by | Sep 26, 2025 | Artisans, Artisans

Lamour Artisans is a company that repurposes vintage, hand-woven Guatemalan textiles, into unique sustainable traditional blouses known as hupiles and other accessories.

Willow Lamour, founder and creative director of Lamour Artisans, works closely with Mayan women to curate all vintage textiles and works closely with her small manufacturing team to create uniquely styled, one-of-a-kind bohemian-style huipiles, pillows and cushions.

A huipile is a traditional, loose-fitting tunic or blouse worn by indigenous women in Mexico and Central America, particularly in Guatemala. The word comes from the Nahuatl word huipilli, meaning “adorned blouse” or “my covering”. Made from one to three cloth panels, huipiles are often hand-woven on backstrap looms and feature intricate, symbolic designs that convey cultural identity, spirituality, and community stories. 

Lamour Artisans aims to connect consumers with beautiful, authentic, and ethically made products that have a positive social and environmental impact.

Willow elaborates on how the concept came about. “Lamour Artisans came about while my husband and I were travelling through Central and South America on a typical Australian style extended holiday. We fell in love with magical Lake Atitlan in Guatemala and decided to stay for three years. Then, my passion for textiles spurred me to start exploring the women’s weaving co-operatives in neighbouring towns as well as Guatemala’s famous textile markets. Soon after, I started making her own products.

After returning to her hometown in Byron Bay – Australia, Willow has continued working closely with the textile artisans and her manufacturing team in Guatemala.

What began as crafting pillows from Guatemalan huipiles at Lamour Artisans grew into a unique mission after countless enquiries. She subsequently partnered with Mayan vendors from Chichicastenango and Panajachel to sell their handwoven huipiles online, straight from their market stalls. These are authentic vintage Guatemalan huipiles that are currently for sale at the Chichicastenango market.

Essentially, this partnership supports these indigenous vendors as they seek to thrive both at local markets and through the online collection curated by L’amour Artisans.

Willow Lamour

“At L’amour we are passionate about empowering the local Mayan women with living wages, because we know that when women thrive, so do the economies in which they operate. We know where our products come from because we work on location at Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. We work with women we know and respect. We pay our employees double the local wage and our textile partners set the price we pay, ensuring everyone involved in the manufacturing of L’amour products receives a livable wage,” says Willow.

Mayan women hold vital roles in their communities, ranging from managing households and raising children to participating in the economy through agriculture, weaving, and market sales.

“We believe in caring for our environment and preserving it for all living beings. This is why we are so passionate about repurposing what’s already been created, as opposed to extracting even more of the earth’s natural resources. This way we make every effort to reduce our environmental footprint,” she says.

Lamour Artisans promotes environmental sustainability by giving vintage fabrics a “second life” and reducing the impact of the textile industry. The company is committed to Fair Trade practices, ensuring that the Mayan women artisans are paid fair prices and receive a liveable wage. By using existing vintage fabrics, Lamour Artisans helps reduce textile waste and extends the life cycle of beautiful, handcrafted items.