a gift with a purpose - Alex and Ani

The Living Water Charm Bangle from Alex and Ani makes the perfect gift. Made with a deep cobalt Swarovski crystal, 20% from each purchase is donated to Living Water International, helping to provide communities with clean water. 

Alex and Ani was founded by Carolyn Rafaelian. Her designs are meant to connect and empower—whether for yourself or for others. Since launching her brand, she partners with multiple charities. Donating a portion of her profits, wanting to continually give back to her community and empower the world with her designs. 

made with love - Be The Good

Be The Good’s bracelet, also called Be The Good, is nostalgic for so many reasons. It’s handcrafted with an adjustable strap, which is perfect for my petite wrist. Each bracelet features an adorable brass heart and only comes in red. For each bracelet that’s purchased, the company donates an accessory to Dress For Success. 

Be The Good’s founder Barbara Gram believes in empowering women all over the world. She partners with Dress For Success, a nonprofit that’s dedicated to helping women attain financial independence by providing them with professional attire. 

organic bangles for Haiti - xoxo, Simbi

Simbi bracelets have so many amazing things going for them - they are handmade, 100% organic, vegan, biodegradable, and glazed with a non-toxic finish.  The Acai bracelet is akin to a string of superfood Acai berries wrapped around your wrist, and we think that is just the yummiest.

Every step of the Simbi creative, manufacturing, and shipping processes is done in Haiti.  Instead of importing portions of the organization, Simbi creates jobs for locals as a concerted effort to elevate the global offerings of Haiti as well as the everyday lives of Haitian people.  Simbi’s mission statement is three-part: create jobs, purify water, save lives.  To that end, each Simbi bracelet creates 15 sustainable jobs for natives of Haiti and supports efforts to implement clean water systems. You can donate directly to Aqua Haiti here. With beautiful jewelry like the Acai bracelet, it’s easy to support this cause.

Inspired and Smitten.

bright sunshine-y bold bangle - Tuli

Spring is almost here and the color pop of Tuli’s Avery bracelet will cheer up even the gloomiest of winter mornings! This bracelet features 5 strings of paper beads, first delicately hand rolled and then varnished and painted, creating one gorgeous accent piece.

Handmade by women in Uganda, Tuli fair trade jewelry is primarily created from recycled paper beads. Each purchase goes directly to Uganda to fight poverty and empower the women involved with steady income and fair, livable wages.  A regular income brings a long-term and lasting solution to poverty.  

For some perspective, Tuli notes that one Avery bracelet will provide enough income to send a child to school for two weeks.  For more info on Tuli’s impact and mission, check this out...

We think that’s one meaningful bracelet!

whimsical wrist adornment - The Shine Project

This yummy draping of jewels is aptly named the Autumn Stack. So feminine, beautiful....strong statement pieces.

I just recently wrote about The Shine Project - Wear Change. Ignite Hope.

Please read what I wrote about this very cool company back in May here.

Smitten and bitten!

shackle and rope men's arm band...Amsterdam love - Pig and Hen

This uncomplicated, elegant, confident piece of jewelry for men has a power all its own. The craftsmanship is bold and distinguished...adventuresome. Pig and Hen have created a line of jewelry for men..."meant to survive a lifetime, stronger than steel and will age like your wrinkled face."

I landed in Amsterdam a couple of days ago for a reunion with my husband who was working on a film just outside the city. We had been apart for too many weeks...I love buying him gifts...I wanted to find something special to commemorate our reconnection.

While strolling Rozengracht that first afternoon, I landed at the door of Les Deux Freres - a posh, distinctive men's store that beckoned me in with its heavy lush aroma. I went straight to the accessories counter, and there were these black shackle and rope arm bands. I really liked the titanium toggle and the monikers, this one is called "Legendary Larry".

I am totally notablySmitten with Pig and Hen's message and story:

In the early 1600’s the Dutch were the leading nation sailing out to unknown parts of the world, with the biggest naval fleet the world had ever seen. With some serious sea legs, they discovered new lands, different ways of life but also ran into some big obstacles along the way.

To protect themselves against bad luck the men had a tattoo of a pig and a hen on their feet. It was believed it gave the sailors the ability to survive when they had to abandon ship.

The sailors felt they would be able to find land, just like the Pig and Hen who were kept in wooden crates and thus floated, and would let the tide bring them home.

Pig&Hen will save your life, even in a tight situation.

Their bracelets are handmade in Amsterdam, using authentic ship rope...they carry on the Dutch legacy.

Yes, Smitten.

honeybee bangle...conquering hunger - Half United

With a golden shimmer of utility, and an uncomplicated, effortless, delicate design...the Honeybee bangle from Half United is a must gift, coupled with a grace-filled benefit. 

With $200 in their pockets and a desire to make a difference, sibling duo Carmin and Christian Black established Half United in 2009. They are fighting hunger one radiant, handsome piece of jewelry at a time - and that's brilliant.

The cost of seven meals is built into each product, so you can wear your fight against hunger proudly! Half United provides meals fro hungry children in Fiji, Haiti, Cambodia and the USA.

notablySmitten first wrote about HU in August 2015...I am so happy to support this growing organization.

Yes, Smitten!!

march bangles - Bird and Stone Awali bracelet

If looking for a classic, beaded bracelet that pops with color, look no further!  This beautiful Turquoise and Gold Awali Bracelet is the perfect addition to any outfit!

Bird and Stone was founded by Elana Reinholtz in 2012 after a volunteer trip to Kenya to work with widowed women.  By teaming up with the Sisi Fund, a women’s collaborative that provides microloans in Africa, Bird and Stone launched an affordable jewelry line that encourages consumers to be “micro-philanthropists” with every purchase.

15% of net profits from each bracelet funds the microloans and financial education necessary for widowed women in Kitale, Kenya, to rebuild and improve their lives.  The microloans are small - usually just a few hundred dollars - and are offered to women who do not have enough income to qualify for a traditional bank loan.  These loans also carry a lower interest rate than a bank could offer, and once the loan is paid off the interest goes directly back to the women so they may further invest in their financial education.  

Bird and Stone strives to inspire, educate, and most importantly help shape the dreams of deserving women who are aspiring to be independent, financially stable, and educated.  We love that each bracelet sold supports this cause!

notably Smitten!

recycled rubber bangles - Made With Love Project

These vivid, recycled, wrapped, rubber bangles are so well constructed and hip, they make me happy!

Made With Love bracelets are made by a Women's Cooperative in Djenne', Mali, West Africa.

In 2007 designer Mary Jane Marcasiano formed MADE WITH LOVE. MWL is a global call to action, dedicated to raising funds and awareness for NGOs aiding women and children. Through the production and sale of products that provide a fair income for women in Brazil and Africa, Made With Love is addressing the need for aid.

Made With Love works in tandem with the Cygnet Foundation, which through the proceeds realized from art-related programs, seeks to help those in need: women and children, the homeless, the hungry as well as abandoned and endangered animals. 

The women are paid a fair price for their work, so the money the bracelets provide create a means of support, and are sold to raise funds for L'Empire des Enfants.

L'Empire des Enfants is a center for homeless children from the streets of Dakar, Senegal. L'Empire grants shelter, meals, education and training programs. They also work with local organizations to return homeless children to their families.

Smitten.

exquisite...delicious, sole sister bangles - Sseko Designs

These are the most delicately crafted, perfect brass bangles! Thinking about a uniquely flawless bridesmaids gift? Well, these are it...Sole Sister Bangles!

The names imprinted into the metal are those of women that live a million miles away. The idea here is, that by wearing another woman's name on your arm, you are reminded that you are not alone, and that her life and story may not be all that different from your own.

These bangles represent the global community of tenacious, powerful, talented, loving women that we gals are all a part of.

After a trip to Uganda (shortly after completing University in 2008,) Liz Forkin Bohannon, became witness to the enormous gap in gender and education there. Concerned, she began to create relationships and connections with women living in severe poverty.

Without a question, she stayed in Uganda, and slowly began to build what is now an organization, Sseko Designs, that supports women with fair wages and a workplace founded on dignity, grace and dedication.

Sseko also supports women in Uganda with the work experience and money needed to go to University. 

Wholeheartedly beautiful.

Entirely Smitten.

bead and leather wrap bangle - Global Good Partners

Pretty. Elegant. Shimmery. Dress your well-worn jean shorts and unblemished white t-shirt with this gorgeous triple wrap bangle. These brilliant beads stand brilliantly on their own, no need for stacking here.

Your purchase supports and empowers deaf artisans in Kenya.

~ Czech glass beads, locally sourced leather, brass (stamped charm)

~ 1/4" W, adjustable length 20", 21", 32"

~ Wraps 3 times

Both professionals in International Development, it was part of Catherine Lieber Shimony and Joan Shifrin's job to travel to impoverished areas around the world to see what could be improved. What they began to witness over and over again, were creative, energized women producing magnifient handmade goods...yet, they lacked any access to sustainable markets in which to sell their products.

Catherine and Joan had witnessed women in marginalized communities throughout Asia, Africa, and the US being able to advance the wellness of their families when their income was stabilized. In 2005, the friends founded Global Goods Partners to create a practical pathway for women to generate income opportunities and gain access into the consumer marketplace for handmade, fair trade merchandise.

Global Goods Partners (GGP) is a nonprofit social enterprise dedicated to alleviating poverty and promoting social justice and empowers women to create sustainable change.

Yes...Smitten!

jewels brimming with good will - Fortuned Cuture

I am so incredibly grateful for the inspiration and energy that the companies and organizations I write about enkindle in me.

Fortuned Culture, founded by Eritrean American entrepreneur, Azie Tesfai, is a recent revelation. An incomparable jewelry line with good will intentions of hope and change for the world. 

Each of her collections reflects the culture of its collaborating charity, while symbolizing what the charity hopes to achieve. Fortuned Culture is currently working with the Fregenet Foundation in Ethiopia, that provide early childhood education to children from lower income families. They also work with Corazon de Vida in Mexico, whose work supports orphanages in Baja.

This article features her Health Bracelet, priced at $30. This splendid, delicate adornment will feed a child in an Ethiopian school, 65 meals! She wants to remind consumers that they can make a difference with every dollar they spend, "Why not buy something beautiful and help feed a group of children."

Through the farsightedness of Fortuned Culture, the consumer has an observable way of connecting to a charity and the goals it seeks.

The team at FC, tell each culture’s story beautifully, giving the consumer an insight into the impact that their contribution will have.

I am Smitten with this collaboration of charity and art!

[All of Azie Tesfai's hard work caught the attention of TOMS, and Fortuned Culture is now a part of TOMS Marketplace - ever working to change the consumer’s perspective on spending.]

silver and gold - Raven + Lily Neha Cuffs

I have written about Raven and Lily in the past, and I don't doubt that I will continue to write about them in the future.

These delectable pieces were featured in In Style Magazine, April 2015... gorgeous Neha Cuffs made with traditional Indian wood-carving with a band of silver or gold leather in the center, adding a bit of shimmer to the natural wood. The aesthetic is modern and chic.

Dimensions: 2.25" wide, 1.5" height

Raven and Lily was brilliantly conceived by close friends Kirsten Dickerson and Sophia Lin, who both share a love of fashion and ethical design, socially conscious Raven and Lily was created as a platform to help alleviate poverty among women and is committed to offering products that are made by hand and follow fair trade standards.

These cuffs are handmade by marginalized women in Northern India.

I will continue to write about Raven and Lily...

Smitten.

make love not war...peaceBomb bangles - Article 22

This is an extraordinary piece of jewelry. Beautifully crafted, powerful...a striking, graceful, sensational silver bangle. 

peaceBomb is an unprecedented endeavor. This bold bracelet is made by Project peaceBomb/Article 22, an organization that aims to rebuild and clear out undetonated bombs in Laos, a landlocked nation in Southeast Asia...and the most heavily bombed country per capita in history.

Over 30% of the bombs dropped on Laos during the Vietnam War did not detonate. At the current rate of removal, it will take an estimated 800 years to clear the unexploded ordnance.

For each peaceBOMB product sold, Project peaceBOMB donates funds equivalent to the cost of clearing 1 to 15 square meters of land.

Made with aluminum war scrap metal and shaped by human ingenuity and brilliance, these bracelets have created an opportunity for artisan families to generate income, tell their stories...and share legacies of our common history.

Seriously...Bravo!!

Totally Smitten!

upcycled baubles - 31 Bits

This vibrant, beautiful, multihued adornment is made out of paper. Yes...paper! Each and every bead is created using hand rolled paper. All jewelry at 31 Bits is hand crafted by women artisans living in Uganda.

31 Bits began five years ago, when 5 college friends, Kallie Dovel, Alli Swanson, Anna Toy, Brooke Hodges, and Jessie Simonson, with graduation just a year away, found their lives changing drastically.

Kallie, had just returned from a trip to Uganda where she met and spent time with women that had grown up in war and had nothing. They were single moms with no education and no job prospects. What struck Kallie the most, the women were her age. The contrast of the lives the women were leading was stark.

Kallie witnessed, that though the women had not had the opportunity of an education, they made up for that with amazing artistry and ingenuity - making unique, beauteous jewelry out of old posters.   

Miss Dovel brought a box of the jewelry back with her, when the rest of the friends fell in love with it, they all knew a business was emerging.

A few of the girls went back the following summer and spent time with the women making jewelry and sharing life stories. Kallie stayed through the following year, setting up the organization.

Fantastic!

31 Bits has also implemented a five-year holistic development program in Uganda, where each woman receives health education, finance training, counseling, and business training. They currently have 120 women in the program whose lives have been transformed.

100% Smitten.

Through your purchase, you are helping to empower women rise above poverty with dignity and grace.

imagine peace - cuff by Yoko Ono for Maiden Nation

This delectable cuff, designed by the prodigiously talented Yoko Ono, is imbued with her late husband John Lennon's stirring message "Imagine Peace." The cut out architecture applies the Japanese tradition of using negative space in a positive way.

This beautiful cuff of bold communique' was made exclusively for Maiden Nation and is available in matte black steel and 14K gold-plated steel.

Maiden Nation is an online marketplace committed to empowering women through ethical fashion and was founded in 2012 by artist Willa Shalit, brand developer Elizabeth Schaeffer Brown and social entrepreneur Juliana Um.

The company seeks to empower women by providing a platform for them to earn an income, either by selling their products directly to consumers or by partnering with a designer for charity.

The mission is “trade not aid, ” which enables the socially conscious company to curate and showcase unknown designers worldwide, thus giving these artisans exposure to a much larger audience.

All products are ethically sourced, and profits are reinvested into women’s entrepreneurship projects.

Yoko Ono’s “Imagine Peace” bracelet goes to the Rainbow House in Japan, an organization to help victims of the 2011 tsunami.

Crazy Smitten with Maiden Nation.

Crazy Smitten for Yoko Ono!

simply red - the Red Thread Movement

This is about a movement, and it is called the Red Thread Movement. It is a call to action with the sale of red thread bracelets. This is what one little vibrantly colored, handsomely crafted little bracelet can do! 

The Red Thread Movement battles human trafficking and has partnered with a Nepalese anti-trafficking organization that has set up border units between Nepal and India (which is open and allows for citizens from both countries to travel freely with no visa or passport.) As there is an estimated 12,000 victims of sex trafficking between these countries every year, the success rate of these border units is extremely high, each rescuing up to 15 girls a month. 

Many girls are not able to return to their villages after rescue, as social rejection and shame are common. Safe houses are established to provide shelter, counseling and vocational training for girls who cannot return to their villages. It is at these safe houses that the girls make the Red Thread Movement bracelets.

The bracelets make a difference in 3 important ways:

1. They provide a Fair Trade income for rescued girls who do the craftsmanship and hand weave the bracelets themselves.

2. Additional proceeds fund anti-trafficking border units and safe houses through the work of Red Thread’s partner, Kingdom Investments Nepal (K.I. Nepal.)

3. Wearing the bracelet generates awareness and declares sex trafficking as human rights crime.

These bracelets are an outstanding way to fundraise and spread the word!

I am Smitten.

100 beads at a time - 100 Good Deeds

In the world of charming, fashionably conscious jewelry, the 100 Good Deeds bracelet is at the top my list. Engaging colors, beautiful, hip...and glamorous! 

In 2000, artist and activist Mary Fisher, was asked by the White House AIDS office to act as a Special Representative of the UN and travel to Africa. While there, Mary worked with those affected by poverty, violence and the stigma attached to HIV. 

Mary started the Abataka foundation to partner with these women by designing jewelry that they could make and thereby earn a positive, sustainable living. 

In 2012, Mary released her memoir Messenger, and also met filmmaker Thomas Morgan. He shared with Mary a game that he and his family created, where they would complete 100 good deeds anonymously. 

Mary was Smitten and responded by designing the 100 Good Deeds bracelet. Each bracelet is hand-braided with one hundred glass beads and a single rubber ring. After wrapping it around your wrist, each time you do a good deed, you move the rubber ring one bead closer to the 1GD charm.

"The motivation behind the 100 Good Deeds collection is to inspire simple acts of kindness around the world." ~ Mary Fisher 

The bracelet serves as a reminder to pay it forward, and has found ambassadors in celebrities like Susan Sarandon, Katie Holmes and Naomi Watts.

Smitten!