Moving Forward

June 10, 2013 2 Comments

It's been a few months since we've updated and certainly a lot has happened. When we last updated we were in the midst of training the first class of women that Stitching Sparrow would hire. The women were extraordinary. They were excited about the opportunity to work; it wasn't just about the income but the sense of identity and dignity in being able to contribute something beautiful to the world. However during that month, we realized that there are some very critical missing pieces in the operations. When we began all our planning, we had one solid premise – the sewing center needs to be a for-profit business. It's not so much about making tons of money – it never has. It's about running the sewing center with the heart and hustle to produce on-time, on-budget and at a remarkable level of quality.  This is critical for two reasons. First, quality, cost and reliability are of utmost importance when producing a product for the western market. The second reason, being just as important, is that when we value the product, we value the women who make it. Pursuing excellence in production means we believe they are capable and recognize the work they put into it. This is why we were very adamant about running the sewing center as a business. However as the training came to an end, we realized our partners would not (at the present time) be able to run the sewing center the way we heartily believed it needed to be run. It was a mixture of not being able to commit the kind of time/resources we expected and the conflicting mentality of wanting to run a business like a non-profit. I want to say here that our partners, who we love as family, are people of utmost integrity. We are always encouraged by their sacrificial and servant's heart and have learned an enormous amount from them.  Unfortunately in the end, we needed to pull out of working with Stitching Sparrow. It's heartbreaking for both for us. There is a lot of potential. But it's critical that we be on the same page as to how the sewing center would be run. We may consider working together again and will likely revisit the idea in the future. For now however it is better we part ways.  Fortunately, the old motto as one door closes another opens is very true. We were extremely fortunate to connect with other established sewing centers in other parts of India and we are presently seeing whether we can have them make our blankies. They've already produced export quality product and are committed to working with poor and marginalized communities. We're excited about the opportunities to partner and shooting to have a new product line in the fall. We're in heavy design mode right now and look forward to having something out to you as soon as possible! As we reflect on the past few months, we've grieved not seeing our plans with Stitching Sparrow come to fruition. But we've also learned a ton and will be better people for it. Without waver, we're still committed to two things: making beautiful products and empowering under-resourced people. We're excited about the future of Ellie Fun Day and look out for new and exciting things in the coming year! 

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