With our 10th birthday celebrations, two new studios and the birth of a beautiful baby boy just a few of the exciting goings-on we've experienced over the last twelve months, we think it's fair to say that 2016 has been quite a year for the Just Trade team!
We've had lots of really exciting bespoke commissions to work on for clients such as UK Antarctic Heritage Trust, Tate Modern, Sir John Soane's Museum and Wellcome Collection. Below is a photograph of the bangle we designed specially to coincide with Tate Modern's major retrospective of twentieth-century art pioneer, Georgia O'Keeffe...
And the Tagua nut penguin necklace we designed to be sold in the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust's gift shop...
In April, Laura made her annual trip out to South America to visit our producer groups in Peru and Ecuador. Whilst she was there, a devastating earthquake hit Ecuador and Just Trade decided to set up a Just Giving page in order to raise money to help rebuild the communities we've been lucky enough to be a part of over the last five years. Thanks to the generosity of family, friends, colleagues and customers, we exceeded our fundraising target and this money is continuing to make a huge difference to the lives of our artisans in Sosote.
With an ever-growing Just Trade team (this year we welcomed the lovely Lucy, our Customer Accounts Manager), we found our workspace getting a little overcrowded and so in May, we became the proud owners of not one but two brand new studios! We even decorated the doors with decals of our logo...
Not only is 28th July the day which sees our Peruvian friends celebrate their independence, this year it also called for celebrations a little closer to home as Just Trade turned the big 1-0! We toasted to the past decade in typical Just Trade style and invited over a few of our local customers for studio drinks. Here's to many more incredible adventures over the next ten years!
Soon after these celebrations, our fantastic Communications Manager, Sophie, along with her husband Jack, had another cause for celebration - the birth of their gorgeous baby boy, Theo! Here's a tiny Theo in an even tinier Just Trade hat knitted by women from the Mama Ursula and Friends micro-enterprise project in Lima, Peru...
The start of 2016 saw the beginning of our first collaboration with a large high-street retailer! Having seen and loved our jewellery at the January Top Drawer trade show, Laura Ashley approached us to design an exclusive collection for them and we're really proud to have had an opportunity to bring Fair Trade jewellery to a mainstream market. Fast forward to September and here's Ali with just a few of the boxes we packed to fulfil their order...
Towards the end of the year, Ali, Sophie and Ruth jetted off to Vietnam to meet with our new Fair Trade, Hanoi-based producer group! They had a great time meeting Hoai, Diep and their amazing team and enjoyed a number of trips out to meet the smaller craft groups that work in collaboration with Hoai's enterprise. Here they are looking fabulous in their scarves from the Scarf Village...
Keep your eyes peeled for more announcements and information regarding our Vietnamese adventures in the new year!
As you can see, we've had a busy but brilliant year and from all of us here at Just Trade, we'd like to take this opportunity to not only wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year but also thank you for your custom and continued support. Here's to an even bigger and better 2017!
