Dallas-primarily based garb and accessories line GAIA has announced it will close its doors this May. The emblem’s giftable items, from handbags and pillows to blouses and bows, have been featured regularly within the pages of D Home and D Magazine over its nearly decade-longer term. And the line’s beautiful (shiny hues, punchy prints, and colorful leather-based) is as lovely as its impact—in almost ten years, GAIA has empowered refugee ladies thru employment and sustainable earning.
Just final year, GAIA moved into a friendly Uptown carriage house. The first ground becomes dedicated to retail, but upstairs, founder Paula Minnis created a haven for her artisans, who regarded to be friends as much as they have been coworkers. GAIA plans to guide her personnel all through the transition, putting them up for future success with resume workshops, mock interviews, advice letters, and extra. Minnis is also exploring the concept of making a stitching co-op, wherein neighborhood indoors designers or different brands should lease the artisans to complete projects on a freelance foundation.
In preserving with the the logo’s advantageous ethos, GAIA is dubbing it’s previous few weeks “Project Farewell,” so that it will include gatherings and parties in birthday celebration of what Minnis and her gifted team have executed.
Understandably, the selection to shut GAIA wasn’t a clean one (Minnis ultimately wants to consciousness her strength on her own family). We’ve protected a pattern of her declaration beneath. However, you can examine the whole, the heartfelt message here.
GAIA has been a real labor of affection and this type of supply of pleasure, meaning, and success in such a lot of lives, particularly mine! However, after nearly ten years of jogging and developing GAIA, I’ve decided that it is time for me to take a step back and redirect my electricity to my own family.
Over the years we’ve grown organically and lightly, watching in awe as our Artisans have grown as correctly. And now, as I struggled with what my selection to take a step returned might mean for them, I’ve recognized that the time has come where they may be NOT refugees anymore. They are mothers, wives, artisans, homeowners… and Americans. These girls have converted their lives. The warm cocoon we created at GAIA has served its purpose, and the butterflies are equipped to emerge.
Our cognizance now could be to help release the Artisans into their subsequent bankruptcy as efficiently as possible, to be able to secure jobs before our goal closing on the quit of May. We’ll be running on résumés, references, mock-interviews, and so forth. To assist equip them and set them up for fulfillment. I’m hopeful that there can be employment opportunities found via humans inside our community. The first-rate element is, we understand every one among our Artisans in detail, and can advocate and vouch for them with complete confidence.
