A socially conscious artisan workshop based in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Haiti Design Collective are dedicated to sustainable development through skill training and job creation. Paffrath is proud to offer jewelry that supports the mission of this great and empowering organization.
Haiti Design Co collaborates with skilled production teams specializing in a diverse range of artisan crafts, including leatherwork, sewing, jewelry making, aluminum casting, metalwork, weaving, beadwork, horn and bone crafting, tailoring, and shoemaking. Our mission is to provide steady, in-house employment that offers job training and stability to individuals in vulnerable situations. Additionally, we strive to empower artisan leaders, equipping them with the tools and knowledge needed to succeed as independent entrepreneurs within their communities.
Haiti Design Co. was founded in 2014 with the goal to bring about sustainable development through design, training, and job creation.
Our mantra around the workshop is “men anpil, chay pa lou”. This is an old Haitian proverb meaning “many hands make the load light”.
We believe that there is commonality between the designer, maker, and consumer, and that when working together we can help lighten each other’s load and bring about lasting positive impact.
Haiti Design Co was founded with the belief that the marriage of design and purpose can have a long-lasting ripple effect of development and community building.
To achieve this, we focus on quality – the quality of work, quality of goods, and quality of relationships. We have three in-house teams that specialize in leather, jewelry, and sewing, as well a partner artisans in the community that specialize in trades such as horn and bone crafting, aluminum casting, recycled steelwork, and embroidery. We employ over 75 artisans in-house and work with over 50 artisans in the community.
Haiti Design Co houses and partners with production teams working in many types of artisan crafting, including leatherwork, sewing, jewelry making, aluminum casting, metal work, weaving, beadwork, horn & bone, tailoring, and shoe making. We work to provide consistent employment in-house in order to give job training and stability to individuals in vulnerable situations, as well as raise up artisan leaders to succeed as independent entrepreneurs in the community. Little by little our small workshop has grown and evolved into a training and production center employing over 150 people within our workshop and HDC partner branches.
The jewelry team has over 17 women working in mini-teams to produce many different jewelry-making techniques. They specialize in fabric beads, leather sequin jewelry, beadwork, and assembly. We strongly believe in reducing waste as much as possible at our workshop, so all leather scraps are saved and handed over to the jewelry teams to be turned into beautiful new creations. The team, led by Ismaella Louis Carmelle was established in 2013 in Port Au Prince, Haiti. They specialize in creating exceptional handcrafted bracelets, earrings, and pendants using a variety of materials including leather, bone, copper, coral, and others
For more information about our custom goldsmithing service, please contact us and we will get back to you soon.