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Jenny Krauss
www.harrietandleo.com
  
<<Return to July 26, 2009 radio page<<

As heard on Inspired at Home Radio - July 26, 2009!

Designer Jenny Krauss offers a distinctive line of giftware, fashion and home decor products that "give back" by providing financial and emotional support to more than 500 Bolivian and Peruvian female artisans, some impoverished and abused, who have exceptional skills but little or no job opportunities. By hiring these extraordinarily talented women to meticulously hand craft her various designs, Jenny liberates and empowers them with a source of income along with an overriding sense of self-worth and accomplishment. Jenny's educational background is in art and design and for the first 20 years of her career, she was a painter and sculptor. She always had ideas for businesses but never pursued any of them. Around 1999, she noticed there was a dearth of beautifully designed products for children. Since then, the category has exploded but back when it was all TV and movie licensed imagery. If you didn't want your kids using things emblazoned with Star Wars or Barbie, there wasn't much choice. So, she started a small business designing, manufacturing and wholesaling a variety of items for children and learned as she went along. Without any business education or experience, she asked people around her for advice and slowly figured things out. Expansion only occurred from earnings and after eight years, she started a women's accessories line and a few items for the home. She still works alone which she thinks is a tendency for artists and keeps the business small so she it not too overwhelmed. And it was all made possible because of the internet.

During Jenny Krauss’ visits over the last four years to Bolivia and Peru, she sought out the artisan groups responsible for the crafts on sale in the markets around La Paz and Lima. They are often, but not always, cooperatives of women who have exceptional skills and very few options for other work.

Here are some of their stories:

It all started with a group organized by Pelagia Callisaya. Pelagia organizes women from La Paz and El Alto and they're responsible for the dolls, kits, ornaments, and embroidery hoops. The women are often the sole support for their families and the work they do for Jenny Krauss Designs has not only helped them financially but psychologically as well. They speak to Jenny about Bolivia's isolation, lack of opportunity, and how meaningful it is to create something they can sell. It's a joy for Jenny to visit them and see the changes in their lives. Pelagia now has a computer and a studio where the group can meet and work.

The boucle embroidery that adorns Jenny Krauss’ line of belts, bags, pillows, and luggage tags is done by two groups in Ayacucho, Peru. These women live in remote, poverty stricken regions but, despite their situations, have organized into cooperatives and are able to produce handwork of astonishing beauty. Their creativity and craftsmanship is magnificent and the success of their venture has brought rewards of self-esteem and financial self-reliance.

The bird notes are a recent addition to the Jenny Krauss line and they come from Cusco, Peru. Deycy, the designer, is primarily a jeweler but she has a sideline in ceramics and the birds were so sweet that, even though her company’s focus is on textiles, she decided to try them. They were an instant hit at the first trade show Jenny Krauss brought them to so now the company is also in the ceramics business.

<<Return to July 26, 2009 radio page