my mind and heart are so in two places at once right now, if that’s possible.  I can’t get over yesterday, and all of the responses I heard from women all over the country who are walking this road of infertility.  I hope and pray you know you aren’t alone.  thank you for reaching out, for trusting me with your stories, for being vulnerable and brave.  God is stirring in the hearts of many to come alongside of you, be a shoulder to cry on, a person to talk to, someone to pray for you and with you.  and my heart and mind are reeling just thinking about it.  and we’ll be back Friday with part 2 of my post.  but today, oh today.

I’m so excited to share with you Noonday Collections’ fall line.  I mean, come on, you’ve come to expect this from me.  but today feels different.  it feels like it has a new meaning, a bigger purpose, a higher calling.  after being with our seamstresses in their co-op in Kigali, the passion for my work with Noonday has only increased.  “the moment” for me [as you’ll see in the video if you go to a trunk show today!] was pulling up to the co-op and being greeted by the women.  seeing the joy in their faces, the passion that just exuded from them, it was contagious.  I stood in front of them that day and thanked them for their work, and told them how honored I was to share their stories at home, and create a marketplace for them to sell their goods.  I meant every word, and today, at the start of a new season – I’m feeling empowered.  As Jessica said our last day with the women, we are singing a song of empowerment over each other.

The items you will browse through on your iPhone in the starbucks line, or on your laptop while you sit on the couch with a glass of red wine at the end of the day, are MORE than just pretty pieces of jewelry.  They are stories, every single one of them.  They represent a beautiful person on the other side of the world, who put that piece together with their own two hands.  It represents a family, a story, and quite honestly a JOY that these artisans have that I can’t explain.

Working on this AMAZING headband piece with Kelle, Grace + Esperanze was one of my favorite parts of the trip.  I love to create, and so do these women, and watching the creativity be unleashed from them was breathtaking.  To watch women who a few years ago were mocked for getting a job as a seamstress, now creating and designing their very own pieces…

photos by Paige Knusden 

the finished product is beautiful.  I hope you will get to a trunk show TODAY so you can VOTE between our product, and the other 4 to see which 2 will go into production!  It’s an exciting time, for sure.  Find a local Ambassador and attend a Noonday show today.  If you don’t know an Ambassador, now is a great time to become one! 

This season marks the start of something new.  a new passion . a new purpose.  new drive.

these women in Rwanda, they told me they have more ZEAL for their work knowing there were American women representing them….so let’s represent them well.  let’s take the plunge!  purchase your first noonday piece.  start a wish list.  contact your local ambassador to host a show.  let’s start somewhere today.  look in the eyes and faces of these beautiful women, who just like you and me, have dreams and struggles, families to provide for, jobs to do, food to cook, laundry to complete, children to raise….let’s continue to help Noonday create economic opportunity in the 10 countries we work in across the world.

my heart physically aches right now, missing my friends, missing Rwanda.  dreaming about our long dinners de-briefing the day, sharing our dreams and struggles and the deepest parts of who we are.  there was a deep level of connection that happened on this trip, and it’s what I miss.  I feel a weight of opportunity and responsibility to share these stories, to show you more about the work of IJM [that I am in love with!], and platform the work of our amazing artisans.  I know this feeling all too well.  There is something about Africa that gets in your blood.  something about the people there, the resilience they have, the hope they have despite their circumstances, and it’s beautiful and full of heartache and redemption.  there’s still so much to tell.

my story might not be over [will it ever?], but the whole Noonday team came together to present to YOU today, the fall 2014 look book + online catalog!  Check it out, even if you are skeptical, even if you aren’t a jewelry person.  click over, read about our impact, click over the the jewelry tab and start a wish list for an “arm party”,  or heck, sign up to become an ambassador and join this family.

seriously though, get to a #NationwideTrunkShow today and vote for Grace, Esperanze, Kelle + I’s headband!!!