Who is Rosie's?
The unemployment rate in Haiti is over 80%, and it is estimated that 300,000 children live in orphanage institutes and 80% of these children have living parents and family. These statistics are staggering, but with each job Rosie's creates, it means one less family not facing the extremely harsh realities of Haiti.
Rosie's Boutique was founded in 2014 by the mother-daughter duo, Renae Grooters and Kayla Raymond.
Rosie's exists to promote job creation, Haitian goods, the companies and people behind the goods and hopefully create more jobs as they grow.
Rosie's is currently purchasing from ten different companies (including 2nd Story Goods) who collectively employ over 400 Haitians. Each company they purchase from believes and practices the same ethics they have: provide a fair, living wage to the artisan; empower and equip the artisan; educate people about the realities in Haiti; and work to keep families together.
After a few years of carrying products from other companies in Haiti, Rosie's created their own greeting card and paper products line. In addition to selling products from other artisan groups, they started employing local women to make these incredible cards and paper products!
A word from Kayla, Founder of Rosie's
Whenever I was around Kathy in Haiti, I was always drawn in - you know those people you just meet, and you want to be best friends with, but also don't want to be stalker'ish & weird? Yeah, that's how I feel about MK. In Haiti, 2SG headquarters & MK's home was a solid two hours past Rosie's on the highway, so our meetings always seemed brief as she was either on her way into the city or on her way back home BUT this past spring I got to spend some holy time with her at the Haiti Creatives retreat & not only was it so good to get to know her on a deeper level BUT we also dreamed up an MK x ROSIES collab in those few short days...and now, GUESS WHAT! our collab is ready for the world! All of these pieces feature all of her original artwork with a Rosie's twist on banana paper & completing it our own special way.
What's the story with the banana paper?
The paper is delicately crafted with banana leaves, vetiver and other remnants by a group of hardworking parents in the mountains of Port-au-Prince to keep their children in school! The frame is also handmade by a local artist in Minnesota. The paper is providing dignifying jobs to parents in Haiti!
Gratitude is one of our strongest secret weapons. This set of 4 hand-built cards make it easy to be intentional with our appreciation! Who would you like to say “thank you” to today?
Truly, words make worlds, and having these small colorful reminders around our spaces can bring to mind the intentional way we want to be in the world. How we want to live.
Love.
Just Love People.
Life is complex. Our world is complicated and our heated opinions can sometimes tempt us to lose track of the great power of Love. And that to “Just Love People” strengthens our future together and helps us work together as a whole. This set of 4 cards remind us.
Each piece of art is a sign, to cause us to remember something important. I believe strongly in the power of words being visible reminders of how we set our intentions.
Every choice is a use of our personal power! It’s like the whole thing is rigged in our favor!
“Pay Attention to what you want more of” is one of my top life mantras!
We have options, we can be people that pay attention to what people around them are doing wrong, and we can point that out with regularity. Or, we can be people that pay attention to what we want more of! Attention is like water, it can cause things to grow! I love this sign and how BIG it is as a reminder!
This 4 card collection is in celebration of friendship. Data show that even having one person in your corner can make a huge difference in the quality of life, and our ability to make it through hard things. Now is a good time to share words of encouragement and friendship with the people in your corner!
