Maiden Nation was founded on one basic principle: empowering women through ethical fashion. Founded by Willa Shalit, Elizabeth Brown, and Juliana Um, who met while working together in Haiti after the devastating earthquake in 2010, Maiden Nation has created a marketplace where items are designed with both beauty and social consciousness in mind, and profits are reinvested into women’s entrepreneurship projects.
The marketplace features ethically sourced jewelry from of-the-moment women designers all over the world, including Rwanda, Argentina, Poland, South Africa, Ethiopia, Colombia, Kenya, and the United States. Products are as diverse as a beaded bracelet made in Ethiopia from melted down bullet casings, a beautiful copper cuff made in Ecuador, and the “Kiss Kiss Bracelet,” by Chan Luu, an adorable bohemian bracelet created by members of the Hands Together Cooperative in Haiti. Each purchase of a “Kiss Kiss Bracelet” will help the survivors of the 2010 earthquake build a new life by supporting this new business. Maiden Nation is also proud to have a group of powerful allies. The company is a signatory of the United Nations’ Women Economic Empowerment Principles, a set of principles for business offering guidance on how to empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community. Maiden Nation also counts among its allies the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, Organization, the Artisan Business Network, and the International Trade Centre.
And you can be a part of it, too! As a citizen, you’ll join a social network of women living a global movement. Maiden designers showcase their work, Maiden activists share their causes, and Maiden citizens connect over their ideas and goals. And soon, Maiden Nation will connect you to investors and empower you as a female entrepreneur. Redesign the world as we know it. Become a citizen. Join Maiden Nation.
