In love with the images of our new collection by photographer, Sully Sullivan! Sully and his team (of stylists and raft builders) did such a good job (again) of capturing the spirit of Proud Mary and our new products from Mali, West Africa.
Mali is going through a tough time right now. There was a coup d' etat in March where the military, fed up with lack of resources to fight a strong insurgency in the North, took over the government. Last week there was an unsuccessful counter coup attempt by highly training military "red beret" forces still loyal to the President. This spawned the first violence created by the coup. Ever since then I've been on pins and needles waiting to hear what will happen next... Is a civil war imminent? Will elections happen as planned? Will our artisans be able to work? Will I receive my shipment? These are all questions I have been asking myself over the past month. A real dichotomy. It's an interesting (and scary) feeling to be personally affected by political turmoil across the world.
Those things being said. I am soooo excited for this collection and am thrilled to be able to share the insane talent of these Malian artisans with you! With a large expat community in Mali more or less gone, they need our business more than ever.