i + D - November/December 2020 - 28

Global Citizens - By Diana Mosher

Patti Carpenter
(Image: Dorothy Shi)

Among the items Patti
Carpenter has helped
bring to market are alpaca
throws that are made by
hand in Bolivia.
(Image: Patti Carpenter)

" You'd be amazed at how little it takes to
really change people's lives, for them to subsist
and live happy, well-balanced lives. "
- PATTI CARPENTER, CARPENTER + COMPANY/TRENDSCOPE

Identifying New Markets
" The inclusion of handmade goods adds warmth
and personality to a home, " says Patti Carpenter,
principal and creative director, global trend
ambassador at Carpenter + Company/Trendscope.
" There is a connectedness to our shared
humanity from having something that someone
else's hands have touched. Their soul was imbued
into that product. "
Carpenter was a design director at Ralph Lauren
in 2000 when the organization Aid to Artisans-
which promotes handmade traditions of artisans
worldwide-invited her to work on a three-year
project. The goal was to help workers in Mali
retain their cotton and make money off it in order
to move some people out of poverty. " At that
time Mali was the second largest producer of
cotton in Africa, but they sold it off in its raw form
to China that then made the money on ginning it,
preparing it, spinning it, dying it, and weaving
it, " explains Carpenter, who decided to leave her
secure job to work on international design and
development full time.
Twenty years later, she has worked in 57 countries
with artisans who specialize in fiber, wood,
textiles, glass, beading, metal, found objects,
and recycled/upcycled materials. Ideally, she pulls
together several communities that know how
to do the same thing and gives them training and
information on what kind of quality they need,
the color stories they perhaps should consider,
and patterning or a subtle change to the scale of
a motif that would translate to selling success.

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Helping preserve culture is also key. Young people
will be more likely to learn the skills and craft of
their parents and grandparents if they see a path
to a sustainable livelihood. Carpenter is currently
working with macramé, horn, and metal artisans
through an organization called Prosperity Catalyst,
which supports, develops, and empowers
women-owned businesses in Haiti and Iran.
" You'd be amazed at how little it takes to really
change people's lives, " she offers, " for them
to subsist and live happy, well-balanced lives. "
When Carpenter debuted her own branded home
décor, personal accessories, and gifts collection,
the first product she sold through Bloomingdale's
was a beautiful alpaca throw handwoven in
Bolivia-locally they are used to carry groceries or
babies. Part of Carpenter's mission is connecting
makers and buyers, as well as setting these global
artisans on a track for success. " Those women
would never have had a path to Bloomingdale's
without my stepping in, and Bloomingdale's would
have never known they existed. That was the
goal, " says Carpenter.

Patti Carpenter works
primarily with women
artisans, including
jewelry makers in
El Salvador.
(Image: Patti Carpenter)

" I work with about 85 to 90 percent women, " she
adds. " It is a proven fact that when women succeed
at something, communities excel and come up
out of poverty. When men excel and succeed, so
do their families; but, unfortunately, they don't often
look at the community as a whole in the way that
we as women do. "

i+D - November/December 2020

2020-11-25 13:48
i + D - November/December 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of i + D - November/December 2020
