WomenStrong DC Ladies Show Off their Creativity at the Fall Craft Bazaar

For the love of creativity and supporting our budding business women, Bread for the City’s WomenStrong DC program hosts regular bazaars to help our members earn income additional income and show off their handmade products. At the last Fall Craft Bazaar, four of our talented WSDC women sold self-made items ranging from earrings and stretch jewelry to incense, soaps shampoos, and baked goodies.

Here are a few stories from women who participated in this most recent Craft Bazaar:

June: For three years, June taught sewing at Bread for the City with the WomenStrong DC program. Her grandmother taught her to bake and sew when she was 8 years old, and she thought it was important to pass on some of those skills to her colleagues. She has a master’s in Liberal Studies but it is her undergrad minor in Food and Nutrition that comes in handy when she’s making her delicious treats including cookies, brownies, and cakes. These are all her own recipes. “Who ever thought of making lemon cookies with chocolate chip and made ‘em taste right,” she says.

Peggy: “It’s pretty easy to make these actually; it’s the ideas that take the longest.” Peggy has been making beaded necklaces and stretch jewelry for a while, but at the Fall Craft Bazaar, she showcased her talent at making earrings. “I’d been making them for a while actually, but then I went through a rough patch and I just kind of stopped. In talking with the ladies and being able to bounce ideas off them, I’ve been getting back on track; the energy is up, the sleeping is regular and the creativity is back.”

Sakinah: Sakinah makes candles, washcloth dolls, fragrances, burning oils, sugar scrubs, bath salts, shower gels and soaps. This all began with her trying to find a soap for her daughter’s eczema. “It was difficult. Hardly anything worked and if it did it was so expensive. So I started trying things myself to see if I could come up with something that was effective and affordable.” It worked, and then other people started enjoying her soap so she started vending them in 2006 and has since turned it into a small business.

Stephanie: “I sew, I make bags and accessories. I take worn jeans and I make them into bags and purses.” Stephanie has been doing this for 3 years; a talent she picked up from interactions with the ladies at Women Strong DC. “I just bought a sewing machine one day and started playing around until the designs started turning out good. I also picked up a few things here and there from the senior people Women Strong.”

Take a look at the images from our Fall Craft Bazaar here: http://bit.ly/2d7Qiet. If you’re interested in purchasing any of the items we’ve reviewed, please contact Donnie at [email protected].