FOR A LIMITED TIME: 30% off all dresses! Discount applied in cart
FOR A LIMITED TIME: 30% off all dresses! Discount applied in cart
Creating Beauty, Inspiring Hope is an e-commerce retail business built on a simple but powerful belief: beauty and justice can—and should—coexist. We specialize in ethically crafted, fair trade, handmade products created by women artisans, primarily in Asia and Africa, and bring them to conscientious consumers across North America who want their purchases to matter.
Formally incorporated in Washington State in 2025 as a Social Purpose Corporation, Woven With Purpose will officially launch in March 2026. Our product categories include housewares, décor, paper goods, garden supplies, accessories, pet products, and children’s clothing and toys. Our products blend traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design, appealing to women who value sustainability, quality, and the human story behind what they buy. With every purchase, women artisans gain dignified work, income, and the opportunity to flourish—economically and personally.
While the business itself is new, the vision behind it has been forming for decades.
From my earliest years, my mother and grandmother taught me to sew and to value handmade objects not just for their beauty, but for the care and skill embedded in them. That early love led me to pursue two undergraduate degrees—one in business marketing and the other in fashion and textile design. After working in those fields for over a decade, life then took me in a different direction: marriage, raising three children (one biological and two adopted from India), and a 20-year career in education and academia, including the completion of two Masters Degrees and culminating in a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies and History
Teaching offered me the opportunity to live and work in two countries outside the United States (India, Hong Kong), plus visit over 40 countries through travel, service and study. Along the way, I encountered women whose lives were constrained not by lack of talent, but by lack of opportunity and at times held captive to oppressive systems. I became involved with organizations empowering women through skills training, especially in sewing and creative arts. I supported these efforts financially, sold their products in teaching contexts, and most meaningfully, led student groups to an organization in Thailand helping women exit human trafficking through a holistic program including vocational training.
These experiences shaped me deeply. I saw, firsthand, how creative work restores dignity, builds confidence, and creates real pathways out of poverty
After stepping away from teaching, I began asking a new question: How can I weave together my lifelong love of design, my global experience, and my passion for empowering women into something sustainable and lasting? Woven With Purpose is my answer.
My motivation is also deeply personal. I am an adoptive parent of two children from India, including my daughter and business partner, Pragati Janae Leese. Her name means “progress,” in Hindi and she embodies the future I hope to help create—one where women have the tools and opportunities to thrive. At a broader level, I am driven by a desire to build a business that generates significant financial giving over time and, ultimately, leaves a legacy of impact long after I am gone.
I chose a Social Purpose Corporation model intentionally. Rather than a non-profit that relies on donations and often relies on untrained volunteers, Woven With Purpose generates income through proven business practices including paying artisans fairly for their work and reinvesting profits into training and skill development for more women. This model offers sustainability, scalability, and dignity for everyone involved.
One particularly meaningful partnership is with People Kraft in Bangalore, India, led by Asha Scariya and Stephen Dass, as a branch of ProVision India (https://www.pvindia.org/team). Asha is a professionally trained fashion designer who has spent the past decade training women at risk (https://peoplekraft.in/). Through my volunteer role as a Business Affiliate with the nonprofit Partners Worldwide (https://www.partnersworldwide.org/), I now work closely with Asha—providing regular encouragement, business guidance, financial support and a yearly visit. Together, we are envisioning signature products designed by Asha and myself, that will be unique to Woven With Purpose and made by the women she trains.
Additionally, beginning in April, I will volunteer at World Relief Seattle helping to train women to sew who are refugees or immigrants; mostly from Afghanistan. Beginning next month, January 2025, I will be meeting with 3-5 of the women who have gone through the program already. We will sew two mornings per week for 2-3 weeks with the plan that at least 2 of the seamstresses are skilled enough to begin to make products for me. A trial period of 2-3 months will help me assess the viability of hiring these courageous women with this new product line. I am thrilled about this possibility! This is another way that Woven With Purpose intends to create employment and make a meaningful impact in the lives of women at risk.
The opportunity is real and growing. Our target customers are socially conscious women aged 30–60 who are actively seeking alternatives to mass-produced goods and the rampant consumerism of the West. They shop for quality products of fair trade and environmentally conscious standards. They frequent local ethical boutiques, and desire deeper transparency and authentic connection. The ethical retail market continues to expand, and storytelling-driven brands are gaining loyalty and trust. To test the market, I have conferred with multiple business owners and we have sold at three local holiday events. People were genuinely interested in the business model, in the stories behind the products and the
products available for purchase. I have also consulted with two local brick and mortar shop owners that have shared values; The Giraffe (https://giraffehome.com/) and Jubilee (https://www.facebook.com/p/Jubilee-Global-Gifts-61569376654346/). Learning about their history, seeing their product lines and receiving valuable business and marketing advice has been invaluable.
That said, I am realistic about the challenges. Global supply chains are complex. The threat of high tariffs is real. Cash flow in the early stages is tight. Discretionary spending can fluctuate with the economy. But my background in business, education, and cross-cultural work has prepared me to adapt, problem-solve, and build thoughtfully. This is not a rushed idea—it is a well-considered next chapter guided by consultation with professional advisors, careful financial planning and a thorough business and executive plan outlining an initial phase followed by 2, 4 and 7 year plans.
Woven With Purpose is not just about selling products. It is about reshaping how we think about consumption. Every product is a bridge—connecting women across continents through beauty, dignity, and shared purpose.
