Down memory lane with Fabienne

“I will never forget also that HDC gave me the opportunity to find solutions and not sit on the problems. It was always encouraged to find a way to make it work. ”

— Fabienne Deplat

I have a lot of good memories about Haiti Design co! I am going to share my favorite ones. At HDC we always had something going on besides making beautiful products. 

My first memory was on the rooftop not only when we were receiving teams there  but we were having social training for the staff. So many great things happened on that rooftop: the birthday parties, the training, English classes etc . Those moments were so important because they are rare in workspaces in Haiti. 

Another good memory was in the manager meeting, I believe it was always on a Monday, until this day I remember those meetings and one of the frequently asked questions were : kisa w'ap kenbe kisa w'ap lage? what are you holding on to what are going to let go of. 

I can also talk about the challenge that the artisans used to overcome by creating beautiful things. I remember when they came to the workshop either to receive others or to get paid. I can remember fighting with the artisans to respect deadlines, patterns… I can laugh about that today but at the end of day we always found a way to solve issues. 

I will never forget also that HDC gave me the opportunity to find solutions ( pa chita sou  problèm) and not sit on the problems. It was always encouraged to find a way to make it work. 

Time spent at Haiti Design is unforgettable, so many great things happened. We had a lot of fun, we learned how to create, to grow, to adjust in Haiti but definitely creating a good impact in the Haitian community. 

Down memory lane with Katelyn Hollis

“The heart and soul of the artisans came out in every piece they crafted and watching Chandler and Josh not only perfect designs, but work side by side with each team kept me going daily.”

— Katelyn Hollis

Happy birthday HDC!

The memories of HDC are truly endless. I Can’t quite describe in one story how that corner workshop became my respite and home over years of life. The sewing, leather, and jewelry teams became my family and Renel hammering in the yard along with lucknort Marjo and Mona bustling around the house making sure the flagship was operating properly.

I started working with HDC and moved into the workshop and took on whatever role they could give me. Packing orders, emailing shop owners, and then putting together the bear bones of the workshop market along with the smoothie bar cafe, every part of HDC became my home and family.

I got to experience each team uniquely and came to love each artisan intricacy. Watching the jewelry pieces getting strung one by one and then watching the leather team work their magic to hand sew the silky leather products from step to step.

I remember the sewing ladies would sit at their pedal machines while chattering and laughing and sewing everything from zippers to dresses. I was the lucky receiver of the masterpieces as each team would give me their work to pack up to be shipped off to anxious and excited new owners.

The heart and soul of the artisans came out in every piece they crafted and watching Chandler and Josh not only perfect designs, but work side by side with each team kept me going daily. Sitting in the design room talking with Chandler and Fabienne about the collaborations of designs that would soon become entire collections was such a dream for me. The cooking with Mona to the leather buffing, HDC is forever a place that I will call home.

Down memory lane with Justin Curtice

My first memory of HDC Josh had asked me to come over there for some reason to look at something for him.  In normal Haiti fashion he got stuck in traffic and I was just waiting for him forever.  At the time I could barley speak any creole. Adelson came out and kept trying to say something to me…….but to no avail.I just couldn’t understand what he was trying to say. He then made sign language that resembled eating. I realized he wanted me to come eat with him. So I go inside his house and his wife Majorie had made this amazing tasting fish.We sat there and shared a meal together without even being able to communicate to each other much of anything. After that Josh showed up and we ended up looking at his electrical or whatever his problem was.  Ever since that day Adelson and I always had a cool connection.   

After that day, I pretty much got recruited to be HDCs maintenance guy. Anytime they had a problem I was called over to try and solve it or fix it.   Usually if I couldn’t fix it, I could find someone else that could.  Let it be Robert or Gaetan.  

Kobus, Josh, Gaetan and I build the gazebo/pergola thing on the roof of HDC.   I was over there so often all of the workers from the night guard to the leather guys to the jewelry ladies to the administration ladies upstairs all pretty much knew me by name.   I would hear my name called out on the  streets in Clercine and usually it would end up being some one from HDC saying hi to me.  

I have so many fond memories of HDC.  Many times I’d hang out with Josh late into the night as he was trying to iron out the kinks of some new leather product they were about to come out with “NEXT WEEK!”   One time he let me go pick out my own leather from the scrap bin and make my own passport cover. He basically gave me a little guidance and let me pick out all my own stamps or anything I wanted to add to it.  I love that passport cover.  I’ve also been rocking a wallet from them ever since I bought it probably back in like 2017.   

Being a part of HDC was an awesome testament to what community actually means.   That’s one thing I had in Haiti that has always been hard to find anywhere else after leaving!

Letters from our artisans - Boss André shares his experience

We all know how the crisis in Haiti is affecting the population in general. Gang violence, gaz shortage, barely any tourism, people having to flee their homes, kidnappings and more. While these things are all over the news, there are thousands of individual stories that also deserve to be heard. We have taken the time to check-in with our artisan leaders to know how their team is holding on. We will be sharing some of their responses here on this journal to invite you in and give you a better idea of how our teams are doing.

Today we are sharing Boss André’s response on how the situation is affecting him and his team.

How has the current situation in Haiti affected your business? Are people still able to come to work daily? How have you had to change how you do business?

Most of our customers have left the Country, especially foreigners who were our biggest supporters. We do not have much demand. Some craftsmen and I live very far from the workshop. The main road we have to take to get there is under the control of gang leaders so we have to watch when there is a clear road (of course it depends on the bandits) to take advantage of going to the workshop. We are forced to separate into two groups: those who live around my house work in my house and those to whom the workshop is more accessible work in the workshop. In this case I always leave the workshop open in case I can't get there myself

We have almost reached our goal for the amount needed to keep offering shelter to some of our artisans. Every gesture counts in helping us move towards that goal. Thank you! Anpil lanmou pou nou!

Stories from the current crisis in Haiti: Words from Wideleine

The crisis in Haiti is still ongoing and we are not yet able to be able to see the light. While we remain hopeful that things cannot possibly stay this way, we cannot hide the hurt we feel each time someone from our HDC family is directly affected by these inhuman acts and by the general instability. We have reached out to many of you for support and the response has been so heartwarming that it gives us the strength to keep going. But the work is not over. We feel like it is important to put names and faces behind these stories. It always seems non-urgent until there is a face attached, for us this is extremely personal and terrifying. Read the words of Ismaella below. Today, we are sharing the words of Wideleine.

“Gangs came in at the church I attend. They came in to kill a cop. I had 3 kids with me, one of them still a baby of 9 months. No need to tell you how I felt. I started running and lost a friend I was with. My friend grabbed my 2 other kids while I kept the baby. They only killed the cop, however we were all left traumatized and afraid. My husband came shortly after when he heard the news. When we got home, my eldest said he did not want to stay in Port-au-Prince anymore. On July 27th, they killed 2 young men in our area. That was only 2 days after the church incident. That is when I asked for help to leave my area because my kids were not well. We went to the countryside and my eldest stayed and did not want to come back. I came back to PAP with my two youngest but could not get myself to go back to my area. It was never my plan to separate from my child. It grieves me so much to have to do this. Thanks to the home we have with HDC I am able to feel safer. My husband and I feel very scared and are living under constant stress. I don't know what to ask for. Whatever is possible for us to have somewhat of a normal life again is what we are craving.”

-Wideleine, jewelry artisan