Latest news with #artisan
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Magnolia Pearl Launches Philanthropy-Driven Resale Platform, Donating Up to 100% of Proceeds to Charity
MALIBU, Calif., July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Magnolia Pearl, the international fashion brand known for its distinct, artisan-crafted garments, has announced the official launch of Magnolia Pearl Trade, a resale platform designed to extend the life cycle of its products while directing proceeds to charitable organizations. The platform, launched in 2023, enables Magnolia Pearl collectors to list and purchase authenticated, pre-loved Magnolia Pearl pieces in a secure, moderated online marketplace. In a significant departure from typical resale sites, Magnolia Pearl Trade donates up to 100% of proceeds from select transactions to a range of charities through the Magnolia Pearl Peace Warrior Foundation, the brand's non-profit arm founded in 2020. All listing fees and 25% of final sale prices on Magnolia Pearl's exclusive listings—and in some cases, 100%—are donated to causes that include housing and healthcare for Indigenous American veterans, food and medical care for the housing insecure and their pets, disaster relief efforts, and arts education for underserved children. 'Magnolia Pearl Trade is an extension of their commitment to sustainability and service,' said a long time collector. 'From the beginning, this company has been about mending—not just clothes, but communities. This platform allows our customers to participate in that mission directly.' Magnolia Pearl garments, known for their distinctive distressed aesthetic, patchwork, and hand-applied details, have long enjoyed a robust secondary market, with collectors often reselling pieces well above their original retail price due to their rarity and artisanal quality. Magnolia Pearl Trade formalizes this resale activity within a secure environment while aligning it with the brand's philanthropic goals. Magnolia Pearl also uses the platform to auction rare production samples and long-sold-out items that are unavailable elsewhere. This model ensures that unsold inventory avoids the landfill while raising funds for charity. 'At a time when so much is wasted, this is their way of keeping beauty in circulation while giving back,' said a customer we connected with. 'It's about honoring where we've come from and creating something that serves everyone involved, from our collectors to those who benefit from these donations.' Since its founding, Magnolia Pearl has expanded from a single handmade backpack in Brown's kitchen to a global brand sold in more than 400 boutiques worldwide, as well as online and through flagship stores in Fredericksburg, Texas and Malibu, California. The launch of Magnolia Pearl Trade represents a strategic step forward for the company as it seeks to meet rising consumer interest in resale, sustainability, and purpose-driven purchasing. The global resale market, valued at $227 billion in 2024, continues to grow rapidly as consumers seek alternatives to fast fashion and disposable culture. The Magnolia Pearl Peace Warrior Foundation reports that it has raised over $550,000 to date, supporting a wide range of vetted, grassroots organizations across the United States. About Magnolia Pearl Magnolia Pearl is an international clothing brand founded in 2002 by designer Robin Brown. Known for its distinctive, handcrafted garments that celebrate imperfection and storytelling, Magnolia Pearl operates flagship stores in Fredericksburg, Texas and Malibu, California, and is sold in over 400 boutiques worldwide. The company's commitment to sustainability and philanthropy is embodied in its Magnolia Pearl Peace Warrior Foundation, which supports charities focused on housing, healthcare, disaster relief, and the arts. For more information about Magnolia Pearl, Magnolia Pearl Trade, or the Magnolia Pearl Peace Warrior Foundation, please visit Contact Information: Organization / Company: Magnolia PearlCompany website: Email Address: press@ A photo accompanying this announcement is available at in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CNA
21-07-2025
- Health
- CNA
Baker refuses to give up his craft despite severe arthritis
A local baker is going to great lengths to perfect his craft. Besides kneading dough and shaping loaves for 16 hours a day, he is also enduring the relentless pain of severe arthritis. CNA meets the baker who simply refuses to quit.
Entrepreneur
14-07-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Quild Reimagines the Art of Modern Quilting in Dubai
The brand operates with sustainability at its core and follows a conscious approach to fabric consumption to minimize the impact on the environment. You're reading Entrepreneur Middle East, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Known for their artistic and distinctive handcrafted quilts and diverse quilting products, Dubai-based quilt brand Quild blends classic quilting techniques with modern, contemporary design, offering a selection of unique and sustainable pieces for fashion as well as home décor. The brand is the brainchild of Farida Talaat, a talented artist and designer who grew up in Dubai and studied in Canada. She dabbled in arts and crafts, sewing, and fashion design before specializing in designing and sewing quilts and quilted products. Quild reimagines the old-world craft of traditional quilting. Made of high-quality natural fabrics such as cotton, linen, or a blend of both, their products are as aesthetic as they are functional. Quild's collections and product lines include bed-size quilts, children's quilts, quilted blankets, throws, jackets, hand bags and beach bags, makeup pouches, and other soft furnishings and accessories that can be used around the home. Each piece is meticulously designed to ensure beauty, comfort and functionality all around. The quilts' artistic appeal doesn't end there, with all quilts being made sustainably using eco-friendly fabric and material. The brand operates with sustainability at its core and follows a conscious approach to fabric consumption to minimize the impact on the environment. We speak to Farida Talaat about her quilting journey. Tell us about the early beginnings of Quild. What inspired you to start a quilting business in the UAE? My passion for quilts began in Dubai in 2017, when I designed and produced my first quilt by myself without any prior training or experience. Then, after moving to Canada, I learned the basics of the craft by connecting with quilting groups and collaborating with quilting professionals in Canada and the United States. I immediately loved quilts because they evoke an authentic old-world feel and a sense of nostalgia. Describe your creative process, and what steps you take to ensure no two items are alike? The process of designing any quilt begins with thoughtful planning as to the layout of the colors and patterns of the overall quilt. I then decide on the concept and artistic vision for the piece Then I begin by selecting and arranging fabrics based on color, print and texture. After determining the overall shape, I cut the fabric and expertly hand-sew the quilt using a quilting technique, which involves sewing and passing threads across the surface and bottom of the fabric to secure the layers together, creating a single cohesive quilt. Once the sewing is complete, the final touches are applied like adding a label and ensuring quality. The process of sewing quilts is a laborious, but it's a fine process that requires artistic flair and dextrous skill. It is also very time-consuming. Each quilt is considered a valuable and unique piece in and of itself because of the amount of work that goes into it. Throughout my work, I brainstorm and take my time in designing and refining my creations. I also focus a lot on hand sewing which ensures that no two pieces are ever alike. How do you obtain the raw materials you use in manufacturing your products? All Quild products are made from premium fabrics and fabric blends. I work on purchasing special fabrics and sewing supplies from retail and wholesale traders in the UAE. I also contract wholesale fabric suppliers to import the raw materials I need from around the world. On my trips to Canada and the USA, I visit haberdashery and notions shops to buy unique accoutrements. Can you share an example of a custom design request from a client and how you brought their vision to life? One time we received a request from a mother who commissioned a quilt to be made from her daughter's clothes when she was a baby. We cut the small garments to highlight the best parts and then sewed them together in a patchwork style. She was really happy with it as it was a meaningful keepsake for her and her daughter. There are other instances where we receive requests to create 3D quilts or orders that include embroidery of specific words in colored thread, as well as ones with striking vibrant designs. A client would submit a custom request via an online order. The first step in the design process is conceptualisation where I draw on experience and inspiration to envisage the look of the quilt. I start thinking about the design, taking into consideration the feel of the fabric, texture, material, size, thickness, weight, and final shape. We then begin to create the quilt by cutting the fabric, stitching, quilting and lastly binding. Sometimes we embroider names or birth dates on each quilt, depending on the client's request, to create something truly bespoke. Then comes packaging. We carefully wrap the order and prepare it for shipping and delivering it directly to the customer. I also make sure to follow up with customers after delivery to ensure their satisfaction and answer their queries. Source: Farida Talaat Can you describe your eco-friendly production practices? In recent years, we started working a lot on sustainable quilts with 'green' materials and waste-efficient techniques. We select the optimal fabrics for each type of quilt to ensure their efficiency and prolong the life cycle of each product. Most of our quilts are made of sustainably-sourced material; some are made from lightweight smart fabrics that serve dual functions making the quilts suitable for both winter and summer. We also follow intelligent and thoughtful fabric cutting practices to minimize fabric waste. Additionally, we use the surplus of fabric to create quilted products and accessories, creating new one-of-a-kind pieces full of spontaneity and individuality. Who is your target audience/groups that purchase your products? We attract several slices of the market and community. Among our most important clients are parents looking to buy baby blankets for their little ones or as gifts to other families with newborns. In addition to art enthusiasts seeking unconventional artistic objects with modern designs. We are often approached by interior designers, home stylists, and real estate staging and marketing firms wanting to stage their properties with unique and eye-catching pieces and quilts as alternatives to paintings. Our quilts can be used as bed spreads, covers for sofas and chairs, but also tablecloths and wall hangings. How did you finance the project and how are you looking for funding? In the early stages, the project was financed from my own funds as well as from angel investors. Initially I set a specific budget for it and gradually it started generating profit. With more revenue coming in we then followed a revenue-based financing model and began to use a percentage of revenues to reinvest into the business and repay investors. Lately, we approached other investors for more substantial funding to allow for growth and scaling. How do you achieve returns and profits from your work, and how do you market the product? To ensure the project's profitability and achieve optimum returns, we make sure to keep expenses within reasonable limits, in addition to constantly studying the pricing policy and negotiating with wholesale fabric suppliers. Our Marketing is carried out through several channels including displaying our products directly at brick-and-mortar stores, as well as online. We complement this with direct public relations, and advertising through social media and partaking in pop-up markets, exhibitions and events. What are your plans for the future? Are there any new products or initiatives on the horizon? We are currently working on launching a new fall collection inspired by the glorious colours of a Canadian fall season. In addition to speaking to a number of e-commerce retailers for potential partnerships over the coming months. As one of the first quilt art studios in the UAE, we plan on organizing a quilt exhibition in the UAE soon to serve as a collaborative platform for quilting professionals, fabric wholesalers and quilt enthusiasts. We are also preparing to design and create special quilts to celebrate the UAE's 54th National Day in December, 2025. All this while carrying on our operations to fulfill customer orders without interruption. What advice would you offer ambitious women entrepreneurs, especially those looking to start a business in a niche market like sewing and quilting? A key piece of advice is to use the skills you acquired during your corporate career to support your business. Also focus on one specialty area and master it, rather than succumb to the pressure of diversifying and offering multiple types of products without a focus on each. Believe in your product and do work you care about. I truly believe that if you attach a personal meaning to your project, its chances of success increase ten-fold!
Forbes
09-07-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
How This Eco-Friendly Bottle Of Wine Turned Waste Into Success
Enrico Raimondo in his company Everything begun in 2015 with a humble water bottle: this was the very first handmade item by Enrico Raimondo, a mechanical designer, inventor and artisan from Veneto. The material though was one-of-a-kind: his inventor called it Raimante, crasis between the inventor's surname and the Italian word 'diamante' (diamond). It's a brand-new material that was born from the sustainable reuse of composite fiber scrap from in-mold lamination, plotter cutting, impregnation, and so on. The outcome of a special patented process (one of the current 10 patents owned by Raimondo) turns the scraps of carbon, linen, glass, or Kevlar fibers into a new material; a composite which folds and molds like fabric. This way, it can be used in endless ways to create the most diverse objects. It's extremely light and overall eco-friendly: the environmental impact to get the Raimante is close to zero. "I use these scraps in real time, when I receive them by the companies that want it to dispose of them –explains Enrico Raimondo– I do not chemically or physically alter them, and work them with my hands. The only operations that emit CO2 are the transport of offcuts from companies to my laboratory, and the storage of rolls in a cold room. The rest of the procedure is completely manual." Although carbon fiber is not new, the way it is reused is. To date, carbon fiber was familiar mainly to sports people. Indeed, for years it has been used both to make racing bicycles and parts for racing cars, such as the body. But nobody has ever made small objects, such as a water bottle, a glass, or a plate." Giannitessari Lessini Durello Riserva Metodo Classico "Dosaggio Zero" in a wine bottle made with ... More Raimante material In 2017, after obtaining an international patent for composite fibers certified for food contact, he created 'Combo', the first carbon fiber wine bottle. This special bottle combines two significant qualities: lightness (a Jeroboam, or 3-liter bottle, weighs only 400 gr.) and strength (fiberglass is virtually unbreakable). These carbon-fiber bottles might solve the issues of bottle weight, which affects the cost of transportation, and accidental bottle breakage during transportation: two deeply felt issues by those in the industry. Regrettably, those kinds of wine bottles are currently costly. Raimondo produces only Jeroboam bottles, and even empty each of them costs nearly $800. ' This is because these pieces are made entirely by hand, one by one –the inventor says–The inner lining alone takes 72 hours to dry, and this step can only be done in the air." Despite the production costs of his products, though, over the years he ended up meeting a wine producer who shared his philosophy of working for a more sustainable world: Gianni Tessari, a renowned producer of still and sparkling wines in Montecchia di Crosara (Verona, Italy). A wine bottle made with Raimante material Three years ago, the two entrepreneurs began a collaboration that lasts to this day. For Giannitessari winery, Raimondo has made – and still makes - a series of carbon, kevlar, and linen fiber bottles, each one being handcrafted and customized one by one. For his part, Gianni Tessari is the first producer in the Verona province who decided to bottle some of his most important wines, as the sparkling wine classic method 'Lessini Durello Extra Brut 60 Months', in very few magnums. Today, Enrico Raimondo is committed to many different projects, that range from the fashion sector (sports bags, shoes, belts, document holders) to kitchen utensils (plates, trays, glass), to the racing world (he is a Lamborghini official supplier, and collaborates also with the Ferrari racing stable), to the design for household furniture. And on and on. 'My aim has always been to create a better world for our children and for all of us –he concludes– Eventually I can say that this philosophy of sustainability begins to be understood and shared by more and more people, even taking the most unexpected directions.' Elisabetta Tosi
Associated Press
04-07-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Solomonjeweler Unveils the 2025 Standard for Premium Diamond Rings: Craftsmanship Meets Innovation
Once upon a time, the definition of a 'premium' diamond ring was simple: the bigger the stone, the higher the price. But in 2025, luxury has a new language—one written in sustainability, personalization, technology, and values. For the modern buyer, a premium diamond ring isn't just about clarity and carat. It's about what the ring says, how it was made, and who it represents. In short, the story matters just as much as the sparkle. Solomon Jewelers offers a stunning and extensive collection of diamond rings, crafted to celebrate every special moment. So what truly defines a premium diamond ring in this new era? Let's break it down. 1. Stone Origin: Ethically Sourced or Lab-Grown Excellence The old debate between mined and lab-grown diamonds has settled into a new understanding: both can be premium—if transparency is there. What Matters Now: Premium now means clean conscience, clean cut. 2. Craftsmanship & Customization: The Artisan Era In 2025, mass production no longer impresses. Instead, luxury is deeply tied to craftsmanship and personalization. A premium diamond ring today is often: Buyers value rings that feel like one-of-one pieces, not replicas from a display case. Even high-tech brands now blend CAD design with old-world bench skills to achieve this premium balance. 3. Sustainability as a Signature Feature Luxury in 2025 is eco-aware by default. Premium rings go beyond just sparkle to offer sustainable practices from start to finish. What this looks like: Some of the most celebrated ring brands now highlight eco-consciousness as part of their premium identity—because buyers want their values reflected in their purchases. 4. Technology Integration: From Sourcing to Service Premium now includes digital transparency and convenience. Technology has raised expectations for how premium rings are bought and experienced. Key 2025 tech trends: Customer service is also smarter: live chats, virtual consultations, and even AI stylists are now part of the luxury experience. 5. Certification, Clarity & Confidence In a world where information is everywhere, buyers want the hard facts. Premium diamond rings now come with comprehensive, user-friendly documentation. Expectations include: Premium isn't just about the product—it's about helping buyers understand what they're buying and why it matters. 6. Brand Integrity & Storytelling In 2025, the brand behind the ring is just as important as the ring itself. Premium buyers align with labels that share their values—authenticity, diversity, inclusivity, and purpose. Today's top-tier brands: Premium now means emotional resonance, not just price point. 7. Design That Marries Tradition with Modern Edge Design matters. Premium rings in 2025 often merge timeless silhouettes with bold design details, reflecting both tradition and individuality. Popular motifs include: The premium standard is now timeless with a twist—refined, yet personal. Final Thought: Premium Is Personal A premium diamond ring in 2025 is not simply a status symbol—it's a statement of values, identity, and longevity. It's a mix of brilliance, backstory, responsibility, and innovation. Ultimately, the definition of premium has shifted from what's most expensive to what's most meaningful. Whether lab-grown or mined, handcrafted or high-tech, the best rings today are the ones that reflect the people who wear them—and the lives they're building together. Media Contact Company Name: Solomonjeweler Contact Person: Michael Email: Send Email City: New York Country: United States Website: Press Release Distributed by To view the original version on ABNewswire visit: Solomonjeweler Unveils the 2025 Standard for Premium Diamond Rings: Craftsmanship Meets Innovation
