OH. MY. GOODNESS.
You guys are AMAZING!
Last night’s La Tienda party was a HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE sucess and by huge, I mean, REALLY huge!!! Nearly 100 people came out to the fundraising party, hosted by me & Tamara (click here to read more about Tamara – scroll down to the middle of the post) and each and every one of you bought at least one piece of jewelry – and how could you not? The jewelry was amazing! So funky and original and what made it even better was knowing WHO made it and why. What a great cause!
One special point about last night was the fact that Rachel Sticklee, the founder of La Tienda, was in attendance! She was visiting from her village in the Dominican Republic and just happened to be in Ontario the week of our party so we were EXTREMELY blessed to have Rachel there!
Pictured here is Tamara, my beautiful, wonderful awesome-right-hand-gal for the trip, Rachel, the founder of La Tienda, and I – right before the party began…
In case you are just tuning into the Gigi blog now, let me give you a quick run down on WHAT La Tienda is & how Gigi Photography is involved.
La Tienda (www.latienda.ca) is a fair trade art co-op serving a group of women in the Dominican Republic- they make beautiful handmade items to sell in order to provide for their families. About 20 Haitian and Dominican woman working side by side in a CO-OP model where all income, made by the sale of their jewelry, is shared within the group. Last night’s event was a showcase of their work and also gave everyone an opportunity to purchase the jewelry. Tamara and I will be spending a week in their village this June to document what they do, the stories of their lives and the mission of La Tienda through photographs. {Project} La Tienda is going to be AMAZING and we’re super duper excited to be a part of it!
Last night’s party made the trip feel more “real” … and I think it’s safe to say, no one was disapointed! Everyone loved the jewelry and somethings completely sold out! Yeah!
Want to hear the best part?! At the end of the night, I asked Rachel what she thought we raised … she guessed $400-$500 – we tallied up and had to count not one, but two or three times to confirm, but indeed – the night raised over $1,500!!!!!!!!!!
WOWWEEEE! $1,500!!!!! Sweet! You ladies rock!!! It’s because of YOU that this party was such a success! The money raised will go directly in paying the salaries of the La Tienda women. How exciting! Thank you ALL for your AMAZING support!!!!!!
Our La Tienda auctions are also happening still so there are still different ways in supporting La Tienda if you couldn’t make it out last night. Check out the most recent auction, sponsored by Pottery Parties in the Hills.
Here are few photos from the night …. Evelyn Patterson of Evelyn’s Special Event Decorating, was in complete command as far as the decorating was concered. And man, she did a FANTASTIC job! So awesome!!! Look at how fun she displayed everything …
These sea glass necklaces were a huge hit …
Everything is handmade by the ladies of La Tienda …
some head scarves, which I was wishing I had purchased … shucks. Good thing there’s another La Tienda party being hosted in Barrie next week! I’m going to attend and buy some more goodies! Hee hee! If you want details on the next party in Barrie, e-mail me and I will fill you in … I’m not hosting it but I can give you details on where it is and when …
And another fun aspect of the evening were the SCRUMPTIOUS treats by Leanne Button of She Takes the Cake …..
Are you drooling yet?
Thank you, Leanne, for such a great job!
And here some happy shoppers … I had to wait until the end of the night because the room was SOOOO packed full, I couldn’t get a photo without getting trampled! LOL!
Our Money-Counter- 😀
Rachel, hard at work at the till …
All in all, the evening was AMAZING and absolutely wonderful! Thank you EVERYONE who was involved from those who purchased jewelry to those who helped set it up and host it, to those who helped promote the event , offer a giveaway (Thank you, Simple Indulgence!) …… you are all making a huge difference in the lives of the La Tienda ladies.
Oh, we’ve heard a lot of people want us to throw another party when we get back from our trip so we’re planning on doing just that…. we’ll keep you informed. 😉
(((Big hugs!)))
by Gigi
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