This past weekend, jewelry and home goods brand Tribe + Glory hosted a pop-up at the Diane von Furstenberg store in the Meatpacking District. The brand’s co-founders, Loren Thomas and Caragh Bennet, are fellows in this year’s Elaine Gold Launch Pad Program.
As a 501c3 non-profit organization, 100 percent of Tribe + Glory’s profit is reinvested into their mission – giving female entrepreneurs in Uganda, previously living below the poverty line, access to resources they need to start a business.
“A lot of times, the biggest hurdle is the first yes,” said Thomas on the initial challenges to entrepreneurship.
The female entrepreneurs in the Tribe + Glory program are given a salary and receive entrepreneurship training courses. The first three women in the program recently graduated in August 2019, and the next three women will graduate on December 13, 2019.
It seems fitting that Tribe + Glory, with their focus on female empowerment, would pop up with a brand led by a power-house woman such as Diane von Furstenberg. “We adore what DVF stands for and what she does for women,” Thomas said.
The brand showcased pieces from their latest Night Sky Collection, inspired by the night sky of Kamuli, Uganda, where their workshop is located, as well as the Linked Together Collection, inspired by International Women’s Day. Both collections, with their chain-link design, remind us that “Linked together we are unstoppable,” as the brand states on their website.
“Sustainability is at the core of everything we do”, Thomas said. Their products are made from locally sourced recycled brass and Ankole Cattle Horn, which is a by-product of the agriculture industry that would otherwise be discarded.
Throughout the EGLP program, Thomas and Bennet have been working on further developing their brand voice. “The level of expertise we’ve been able to receive has been monumental to us”, Thomas remarked on the program.
Thomas and Bennet are headed back to Uganda for the Tribe + Glory graduation ceremony.
They are currently working to build out their home line, and will be releasing new products this coming March.
