Story by: Rebecca Fisseha for Selamta Magazine | Photography by: Zacharias Abubeker
The blossoming of an international partnership for leather bags and social good.
On the popular shopping site of Magnolia Market — skyrocketed to fame by the hit HGTV show “Fixer Upper” — a photo of an elegant leather tote hanging on a rustic wooden ladder draws shoppers’ eyes to what is known as “Joanna’s Favorite Bag.” Joanna, of course, refers to Magnolia founder and design superstar/TV host Joanna Gaines, but the story of just how the simple tote became her go-to bag — and how it found its way onto the arms of countless Western shoppers — begins in a rather unexpected location: Ethiopia.
It all started when, on returning to Ethiopia after living in the U.S. in 2004, Yamerote “Yami” Mengistu sought a way to incentivize Ethiopia’s educated but unemployed women to stay in their country. Her solution? Start a company that employs a mostly-female, at-risk workforce. Her product? Leather goods, chosen due to the high regard held for Ethiopian leather by foreign entrepreneurs.
“I thought, if someone from overseas is saying that Ethiopian leather is some of the best they’ve seen in the world, and if the government is supporting it, let’s see what I can do with it,” says Yami. “Plus, the price doesn’t hurt. Ethiopian leather is very affordable.”
To reflect her desire to make “something beautiful from Ethiopia,” Yami chose the company name of Rosa Abyssinica and made its logo a stylized version of its namesake: the five-petal Ethiopian rose. With a staff of only two, both working from home, the company started production with the simplest item to make: leather bracelets. When those proved a major success at the Artisan’s Bazaar — a large shopping event of Made in Ethiopia products held twice a year in Addis Ababa — Yami felt encouraged to dream even bigger.
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