PROFILES + Gifted Label

Gifted Label

United Kingdom

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Gifted Label

How it all began….

The company was set up because of a chance meeting with a group of inspirational women. I visited Mongolia last summer as my brother was living there. At the time I was working for a London based fashion company and so many local people when they heard this were keen to show me their handicrafts and get my feedback. I was shocked at what I saw. Many of the traditional skills used were stunning but the finishings were not for example one group of women proudly showed me their handbags which they had woven and shockingly finished with real eagle and owl legs and feet. At that moment I realised they needed some guidance so drew up a few designs there and then. I went to LCF where I gained a BA in Product Design and Development – though my job at the time was in Marketing and PR. The results were encouraging and then I suggested some further things. I brought some of these samples back to the UK where I showed friends and industry insiders and the response was very positive.

The women I now employ are the sole bread winners of their families and many have lost children and partners due to the living conditions- winter temperatures can dip as low as -40 degrees Celsius. Gifted Label gives them job security as well as a sense of pride for themselves and their traditional skills.

Our ethos…
We believe that there should be positive connections between the people that make products and the people that buy products. The people that make our products have the best skills, not the highest productions runs so product numbers are limited. We prefer to focus on high quality while our customers can be reassured that they have something as special as themselves.

We make it our responsibility to take care of the people who make the products that are important to us and we, in turn, help them with important aspects of their lives. Gifted Label supports the idea that good suppliers and manufacturers lead to good products, which in turn lead to happy and satisfied customers who go and promote the ethical message

Products

Supply chain…

We named the collection after Chinggis Khan’s wife The Empress Borte

The fabric used for the embroidery and thread is sourced in Mongolia but made in Russia. The materials used are the same that have been used for the past 50 years.

The embroidery is done in western Mongolia in a place called Bayan Olgii meaning ‘rich cradle’ which borders Russia and China.

The leather part of the bag is made up in Ullaanbator which is 1600km to the east.

Mongolia does not have a tannery but has large amounts of livestock, which are taken to China (neighbouring country) where it is treated and then taken back to Mongolia. We work with the most reputable Mongolian leather company to ensure animal welfare and leather quality.

Each bag has a silver Mongolian lucky charm at the zipper.

Each bag comes with a material dust bag with leather drawstring and miniature Mongolian boot charm. We use recycled brown paper as our packaging and for our stationary. We source these from a company based in Bath.

Every bag has a leaflet inside giving info on the people and techniques used to make it.

Why we don’t used recycled materials to make our bags…
I noticed while there was the cheap market for ancient wall hangings. Some of these wall hangings are family heirlooms and would have taken at least 4 months to complete but they are now being sold and sometimes stolen from other peoples’ gers (their tent like houses which are traditionally decorated with hand embroidered hangings). There is an abundance of recycled embroidered wall hangings that I could use but I think in this case it is more important to give employment where there is little and empower women who have little standing in a country like Mongolia.

Experience

Press coverage:

Vogue, Elle etc
Celebrities wearing Gifted Label: Dita Von Teese (Cannes Film Festival 2007), Kylie Minogue (Summer 2007)

Other Information

Future Plans…
Mongolia I had the opportunity to meet the Mongolian President Nambaryn Enkhbayar on his official visit to London in April. As one of the few companies trading between the UK and Mongolia and not being a mining company he and his team were keen to learn more about the products and the people making them. The handbags were featured in a fashion show at Lancaster House which was part of of his tour and this was featured on Mongolian national TV much to the pride of the people that made them. I am looking forward to meeting him again on my next visit to Mongolia. We will be working with people from The Snow Leopard Trust as the people that make the bags in Mongolia live in a snow leopard habitat. By providing jobs in such areas will hopefully decrease the amount of poaching of animals and birds and hopefully encourage conservation.
We will continue to work with Embassies and local NGO’s who manage and review our employee fund.

Elsewhere The Gifted Label concept is transferable to other product areas such as homewares, clothing and jewellery and we are hoping to develop this further using manufacturers in the UK and abroad. We are sampling a canvas bag range made in Norfolk collaborating with a local sail makers and have other plans for India and Pakistan using personal and British Council contacts.

Press Releases

• Press Release

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