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Press Release | Designed For Joy and NCMA Create Sustainable Art

vegan_bag

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

DESIGNED FOR JOY AND NCMA CREATE SUSTAINABLE ART  

Launching Equipped Women Into The Marketplace

 

RALEIGH, N.C., March 31, 2022 — Sustainable art and fashion merge at the North Carolina Museum of Art's new sustainability exhibit beginning April 2, 2022. Designed For Joy (DFJ) is excited to announce handcrafted merchandise made with materials sourced from The Scrap Exchange in Durham will be available for purchase in the museum store. 

 

Featured Products Help Vulnerable Women

The Fault Lines: Art and the Environment exhibit showcases immersive multimedia exhibitions and outdoor sculpture installations that address urgent environmental issues, consequences of inaction, and sustainable environmental stewardship and restoration opportunities. “The Fault Lines Exhibition Store will focus on sustainable, upcycled and recycled merchandise created by community artisans from across North Carolina. We also look forward to using this opportunity to share and promote many of our community partners and their missions,” said Janis Treiber, Director of Visitor and Retail Experience at the North Carolina Museum of Art.


Designed For Joy is happy to be a shining example of fulfilling a sustainable cycle. "We are thrilled to have our products included as part of Fault Lines," explained DFJ Executive Director and Co-founder Cary Heise. "Designed For Joy has always been mindful of responsible sourcing, but there is something inspiring about repurposing new materials and keeping them out of our Triangle area landfills." 


These products perform a double duty when it comes to sustainability. They also provide a living wage income for women that many employers typically avoid hiring. "To be highlighted by the NC Museum of Art is a real honor for us and the women who make our bags. These eco-friendly products make double the impact by providing dignified, living wage work for women in crisis in downtown Raleigh," added Heise.

 

Vegan Bag Collection

DFJ will sell the Vegan Bag Collection made from a Neoprene material sourced from The Scrap Exchange. The new vegan bags are all handcrafted in the DFJ Raleigh studio. Three different styles, the Neoprene backpack, pouch and saddlebag purse, are all available beginning April 1st. Be sure to purchase yours soon, as products are limited.

 

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About Designed For Joy

Designed For Joy is a transitional work experience for women coming from trafficking, homelessness, time in prison, overcoming addiction or other vulnerable situations. We provide living wage work hours while building confidence and refreshing resumes. 

 

The women who create our brand with us are those living at high risk for sex and labor trafficking and/or food and housing insecurities. We partner with long-running ministries or local NGOs serving women that may be coming out of trafficking, emergency situations, generational poverty, homelessness, rehab, or prison. We believe in a community approach. We provide the vocational resource component in this holistic care approach while our professional partners do what they do best.

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View our sustainable neoprene collection here.

 

Photos by 627 Photography