Today we’d like to introduce you to Shelley Cameron.
Hi Shelley, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was wanting to adopt in 2007 and went to Haiti to visit an orphanage. After a week at that orphanage, I realized that all of the children had living mothers who were just too poor to take care of their kids. I set my heart on providing jobs for poor mothers in Haiti and started my social business- Papillon Marketplace. Our mission is “Orphan Prevention through Job Creation.” We now have over 200 mothers (and fathers) in Haiti working and creating amazing handmade products out of indigenous and recycled materials. We sell both retail on our website Papillonmarketplace.com and wholesale at papillonwholesale.com.
We are certified fair trade and pay our artisans a living wage (on average three times the minimum wage in Haiti) that allows them to keep and raise their children well. I also am an author of two books chronicling my journey of job creation in Haiti.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Learning to work in a new language, with cultural barriers, in the heart of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with death threats, lack of basic materials, electricity and Internet at times has made it a very difficult endeavor. I was in Haiti working with artisans during the earthquake of 2010 and have also been through the cholera epidemic, Chikingunya and Zika virus. It has been extremely challenging emotionally, physically, and also logistically. But it has been so worth it to see lives changed and children grow strong with their parents.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Papillon Marketplace?
We make handicrafts from Haiti that are all handmade and use primarily indigenous and recycled materials. Our brand is affordable, colorful, uplifting and happy. Buyers can rest assured that the money spent on our products are having a positive life-altering impact on the artisans in Haiti who were born into a poverty most of us could never imagine.
What are your plans for the future?
We are really looking for new markets for our wholesale business. Covid took its toll on the business and our artisans have suffered. We want to build back to a robust business that can not only support the artisans we already work with well but also add more artisans to the mix. Our typical wholesale buyers are boutiques, fair trade stores, churches, fundraising groups and even entrepreneurs who want to host parties or pop-up shops to tell the story, create purpose and see a positive impact through their sales.
Pricing:
- Bracelets $10-$15
- Handmade Mugs $16-$30
- Steel Drum Metal Art $6-$50
- Handmade Journals $16-$30
- Necklaces $14-$36
Contact Info:
- Email: shelley@papillonmarketplace.com
- Website: Papillonmarketplace.com / papillonwholesale.com
- Instagram: Papillonmarketplace
- Facebook: Papillon Marketplace
- Youtube: Papillon Marketplace
Image Credits
Shelley Cameron Richard Herard
