Chat over chai
Stories and updates from the Shelter in New Delhi, since 2011.
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FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions Why work with WORK+SHELTER ? Our mission is to make it easy for organizations and consumers to purchase wholesale quantities of high quality, ethically made, customized sewn goods. In pursuit of a more just world, we employ women in need and when possible use other social enterprises, natural fibers, recycled, organic, …

Chat Over Chai
CHAT OVER CHAI BREAKING OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE As an entrepreneur, breaking out of your comfort zone is essential to success. Confronting one’s fears + uncertainties when starting a business is extremely challenging + takes a lot of practice. As a woman, this is especially mortifying + may feel nearly impossible at times. We …

THERESA + BRIT CHAT, OVER CHAI
CHAT, over CHAI MEET THERESA ! Hi there! I’m Theresa, CEO of WORK+SHELTER … …and I’m Brit, WORK+SHELTER Sales and Marketing Coordinator. Thanks for checking out our new blog!! We’ve got a lot to chat about ~ from the perks & pains of being a female entrepreneur/warrior, running an ethical production center in India, and supporting a team of women …

Hello Beautiful WORK+SHELTER Ladies!
Today we talked about the following, and more! : -Seema’s computer classes – her course has finished – has she been practicing? -How Renu likes W+S -Bangles we’re developing for a client -Experimental knit penguins and narwhals -The snowy weather in NYC

What is a Narwhal?
That is a very good question. The women at WORK+SHELTER are currently making the Sweatertoys incarnation of the so-called “unicorn whale,” and were curious to know more about it. Here’s a picture of Seema and Maqsooda learning more on the good ol’ world wide web!

Making fun of Theresa’s Hindi
Making fun of my Hindi never gets old! Here are some images of a chat I had with Baljeet and Seema recently.

August 23rd Chat
Chatting with the ladies of WORKS+SHELTER, Baljeet, Kulwant, Ritu, and Seema below 🙂 Thanks for translating Puneet!

Kulwant, Ritu and Ramkali
Kulwant, Ritu and Ramkali on a Skype session with WORK+SHELTER Finance Director Namita Krul!

WORK+SHELTER Ladies Chatting with Jorel
One of many amazing moments during our recent WORK+SHELTER Summit in NYC. All of the W+S ladies came to the computer screen and thanked Jorel for all of his hard work. They’ve never met him but they know that he’s here to help! Lovely.

W+S Photoshoot
I had a great time with Nadya Migalko and Andrea Patton at our most recent WORK+SHELTER photo-shoot in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. My new occupation: stylist!
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Meet Seema
Namita introduces Seema, our first WORK+SHELTER woman!

New W+S Tea Dyed Yarn and Goods
Read more on designer Allyson Dykhuizen’s blog.

Green Festival
Thanks to Linda K. for being the first to purchase one of our WORK+SHELTER Corner to Corner Wraps at this past weekend’s Green Festival! And to Andrea Patton for braving the rain to be there to support us! And to Jade Hughes for saving the day!

April 20th, 2012
Today’s screenshot is of the WORK+SHELTER manager Pooja. We love it when she smiles. She’s laughing because Seema suggested that if our new Lace Striped Sweater pattern doesn’t work out, we can always turn it into a miniskirt!

April 10th, 2012
Today’s Skype screenshot from WORK+SHELTER: The power is out! And Ramkali needs an advance for her son’s school admission.

Tea Dyes
We are so excited about the new tea-dyed cowl necks we’re developing for our friend Kari at Rubina Design. Sneak peak below! From left to right we have wool dyed with Chamomile, Hibiscus, Darjeeling, Jasmine, & Green Tea.

Hindi Practice
Practicing my Hindi today with Ritu and Kulwant! How are you? Good! How am I? Good! Send my love to your sister! Ok! How is the weather? Cold!

A Birthday Wake-Up
Wow! What a great surprise birthday wake-up from my lovely WORK+SHELTER ladies! They pretended to feed me Indian sweets and sang Happy Birthday. It was well worth the pain of waking up at 6AM EST. 😀 This past year was all about bringing the W+S New Delhi vision to life – a year well spent. …

WORK+SHELTER Corner to Corner Wraps
Enjoy the gorgeous new hand-knitted WORK+SHELTER Corner to Corner Wraps available on The Lotus Odyssey. Photos courtesy of Andrea Patton Photography
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W+S New Delhi March 2012 Update
WORK+SHELTER was just an idea in 2011 – we wanted to create a place where women in New Delhi can come to live and work.
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New gallery
We posted a new gallery of images of the women and our shelter in New Delhi. We will be updating the gallery periodically. Please enjoy!

WORK+SHELTER Patterns
The latest round of WORK+SHELTER patterns are ready! Our friend, expert knitter Allyson Dykhuizen, designs these great, one-of-a-kind patterns just for us. We then translate them into Hindi so that the women at our New Delhi location can begin knitting. Check out Allyson’s patterns here! Proceeds from pattern purchases help support WORK+SHELTER.
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New site design
As you can see, we’ve updated our website design. The goal was to better distinguish WORK+SHELTER’s mission with that of our partner The Lotus Odyssey. As stated on our homepage, WORK+SHELTER is “creating safe spaces in India where women can come to live and work.” At W+S women are taught to use the skills they …

WORK+SHELTER New Delhi December Photos
Seema and Theresa Seema getting her dose of sunshine while she knits the forthcoming Corner to Corner Wrap Ritu’s old job paid less than $1 per day. Her fair-trade W+S wage is almost 10 times what she was earning.
