We are excited to share with you all a new series we are launching on the journal called Everyday Parker Clay. Each month we will be sharing a few of our favorite/most clever/generally lovely photos that we are tagged in on Instagram. Watch out for your photo and keep those tags a-comin'! We love seeing how you all are using your Parker Clay bags all over the world!
Want to have your shot featured? Use the hashtag #everydayparkerclay and tag @parkerclayintl or @parkerclayintl_sb in your photo! (Just make sure your account is public.)
@ressamazing // Shop the Leather Backpack
@cosmic.american // Shop the Signature Tote
@ariellevey // Shop the Satchel Bag
@plentyboutique // Shop the Carryall
Providing Ellilta-Women at Risk with money to continue running, consultations, purchasing their woven goods and jewelry, as well as connecting them to international buyers, Parker Clay has been a useful partner to this NGO as we’ve contributed to more than 360 women completing their rehabilitation program—with 94% of them successfully reintegrating back into society.
Today is our last day as interns working at Parker Clay. It has been a pleasure to have a peek into the world of a conscious and ethical company working to connect the needs of those in our world with the desires to help in our communities. We’ve done it all: worked with our social media, our marketing, our inventory systems, the minute details of assembling our various products, experienced the excitement of receiving a shipment from halfway across the world, had the pleasure of working with interested and passionate individuals, helped those who sincerely want to support what we do, learned about Ethiopian culture and life. But above all, we’ve been brought alongside the process of making an...
During the week of April 3rd to 7th, I had the privilege of attending the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship in Oxford. Every year around this time, The Skoll Foundation puts on this forum, meant to be the world’s largest gathering of social entrepreneurs. Innovators from a spectrum of countries come to hear influential speakers, network with fellow entrepreneurs, and enjoy the creative environment that the forum invites. It was in this context that I was able to scurry from session to session, hearing the stories and advice of individuals who work in the same fields as Parker Clay. It was the perfect environment to share Parker Clay’s story and work with the many people I had the pleasure...
At Parker Clay, our mission is to help lift women out of prostitution in Ethiopia by providing them with jobs and education. We’ve taken this mission to the community in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where our founders once lived to create a sustainable change by providing a valid opportunity. In Ethiopia, we’re partnering with Elilta- Women at Risk to do so and so far, it’s going pretty well. What are we after now? The answer is something shockingly similar. We are currently partnering with the Uffizi Order in Santa Barbara as well as the Rise Project in Santa Barbara County to stop human trafficking in the city that is home to our headquarters. The Uffizi...
Our shipments endure a lengthy trip to finally arrive in our store in Santa Barbara, California. The heavy, Arabic-script riddled boxes are heaved in plastic, burlap-esque bags onto Qatar airway planes, flying 18 hours to finally land in LAX. A shipping company drives our bags the two hours between LA and Santa Barbara and delivers them to our door front, where we wait to count and quality-check whatever product our factories in Ethiopia saw best to ship. There is a slight giddy feeling that accompanies a new shipment. We can’t wait to reveal what products our here to line our shelves. But first comes the standard duties of running a business. We need...
We’ve been fortunate enough to work with some of the strongest women in the world and we strive to continue to create jobs as an adequate alternative to a life of prostitution. This desire was first embraced by our co-founders, Ian and Brittany Bentley, who saw the shocking number of orphaned children as a problem not only in itself but also as a product of a lack of jobs that left many parents financially unable to support their children. Since realizing this problem, our founders have gone above and beyond to empower women in Ethiopia - first, by working with non-profit organizations that focus on skills development and then by founding Parker Clay to advance job creation....
Ethiopia has roots dating back to the earliest iterations of civilization. Throughout its long history, this region of the world has been witness to the growth of multiple religions and religious communities. As of today, it boasts of a proud, multi-religious society and of a rich history of interactions between it and world’s largest religions. Today, the majority of Ethiopians are Christian. About 45% belong to the Ethiopian Orthodox denomination. 20% are variations on protestant Christian. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is actually among the oldest denominations of Christianity, with Ethiopia’s Aksum Kingdom becoming one of the first empires to officially accept Christianity in the fourth century. Ethiopia, though, has been the home of Orthodox Christian as far back as...
Today our founder, Ian Bentley, gets on a plane to return to Ethiopia. During his time there, he will be visiting the sites of our factories, reconnecting with the local community, and expanding the opportunities to make a wider impact. Why, you may ask, do we consistently make it a point to return to Ethiopia, when we very well could work from a distance? Of course there are practical elements to maintaining connection. We want to see that the realities of the ground match the vision we have for supporting and helping these women and the greater community. There are hurdles of international business that are best overcome in person, rather than through a computer screen. But our dedication...
Since 2013, Parker Clay has been creating premium handcrafted leather goods in Ethiopia while transforming communities through trade to create social and economic empowerment. Each year has brought with it incredible growth for both our team in California and Ethiopia, with HQ locations in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Santa Barbara, California. Heading into 2017, we are excited about the opportunities ahead and are looking to build our team with creative, passionate, and hard working people who have a heart to join us in what Parker Clay stands for. Send us your resume and cover letter to info@parkerclay.com We're excited to hear from you. Store Manager & Customer Experience Location: Parker Clay HQ Santa Barbara, CA Compensation: Competitive Hourly Wage,...
Empowerment starts with opportunity, and that opportunity comes by the work we do alongside Ellilta Women at Risk in Ethiopia. These women shine and we are humble to continue to partner with the important work they do. We recently caught up with the Founder of Ellilta in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to get an update on the impact we are making together.
What does it mean to be a Father? With Father's Day coming up in a few weeks, this is a question we want to share with our community, both locally and internationally. As Co-Founder of Parker Clay, and dad to 5 amazing kids, I often think of what it really means to be a dad. Rooted in the foundation of the Parker Clay DNA has a lot to do with being a father and also being loved by a father. When I made my first 9,000 mile journey over to Ethiopia it was because of my daughter Selah. I can remember the overwhelming feeling I had in meeting her for the first time, and in that moment life changed...
Parker Clay Co-Founder and Father to 11 year Old Daughter A report on Human Trafficking was just released (HUMAN TRAFFICKING 2015 REPORT) and it shows that we still have a lot of work to do. We quickly went to the Ethiopia Report where the report starts out with: Girls from Ethiopia’s rural areas are exploited in domestic servitude and prostitution within the country...The central market in Addis Ababa is home to one of the largest collection of brothels in Africa, with girls as young as 8 years old in prostitution in these establishments. Ethiopian girls are forced into domestic servitude and prostitution in neighboring African countries and in the Middle East. Please stop and think about what you just read. The 8 year...
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY
We celebrate all the women who've loved us, raised us, and courageously fought for us.
Today is not only a day we are celebrating mothers around the world, but we are also celebrating the 1 year anniversary of Parker Clay. It's amazing to look back over our first year and to see all of you who have chosen Parker Clay.
As a small way of saying Thank You, we will also be offering Free Shipping with code: HappyAnniversaryShipThese codes are only good through next weekend, so head over to www.parkerclay.com soon.From our family to yours, HAPPY MOTHERS DAY and thank you for celebrating our First Anniversary.-The Parker Clay Team
Co-Founder Brittany Bentley with young mother and child in Ethiopia Four Women With Hope Kidist was less than 10 years old when she was forced to leave her rural home in the countryside and head to the capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. She fled an unhealthy and abusive home life for the promise of a greater life in the capital city of Addis Ababa. But that hope was quickly stolen. With no support system or people to trust, she was caught up in a line of work that would ultimately take her to the lowest point in her life. Within days of arriving, her virginity would be auctioned off to the highest bidder, she would be raped, and any...
Want to win our new Satchel Bag that not only looks great but also gives back to women in Ethiopia? To Enter head over to our Facebook or Instagram page to follow us and share with your friends. Giveaway winner will be announced at the end of the day Monday December 1, 2014.
We just got back from an expedition out in the Ethiopian countryside with some of our new products. Epic beauty and adventure at every turn, from sunrise to sunset, this expedition gave us even more pride in the fact that we make our products in such an amazing place. While Ethiopia has it's share of problems, we believe it's potential outweighs those problems. We see beautiful, hard working people who want to change their lives, communities, and country. We believe in these people and in addition to making some of the finest product on the planet, we also want to empower each and every person we work with. Check out all our new products at Parker Clay Shop Previous...
We are excited about our Fall 2014 line that includes a number of new products and some new options on some of our originals. The impact Parker Clay is making in Ethiopia is encouraging with new artisans being added constantly as our orders and your purchases have increased. Going into the Holiday season we are so excited to be able to offer you new ways to purchase with purpose, because who says looking good can't also do good!
-Ian Bentley, Parker Clay founder
