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THE BEST OF KANTHA FOR ALL!
Dignify’s origin story has long been included, in brief, on our about page, and I refer to it whenever I’ve done interviews or podcasts or if I meet someone in person who inevitably asks, how did you get into this?
I'd like to share a bit of a wider panorama of the story, and an update. I have heard some tremendous stories from customers about the meaning that their blanket has had in some aspect of their life or a relationship. I'm so inspired, I would like to share more of mine, too.
The story of dignify is very intertwined with my friend, Kathy.
In June 2008, I was early in my first pregnancy, due in January 2009. My husband, Wayne, & I had just left for a vacation to Spain — flying in & out of London, UK, where we have relatives we planned to visit for a few days. The first night after arriving, we woke up in the middle of the night (of course, jetlag) to an email from a friend that said, “Please phone us when you get this.”
After steeling ourselves, we called & found out that our good friend, Julian, had died in a car accident; leaving his wife, Kathy (who was also pregnant) and their two children to mourn his way-too-young passing (age 33).
We flew home a few days later and grieved with our friends & community. During the funeral, Julian’s father-in-law, a retired Christian pastor, spoke. Something he said had a lasting impact on us; amidst, of course, crying out the sadness & injustice of it all, he said, “God, you have our attention. What do you want us to hear?”
What did we hear? Unsurprisingly, a premature death certainly leads you to take stock of your life. Wayne did not like his job & felt like he was wasting his years in a poor fit position. Two years after our loss of Julian, we took a leap & moved to a different city (me 8 months pregnant with #2) for Wayne to finish a graduate degree that he had begun by distance many years before.
It was in one of those classrooms that we first heard about kantha blankets. Wayne took a class on "social enterprise" (business with goals additional to profit-making) and met Robin. Robin was from Oregon, but she had been living for 5 years in Bangladesh with MCC, working with women who were in the sex trade but wanted to get out. Her term with the NGO was over, but she had decided to return to the country & start a business to employ women who were ready to graduate MCC's program.
Wayne kept referring to them as sweaters (i.e. “It’s so great what Robin is doing with these sweaters”) — he had no idea, and Robin just laughed it off. We loved the concept, though, and when we figured out that it was blankets, we definitely wanted to support her. It just wasn’t an item we really had an occasion to buy, especially on a student budget.
A year later, Kathy came with her kids to visit us, along with a new man in her life. That weekend, they got engaged to be married; I knew right away what I wanted to give them as a wedding gift!
I bought a kantha throw made by Robin's business, Basha, and brought it to Kathy’s wedding shower. The other women LOVED the blanket itself (so soft!) and also the story of redemption that it symbolized.
I always get a little sappy around our dignify anniversary, thinking back on these origins... where dignify has come from, and to. I am very humbled and indebted that from such great pain could result so much beauty & life.
Thank you for sharing this remarkable story of love , fortitude , and enterprise. I hope others will take the time to read it. I now own a third kantha – my Christmas kantha- I always feel a connection to the spirits of women I will never meet, but want to reach out to when I use these beautiful blankets. I have gifted several friends with one and everyone loves them.
I have gifted several and they are always a joy to give.
I am new to your dignify world but so grateful to know about you. A friend had a throw that I admired and now I have my own. Your story is full of despair and glory. So are the lives of these beautiful people you touch. Thank you for your passion and commitment.
Wow. Thank you for sharing this. Sometimes it seems God does his most beautiful redemptive work out of pain. He does far more than we could ask or imagine.
I was inspired by a goal that Elise Joy (goal-setter extraordinaire) set for herself for 2020: "Get dressed (in an outfit I feel good in) every day."
In Bangladesh, there are some cultural “rules” about what to wear that is appropriate. This amounts, basically, to covering your curves: two layers over your chest and rear. When I was there for a week, I essentially wore the same thing every day (a long, plain navy, cotton tunic, as well as a scarf). That had its own benefits (the ease of a "uniform"!), but I was also thrilled to come home and wear what I wanted to again.
But, with the freedom to wear whatever I wanted, the question came: what did I want to wear?
One subject I find really interesting is learning some behind-the-scenes of business and marketing. I've written before about how online brands use email subscriptions, discounts, and scarcity tactics to sell and grow. Some elements can be manipulative, but overall, I am just fascinated by how all of these hidden intricacies work.
In e-commerce businesses (retail stores that are all online) like mine, it is common to grow for the sake of growing. More sales, more staff, more products… isn’t that the definition of success?
Listen, I know that there are book lists for DAYS out there. This is another one, and I'm not pretending otherwise! It is completely biased and based on nothing other than what I have read recently. I love to read, I love to receive recommendations, and I love to share the books that I've enjoyed with others.
Every one of these books is my recommendation to YOU, but there are also ideas of other people in your life who might enjoy them. 😉 Comment below or fire me an email with your own best, recent reads!
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Ursula
December 18, 2019
Hi, I’m Birgit’s friend (see Birgit’s comment). She gifted me with a Kantha blanket…and every time I use it, I think of both Birgit and the women who might be on the other side of the world but for whom I feel a connection. This is a lovely way to support others while enjoying something lovely!