Mille Boutique reveals inspiration for launching with ethical sourcing at its heart

The unique homewares, fashion and accessories brand, Mille Boutique has revealed that its links to Africa and the nurturing of African artisan skills now sit closer than ever to the heart of its business.

As champions of the belief that exceptional art and design does not have to come from pristine studios, Mille Boutique found its inspiration and reason for being in the craftsmanship of Africa – a discovery that led to the creation of Mille Boutique and an outlet to help those artisans share their skills with the world.

Not only does Mille Boutique sell a wide range of homewares, fashions and accessories created by craftsmen and women, the socially minded retailer also supports these communities. It provides a creative space for them to realise their design dreams at the Club des Métiers d’Arts et d’Artisanat du Togo in West Africa.

This space offers creative workshop training and apprenticeships that allow the local people to learn new skills while keeping their traditional crafts alive to support the wider community.

With so many similar organisations taking advantage of the plethora of skills and beautiful crafts to come from African tradespeople, Mille Boutique wanted to break the mould and give something back to the suppliers that provide their quality products, instead of purely profiting from the efforts of those craftsmen themselves.

This new ethical approach to sourcing products and supporting the craftspeople that created them is at the centre of the Mille Boutique ethos.  A growing number of customers who support these socially conscious views are enjoying their products knowing that they are doing their part to help the hands that crafted them reap the rewards of their own work.

Mable Agbodan, CEO of Mille Boutique, said “Africa has an untapped wealth of natural materials that can change interior environments into those that have more artistic and aesthetic expression.

“My aim is to help craftsmen, especially women, who express the desire to build on their creativity and encourage them to discover new ways of using it to help support themselves and their families. This is something I am passionate about, and I believe that more needs to be done by other companies to become genuinely ethical and socially conscious.”

To discover the range of artisan products available from Mille Boutique, visit http://milleboutique.com/