It Takes a Village

Our Company is Not Typical!

While many companies are thinking about efficiency and how to cut labor costs, our whole mission is to think about how to have a viable business while MAXIMIZING labor costs. You see, every dollar that is spent on labor means that a child is eating, a mother is paying for books for school, or a father can afford the rent payment. We have to operate within a sustainable framework for business, so can’t go overboard, but we do constantly think about which products Papillon makes that are creating the most good and doing the most in terms of jobs for the artisans it supports.

Yesterday was my birthday and as my family went around the room speaking words of blessing over me, my husband looked at me and said. “May Papillon employ thousands instead of hundreds in the coming year!”
Amen to that! It would be our dream to make an impact for so many more hurting people in the world.

So, How Do We Get There?

Jewelry is where it’s at!
When we are selling a bracelet or a necklace, a village of artisans are required to put out a beautiful product! (see example below to learn more about Papillon's process)

Here’s how it works

Each number below represents one person working, which also is equivalent to a family of up to ten people being provided for.

For a typical wholesale order of bracelets we would need to call in:

• 4 Clay Makers (raw clay processing)
• 12 Clay Bead Rollers
• 6 Cereal Box Bead Rollers
• 4 Bead Glazers
• 3 Paper Bead Varnishers
• 3 Kiln Loaders
• 1 Kiln Unloader
• 2 Bead Sorters
• 4 Inventory Managers (distributing beads & jewelry components)
• 6-20 Jewelry Makers (depending on order size)
• 2 Taggers
• 2 Packers
• 2 Shipping & Logistics Managers
  

Whew! A batch of bracelets can employ upwards of 70 people at a time and feed up to 700 hungry bellies! No wonder we get so excited when our wholesale buyers put in an order for 500 wedding favor bracelets, or 1000 sports themed bracelets, or 200 fundraiser bracelets, or 40 jewelry sets for their retail store.

Our Artisans Work on Call

When we get a large purchase order from a company we work with, the phones start ringing and artisans scurry around in their homes to come to work that day. The joy is contagious! A day of work means the world. It literally puts food on the table for people living in the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Babies go to bed at night peacefully with their needs met.

Our business model might be a little upside down at times, but if you could see what we see when a hundred people or two hundred people get called in to work every day because the orders are flooding in, you might also be scratching your head thinking of how you can maximize your labor costs and build a business that is based on lives being saved and changed instead of solely focusing on profit margins!

How You Can Help

If you know of someone that wants to buy ethically made, fair-trade, wholesale jewelry! Give us a shout out! Talk about us on social media!  Maybe you have a child in sports or a school that is looking for a meaningful fundraiser! Tell the coaches about us, let your teachers know we are here!
Keep us in mind this coming season and our artisans will be standing by, waiting for that phone call elated to be hurrying off to work!

Beautychanginglives.com - Fair Trade Wholesale (Shipping Origin: Florida, USA)
Papillonwholesale.com - Wholesale Fair Trade Products (Shipping Origin: Haiti)
Papillonmarketplace.com - Online Retail Store

“Without labor, nothing prospers.” - Sophocles