A few weeks ago I shared this lamp that I painted with Royal Design Studio tribal stencil patterns:
To find out how to stencil a lamp shade like this, head on over to Paint + Pattern, an online magazine where, as a regular contributor there, I shared all the painting details!
But there’s much more to like about this stencil than the design alone. Royal Design Studio created this stencil and many others inspired by the jewelry, accessories and clothing designs of Raven + Lily. Part of the proceeds from these stencils help Raven + Lily’s efforts. Raven + Lily employs marginalized women in Africa, India and Asia, who have too few other opportunities to earn a livelihood. For example, women in Ethiopia who are HIV+ have been trained with the skills to make stylish jewelry like this:
And also, much of their jewelry is made from metals from melted down bullet casings. As a public health professional I’ve worked on violence prevention and am too aware of the toll of violence and disease. So the idea of taking something that was intended for violence and transforming it into something of beauty is really appealing. And so is supporting projects like that.
Previous posts here talked about an obsession with tassel necklaces, so I was thrilled to see a tassel necklace at Raven + Lily and of course had to have it. It’s made by women in India of black rosewood and gold beads. Here it is with my lamp inspired by their designs:
If you like the stencil design on my lampshade, you can of course get the stencil and paint it yourself on whatever you like. It also appears on some Raven + Lily products, like this makeup bag:
These stencils and products are a fun and stylish way to support a great cause! Also, I should note, this is not a sponsored post – I bought the necklace myself because I want to support what Raven + Lily is doing.