Step Next Door: Noonday Collection // Guest Post by Wynne

Our passion at Noonday Collection is to connect you with the lives of artisans struggling for a better future while styling you along the way. Fashion and design are a vehicle for opportunity and change. You, too, can be a voice for the oppressed!

I was introduced to Noonday Collection & Jessica Honegger (the founder) at the adoption conference that changed my world. It was in Austin, Texas in October 2010 and that weekend was the weekend the Lord grabbed hold of my husband and he said YES to adopt! The conference was full of amazing ministries, and Noonday instantly grabbed my attention. You see, I LOVE accessories. I’m always drawn to them, but when I saw the beautiful items Noonday was selling, I had to know more. They were both beautiful & had a story. I wanted to know that story! Since that conference, I have become a part of the Noonday family. Some good friends of mine hosted a trunk show to support our adoption, and it did SO WELL that I got the amazing opportunity to be one of the first gals to become an ambassador. What that means is I sell these items in peoples homes, but what it really means is that I tell these women's stories!

Noonday Collection sells jewelry, accessories, and home accents made from women (and some men!) from over 10 different countries around the globe. Ethiopia, Peru, Uganda, Ecuador, Rwanda and India to name a few. These artisans get paid a fair living wage for their work, and I can honestly say the work they are doing does more than pay the bills! I have had the opportunity to go visit our artisans in Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda and see them at work and visit their homes. I’ve heard their stories! The work they are doing is not only helping them provide for their families, but it’s giving them a sense of self worth. It’s teaching them work ethic & many times connecting them to Jesus! It’s giving them a community of other women that are going through the same things they do. They aren’t just making jewelry, they are making a life for themselves and their families!

This is my friend Embemebet. She lives on Mount Entoto in Addis Abbaba, Ethiopia. Mount Entoto has been said to have healing waters for people living with HIV. Most of the artisans we work with in Ethiopia live here.

She is just ONE example of how lives are being changed through Noonday. By purchasing the BEAUTIFUL items these artisans make, you are changing their lives. You are teaching your friends how to shop responsibly. You are letting people into the stories. Since I told you before I am a self proclaimed accessorize-ista, I used to wear mainly items from Target or Forever 21. NOW when people stop me to tell me they like my earrings, I can tell them proudly that they were made by a group of artisans in Ethiopia. Y'all, the stories and the conversations that are started from simply wearing fabulous items is out of control.

I invite YOU to be a part of the story. Shop our website. Buy your sister or your mom something lovely & give it to them proudly on Christmas knowing that you are making a difference in the world.

Noonday means a lot to me. It was the primary way we raised money to bring home our two little ones from Ethiopia.