Meet Paisley + Sparrow: Empowering Women Through Products With Purpose

Hey Jen! First off, can you tell us a bit about yourself and Paisley + Sparrow (P+S)?

Hi! Yes, I’d love to share! I live in Minneapolis with my husband Rishi, our rescue dog Chloe and our soon to be baby boy (making his debut the end of June). I love to run, drink copious amounts of coffee (when I’m not pregnant), knit and watch Hart of Dixie.

Paisley + Sparrow is a curated collection of products with a purpose. We are an online marketplace that has jewelry, scarves, tees, tanks and more that are empowering women, creating sustainable business and spreading hope all over the world!

We love that this is all about empowering women – so, so good! What sparked the idea and desire to head down that path of creating a marketplace?

The idea behind starting a marketplace began when I went on a year long mission trip called the World Race. I spent the year working with ministries and non-profits all around the world and was most impacted by the organizations who worked with women in a variety of difficult situations: women who were sex trafficked or abducted by the LRA, widows who were HIV positive, or girls who grew up as orphans. These organizations would provide women with counseling, education, medical support, and employment in order for the women to recover fully and live a hope-filled life. Many of the times these groups would teach the women how to make jewelry, which was then sold to allow them to continue doing the amazing work they were doing. When I returned home, I knew I wanted to do something to support the organizations I had grown to love and to share their stories with more than just friends and family which evolved into Paisley + Sparrow!

Story plays a big part in the organizations you partner with. Why is that such an important component?

You’re right – story is extremely important! Without the story behind the product it’s just another necklace or t-shirt. When you can hear the story of the mom who made that t-shirt who has been able to pull herself out of poverty, provide for her family and send her kids to school all because she was given vocational training and a job in a safe environment – it gives that t-shirt meaning and a purpose. You can share the story of the woman who’s life has been changed because you bought the product she made. When the stories are shared people begin to understand that the way they spend their money can make a huge impact on the life of someone else.

What are your hopes for P+S?

My hope is that we will continue to grow and expand so we can continue to work with the women we work with and ideally expand our reach and our product line! Without our customers we can’t make an impact and I’m so grateful for the support we’ve received so far.

What’s a gem of wisdom you’ve discovered along the way?

Have grace with myself! Running your own business is not always as glamorous as it sounds – it’s rarely as glamorous as it sounds! :) I mess up, I doubt myself, I get frustrated with how slow I’m growing… the list goes on. Often times when I take a step back I can see that yes, maybe it’s been a slow week but overall I’m growing at a tremendous rate. Or while one marketing strategy I tried didn’t work as great as I hoped, something else worked even better! I am my own worst critic so learning to have grace with myself has been huge.

How can people support or become involved with P+S?

You can buy our products! Like I mentioned earlier, we can’t do what we do or make the impact on the women that work with like we can without customers who support us. I’m also very confident that any woman can find something they love on our site. It’s all stunning (if I do say so myself)!

I adore it when people spread the word about P+S. My favorite thing is seeing someone post about us on social media, writing a blog post about us, sharing their wish list from our store or even telling their friends about us! We all have influence and something as simply as sending our story and website to your best friend can make a huge impact!

And lastly, joining our email list is the best way to keep in the know of new products and sales (sign up here) or joining our community over on Instagram (@paisleyandsparrow) or Facebook!

– images 2, 3, 4, 5 by Nicola Harger