How Does Elevāt Operate?
Julie Johnson, the owner and founder of Elevāt, has connections with missionary contacts from all over the world. She says, “I started off finding artisans by contacting all my missionary friends and asking if they knew of any women or women’s groups making hand-made items in their area.” Once these connections were made and word got out, Elevāt was able to grow to where it is now.
Each artisan group…
that Elevāt works with has a different story. Clicking through the ‘Artisans’ tab will allow you to learn each of their stories. Everything from domestic abuse to poverty are causes that Elevāt strives to care for. We also work with a variety of different countries all over the globe: Belize, Kenya, Haiti, Guatemala, and so many more. The mission of Elevāt is, "elevating women artisans across the globe by bringing their handmade goods to the US marketplace."
Julie says, “Because I know the missionaries or the missionary organization overseeing the work, I can make sure that the workers are being treated well, work in safety and compensated fairly for their work. I’ve also been privileged to travel to many of the countries and visit the artisans myself.” We know that our world is constantly developing, this is just one small thing we can do to increase quality of life and positive change amongst humans.
One unique guarantee that Elevāt can give all its customers is that the product you will receive was homemade with care and love. Julie says, “One fair trade principle is that the worker is compensated 'fairly’ for his or her work which means they are paid above minimum wage for their area. All the products we purchase are from the developing world so our dollar goes further.”
When you buy…
a product through Elevāt, the money goes directly to purchasing more products for our inventory from various artisans. Making Elevāt very unique, the profit is able to be sent directly back, and in full, to the developing world as the staff at Elevāt are all volunteers. Operating out of St. Paul, MN, we have a small warehouse to store and ship out products. Volunteers in St. Paul work hard to manage your money, package your product, and send it off to you.
The image to the right represents the “life cycle” of our products.
You, as the customer, truly have a large part in participating in the cycle of production at Elevāt. Without you this process would not be complete. Without you, the funding for new product purchases would not be possible. Thank you for visiting our website and supporting our process as we elevate women artisans across the globe by bringing their handmade goods to the US marketplace.