In May 2016, Carmen Tsang founded Department of Artisans. After traveling to over 50+ countries, a deep passion for culture and craft was developed.
"We discovered these places with so much craft and culture and wanted to find a way to bring it back home with us; this was the beginning of Department of Artisans. We visited artisan communities for months to truly learn about their craft that is so immensely woven into their heritage and ancestry; these crafts were being lost due to a transition towards fast and mass production. We saw what this did to the villages and tribes and so we decided to change this. We wanted to sustain culture through craft.
We visit artisans, we mentor them, and empower them to be entrepreneurs. We provide opportunities to artisans around the globe so we can bring back their livelihood. We continue to visit them and conduct impact assessment interviews to ensure a sustainable future.
As ideas evolved and conversations progressed, we realized that this wasn’t only an issue in developing countries. Artisans everywhere are discouraged by large corporations and have limited platforms to share their craft. We decided we wanted to stand for all artisans of the world.
And for the nomads around the world, we're able to bring you handcrafted pieces which represent traditional culture that can constantly surround you, right in your own home. We believe in surrounding yourself with purposeful items that bring you life."