Hi, name's Bex, and I'm the one who started this madness.

AsianBrocade started unexpectedly when I tried to donate some books at a local library (for that story, see my profile here: https://www.etsy.com/people/AsianBrocade?ref=si_pr#). It started out as a small one person gig, me trying to do what's right. I thought I'd invest some money, a ton of time, and make it a hobby that paid some of it's own bills, and maybe in a year or two I'd see that investment covered and start seeing returns. I was so clueless.

In reality, I wouldn't invest that much (my capital was $1,000), and I'd make that back in six months, and then some. I started learning how to do things- hand recycle products, make paper, make dyes from scraps being thrown out at local high schools, etc. My neighborhood's a little on the low-income side, so I'd always wanted to share free and low-cost events with the community, but people thought it was strange that some random person wanted to do that, and it was never well-received. I found that having a shop to back me up, something to pull it all together, really helped. Within a month of opening my shop, I found myself training interns and school children, having workshops, and sponsoring events for other locals that had skills they wanted to share with the community. I also found local boot-strap businesses who had similar goals as me to work with. Soon I had something of a team of artists, musicians, business owners and local leaders working hard to spread love throughout the community. As a result, we've all been able to do what we love better with more far-reaching results.

AsianBrocade's manifesto is something like "Focus on Love" though we've never actually written that out. Funny thing about love is that it's got a ripple effect. People snatch it up and grow it in their back yards, and when they get some fruit from the vine, they pass it out too. It's certainly been an adventure, one I feel deeply blessed to be a part of. Less than a year ago, when I started this insanity, I never expected to be involved with healers, artists, crazy African drumming events, library events, and all sorts of other brilliance. It's just kinda happened.

We stick to doing good, which means recycled and scrap materials, and avoiding all the gross stuff out there: animal cruelty, modern day slavery, China-sourced materials/products/services (we do NOT support countries that do not support basic human rights), toxic materials, etc. We screen everything closely, work hard, have a ton of fun, and share the good to everyone we meet. We look at all the levels of existence and life: Animals, People, the Earth, etc. and do our best to do only good on each level.

So what's AsianBrocade about? It's pretty simple, really- Being human, hard work, and a whole lotta love.
And not getting too serious. If there's no laughter, what's the point?