In South Africa, Christmas comes in the middle of summer. Children are home for their summer break. Families go on holiday to the coast or stay home and enjoy picnics, braais (barbecues) and sunshine.

Not surprisingly, this sounds exactly like the summer I’m enjoying right now. I’ve spent lots of days in the sun, enjoyed family gatherings, basked in the surf, played tennis and simply enjoyed the fun of having my children home for the summer.

And while I am enjoying all these wonderful days of summer I am thinking ahead to Christmas.

Seventy-five percent of our sales happen during Christmas. So, I’ve ordered ornaments, ornaments and more ornaments (they’ve been rolling in since January), I’ve worked with the Beaded Hope artists to develop several new ornament designs and I’ve hired a new artist just to make reindeer (her work is awesome!).

So, as you are enjoying your summer holiday, whether at the beach, in your back yard or the tennis court, know that we are preparing to meet your holiday needs.

It’s always great to hear what our customers have done with Christmas ornaments in the past. Here are a few highlights:

“I trimmed ALL of my Christmas gifts with a Beaded Hope Christmas tree ornament. That way I could share the story of Beaded Hope with my friends and family.”
—Betty, Owner of North Star Consulting—

“Our company is woman-owned, and many of our clients are also women. By giving each client an ornament made by the women of Beaded Hope, we connected women worldwide.”
—Julie, Owner of Madison Design Group—

“I gave a beaded angel ornament to each of the team leaders for our annual Angel Tree project, it tied in perfectly and everyone was thrilled.”
—Kelley, Associate Director of ReachOut at Crossroads—

“I gave a snowman ornament to each of my school administrators. They made great staff holiday gifts.”
—Wayne, Superintendent at Cary Community School District—

As you know, every piece of beadwork in the entire Beaded Hope collection is hand-crafted by artists in South Africa. None of our beadwork is ever mass-produced or manufactured. When you order a piece of beadwork, you can be sure that a woman in South Africa hand-made that item.

And each hand-made ornaments is packaged for gift giving. So, when you order an ornament, it comes in an organza gift bag with a card that tells the story of Beaded Hope and explains that their gift is impacting women on the other side of the world.

In order to custom package each beadwork gift, we suggest placing large Christmas order in advance. That way, we can be sure that the women are working on exactly what you’ve ordered. I know, it might be hard to believe, we are already taking orders for Christmas ornaments. But last year we sold out of snowmen in only six (yes, SIX) days!

So, if you would like to go ahead a place an order just drop me an email (jennifer@beadedhope.com) and I’ll be sure to get your order placed ahead of the rush.

The 4th of July is also known as Independence Day and the day that the United States achieved freedom from Great Britain. Driving over nine hours in the car today with my children to a family reunion for the 4th, I had plenty of time to consider what freedom means to me.

Freedom, to me, is the ability to travel wherever I want to go, whenever I want to go, without restriction.

Freedom, to me, is the ability to grab a bottle of fresh, clean water to take with me for whenever I get thirsty.

Freedom, to me, is the ability to pay outrageous gas prices to go to visit my family because my husband has a good job that provides well for us financially.

As you enjoy the 4th of July with your friends and family, consider, what does freedom mean to you?

The English word “freedom” comes from an Indo-European root that means “to love.” Cognates of the English word “freedom” include the Old High German word for “peace.”

Many of you have heard the story of Jabulile, but for those who haven’t it’s worth telling again on the 4th of July.

Jabulile is one of the original Beaded Hope artists. Her talent is breathtaking as she uses only the tiniest beads to create her intricate designs. But for Jabulile freedom has a much different meaning than it does for you and me.

Freedom, to Jabulile, is the ability to provide food for her four children (the youngest two being HIV-positive).

Freedom, to Jabulile, is the ability to provide ARV medications (anti-retro virals) to her children, herself and her husband to battle the AIDS virus that has engulfed her family.

Freedom, to Jabulile, is the ability to have a job in which she can express her gratitude through the creation of a beautiful beaded Christmas angel that incoproates the design of the U.S. flag.

May you be blessed with every definition of freedom.

In South Africa, one name is synonymous with freedom: Nelson Mandela.

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”