A Common Cause: Two Social Enterprises Unite for Greater Impact

From Refugee Camps to Global Impact

Abi Hewitt’s journey began in one of the most challenging environments imaginable—refugee camps in Greece. Witnessing firsthand the struggles of displaced women from a number of countries, she sought to do more than provide aid; she wanted to help them rebuild their lives.

That vision became Love Welcomes, a social enterprise that transforms hardship into hope through the sale of products made by vulnerable women over the world.

Abi first got started by working with women to take discarded life jackets and blankets to make them into pillows and patchwork covers. In the last few years, their upcycled products have diverted up to 3.2 tons of material from landfills.

Images from @lovewelcomes.org

Under her guidance, the organization has expanded globally, supporting refugees in camps and resettled communities. This mission aligns closely with Work+Shelter’s values, making our partnership a natural and powerful way to amplify social change.

Streamlining Our Business Models

Love Welcomes and Work+Shelter both share the goal of supporting vulnerable women through meaningful work. Love Welcomes reached out to Work+Shelter via Instagram in 2020. For our first collaboration that year we made sweatshirts (or as they say in the UK, jumpers) and organic tees.

Work+Shelter Team and Abi Hewitt discussing swag for Love Welcomes for 2025

The COVID pandemic hit, deeply impacting supply chains and both of our business models. Now, in 2024, we are back at it with a new partnership. What's fascinating is that when we both launched our business models they were similar, but now, they're complimentary:

• At first, Love Welcomes both manufactured it's own products and sold them direct-to-Consumer.
• At first, Work+Shelter did the same thing.
• Trying to be excellent at both production and sales is really tough.
• This realization led each of us to focus on one part of the equation.
• Love Welcomes decided to cease manufacturing and focus on direct-to-consumer sales, buying from female artisan groups all over the world.
• Work+Shelter continues to manufacture but no longer sells direct to consumer (though our Business-to-Business sales model is alive and well).

This is where we're able to come together. Pivoting our business models where we're both able to focus on different ends—manufacturing and sales—we find the perfect partnership.

Our Latest Partnership

Love Welcomes has commissioned a line of accessories from Work+Shelter. The collaboration includes the making of these beautiful zip pouches. Here are some details of the process:

• Love Welcomes chose an existing bag style from our catalog.
• They provided an image of their choice sourced from  Shutterstock.
• The organic cotton for these bags was digitally printed with the selected design.
• The white copy and logo were then screen printed onto the digitally printed fabric.
• The lining is made out of organic yellow deadstock poplin, complemented with matching deadstock YKK zippers.
• We added custom, complimentary co-branded woven labels to enhance the branding.

Zip pouches for Love Welcomes

This print is beautiful and if looked carefully at, you can see the dashes and dots printed below the messages. These are symbols of Morse Code, which is an integral part of Love Welcomes' logo. They incorporate Morse code into their branding to symbolize resilience.

The code translates to SOS, a universal distress signal, representing the urgency and survival stories of the women Love Welcomes supports. This code is intricately woven into their products and logo, carrying a personal and powerful message.

Two Paths, One Purpose. A Stronger Future Through Collaboration

The partnership between Love Welcomes and Work+Shelter exemplifies how organizations with shared missions can complement each other. By focusing on what we each do best, we’ve created a collaboration that not only produces beautiful, meaningful goods but also supports underprivileged women in building brighter futures.

If you’re interested in partnering with us to help support women through ethical work, you can reach out to us at hello@workshelter.co.